UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

dirty · Sep 2, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Dogs' Lumpkin out indefinitely

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/03/07 Athens — All worries and concerns about which Georgia running back is going to get the ball, how many times and when can temporarily cease.
That's because the backfield, which had three players vying for time, now has only two. Senior Kregg Lumpkin, last season's leading rusher, is out indefinitely with a broken thumb on his right hand.
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Curtis Compton / AJC

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</td></tr><tr><td class="caption">Running back Knowshon Moreno (24) had 20 carries for 70 yards in his first game with the team.
</td></tr><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr class="railscreen01"><td>Your Turn</td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <script language="javascript"> function clickVote() { document.pollForm.buttonClicked.value = "yes"; document.pollForm.PageId.value = "poll_vote_submit"; document.pollForm.submit(); } function alert1(){ document.pollForm.buttonClicked.value = ""; } </script> <form method="post" action="/poll/poll/poll/take_poll/PollRefresh.jsp" name="pollForm"> <input name="PageId" value="poll_vote_submit" type="hidden"> <input name="pollID" value="18007" type="hidden"> <input name="page" value="take" type="hidden"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="100%"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Will losing Kregg Lumpkin hurt Georgia's running game? [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> <td align="right" height="15" width="46">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="53997" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] No, Thomas Brown, Knowshon Moreno and possibly Caleb King will make up for his loss in the backfield. [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="53998" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Yes, his yardage won't be easily replaced. [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2">
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> "He is not going to be able to carry the ball for a while," Georgia coach Mark Richt said Sunday.
So now Georgia is down to Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno. The pair split carries while the outcome still hung in the balance against Oklahoma State in Saturday's 35-14 win. Brown had 48 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. Moreno got a few more calls down the stretch to take his total to 20 carries and 70 yards.
While everyone knew what Brown was capable of, Moreno's debut had created plenty of intrigue. It also answered a few questions.
"As everyone can see, he ran with a lot of energy like he always does," Richt said. "He made some people miss out in space. When there wasn't a lot there, he would still stick it in there and see that little crease and get 3 or 4 yards. A couple of times there was a linebacker unblocked, but he won the human equation and would drive him 2 to 3 yards. He finished the runs extremely well.
"He is close to making some big runs, I think," Richt added.
Moreno's exploits weren't confined to the running game. He had two catches for 51 yards. Another 25-yard screen pass was called back because of a clipping call.
"On offense, they ran those quick screens a lot more than we thought they would and we didn't adjust quick enough," Oklahoma State defensive end Nathan Peterson said.
Georgia ran those screens because it wanted to protect the young offensive line and it wanted to get players like Moreno into space. And even when an Oklahoma State player was around the ball, the screens worked because the Bulldogs broke tackles.
More than 170 of Georgia's 234 receiving yards came after first contact. Moreno accounted for much of that.
Now what Georgia, which appears to revel in having a full backfield, has to decide is if another player will step up and join Brown and Moreno in the rotation. And, if so, who might that player be?
Freshman Caleb King, who at one time was more highly regarded than Moreno coming out of high school, should be fully healed and ready to go today after a preseason hamstring injury. That could cause coaches to look his way.
"We will have to get him greased up and ready to go," Richt said.
That doesn't mean Georgia is going to pull his redshirt. King's knowledge of the game plan is lacking because he has not been involved for a couple of weeks. Georgia also has other options at tailback.
Jason Johnson and Shaun Chapas can both play tailback or fullback. Chapas finished the game at tailback Saturday.
"We will just have to wait and see [on King's redshirt]." Richt said. "Lumpkin is not a season-ending injury, so that would probably keep us from being in a rush."
Jones reprimanded for personal foul
Redshirt freshman Reshad Jones' personal foul penalty drew the ire of the coaches and very nearly a mandated one-game suspension, Richt said. It was close to being called a thrown punch, and in that case Jones would have been ejected and had to sit out against South Carolina.
"What I wanted Reshad to do was respond properly to what happened," Richt said of the sideline dressing-down Jones took. "He didn't need to get bitter or bent out of shape. He needed to take it as it was, a foolish thing that could really hurt him and could hurt us too. When you make a mistake like that, you are going to hear about it and rightfully so, and now you have got to decide how you are going to react to it.
"A minute or two later in the game he walked up behind me and apologized for it," Richt said. "I thought he learned a good lesson from it and I thought the team did too."
Odds and ends
Brian Mimbs, who averaged 42.4 yards per punt, will continue to be the first option at that position. ... South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier would not commit to a starting quarterback Sunday. Spurrier played two quarterbacks against Louisiana-Lafayette — Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher — but starter Blake Mitchell is coming off a suspension this week. Richt expects Mitchell to start but said the quarterback will not have a huge influence on how the Bulldogs prepare to face Spurrier's offense.

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Gamecocks LB ready to 'whip some Georgia butt'

By TRAVIS HANEY
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/07/07 Columbia, S.C. — The frustration of two near-misses against Georgia and being suspended for last year's game has South Carolina linebacker Dustin Lindsey more than a little fired up.
The Gamecocks play the No. 11 Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon in Athens. Lindsey, for one, likes the Gamecocks' chances. He wasn't shy about it.
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> "I think it's our year," Lindsey said. "I think we've got a better team than them. ... I feel great, ready to get back out there and whip some Georgia butt."
You can't blame Lindsey for his internal fire. Besides the aforementioned academic troubles from a year ago, the fourth-year junior has been rehabbing feverishly to ready his surgically repaired right knee.
After tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during the spring game, doctors told him it would be October before he could return to the field. Not soon enough, Lindsey thought. He wanted to return to face the bugaboo Bulldogs, who beat the Gamecocks by four and two points in the meetings prior to last year's 18-0 UGA win.
"That's one thing I didn't want to hear," Lindsey said. "I wanted to get back for Georgia."
After being cleared this week, Lindsey has been so inspired that he's needed restriction on whom he can hit — and how hard he can hit them.
"I'm trying to hit the scout-teamers as hard as I can," he said. "I keep getting yelled at.
"I can't wait to get that adrenaline back in me. I'm not going to lie; I'm probably going to tear this brace off Saturday I'm going to be so excited."
Lindsey should see time at strongside linebacker behind starter Rodney Paulk.

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Spurrier tabs senior Mitchell to face Dogs

The Associated Press
Published on: 09/06/07 Columbia, S.C. — Blake Mitchell will return to his starting quarterback spot for South Carolina against No. 11 Georgia this weekend.
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> Coach Steve Spurrier said after Thursday's practice Mitchell, in his fifth season with the Gamecocks (1-0), would be back under center at Sanford Stadium on Saturday evening. Mitchell missed South Carolina's opener last week, a 28-14 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, because of a one-game academic suspension he got for missing too many classes during summer school.
Freshman Chris Smelley and sophomore Tommy Beecher shared playing time against the Ragin' Cajuns, each throwing a touchdown pass in the win.
Spurrier played coy with his quarterback decision all week because he thought it might keep the Bulldogs' staff guessing a few extra days. But the ball coach had few other options heading into the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
"He's had a lot of good practices," Spurrier said. "He had a lot of good games at the end of last year. He hasn't had one since the Liberty Bowl. So hopefully this will be the first."
Mitchell, a 6-foot-3, 211-pounder from LaGrange, Ga., has started 17 of Spurrier's 25 games at South Carolina. He's thrown 27 TDs during that span compared with a combined three from Smelley and Beecher.
Add to that Smelley's injury — a sprained right shoulder that will keep him out of this week's game — and going to Mitchell seemed a no-brainer. Beecher will backup Mitchell and freshman Stephen Garcia has been moved up to third string.
It was Mitchell who led the Gamecocks to a rousing finish last season with three consecutive victories — something that hadn't happened at South Carolina in 33 years.
Mitchell led three second-half scoring drives as South Carolina wiped out a 28-14 deficit at Clemson to win the rivalry game, 31-28. He followed that up with a stellar Liberty Bowl, setting the school's postseason record with four TD passes. He threw for 323 yards and was named the game's MVP.
But Mitchell got himself in trouble this summer by violating the athletic department's class attendance policy.
It's the second straight season Mitchell's had off-the-field problems. He was briefly suspended after his arrest for his role in a fight with a bar bouncer. The charges against Mitchell were later dropped.
Mitchell was ineffective at the start of last season. Despite completing 16 of 22 passes for 156 yards against the Bulldogs last September, the Gamecocks lost 18-0. The quarterback's arrest came a few days later with Spurrier saying he planned to sit Mitchell in favor of Syvelle Newton anyway.
Mitchell got another chance late in the season. He came in for the second half against Arkansas and nearly rallied the Gamecocks to victory. Mitchell started the final four games and looked as crisp as he ever had, completing better than 69 percent of his throws with 1,254 yards and eight TDs.
Now, Mitchell has the chance to regain that touch "Between the Hedges" as the Gamecocks attempt to end Georgia's five-game series win streak.
Also on Thursday, Spurrier said that safety Emanuel Cook will play against the Bulldogs if he is cleared by doctors. Cook missed the opener as he recuperated from an appendectomy, but has practiced with the team this week. He's also dealing with his arrest on a weapons charge last month.
"He's a good player, a good tackler, good hustler," Spurrier said. "He's on of our best players, no question about that."

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Dogs find a power running duo
Brown, Moreno can pile up yardage

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/07/07 Athens — Tony Ball watched the Clemson-Florida State game Monday and got a glimpse of the possibilities at Georgia this year.
There, on the TV screen, was Clemson's highly touted duo of C.J. Spiller and James Davis, throwing one-two body and head shots at the Florida State defense like it was Gerry Cooney and they were Larry Holmes.
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</td></tr><tr><td class="caption">Georgia's Thomas Brown (left) and Knowshon Moreno combined for 176 yards against Oklahoma State.
</td></tr><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td class="body">RELATED STORIES

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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> It wasn't pretty for the Seminoles. But in Ball's eyes it was glorious.
"Just watching Spiller and Davis, that was the first thought that came to my mind — I can see where Davis is a Thomas [Brown] and Knowshon [Moreno] is a Spiller type of guy,'" the Georgia running backs coach said.
Maybe Moreno doesn't have the same top-end speed that Spiller has, Ball cautioned, "but there are a lot of similarities."
Whether Brown and Moreno can produce the same kind of results is the question. They should have the chance. Kregg Lumpkin is out for up to a month with a thumb injury, so the backfield has been trimmed to two. And so far those two have produced.
Against Oklahoma State the pair combined for 118 rushing yards, 58 receiving yards and two touchdowns (Brown also had 80 yards in kickoff returns.). Against Florida State, Spiller and Davis had 156 combined yards and a touchdown (Spiller had 103 return yards.).
"We have a chance to have a lot of big plays with those guys this year," Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.
It's the big plays in the running game that have been lacking the past couple of years. Georgia's breakaway runs can be counted on one hand or, actually, one finger. Last season the longest run was 41 yards against
I-AA Western Kentucky. And that running back, Danny Ware, is no longer in the program.
Now Georgia believes it has a combination of running backs in Brown and Moreno that can make game-breaking runs and also produce in places where a traditional running back might not.
"They are both talented enough to cross defenses up," Ball said. "They are both talented enough that you can move them around, whether you put them out there at wide receiver, have them catch the ball, run the reverse. They are fluent enough. They are athletic enough you can do that with them.
"Then they are physical enough you can run them inside and they can pound defenses," he continued. "That is the diversity that they both bring to your offense."
"They are big-play threats when they touch the ball," quarterback Matthew Stafford said.
The way they get those big plays might be slightly different. Brown, a senior, is apt to bust through or over somebody on his runs.
"I don't know what it is, but my whole life I never ran from contact," Brown said. "I know my mom wishes I would sometimes. I really challenge people straight up instead of try to run around them."
Moreno, a redshirt freshman, is more apt to make somebody miss and glide through space at high speed.
"Knowshon is probably a little more fluent right now," Ball said. "He sees it and then he hits it. Now with him being more wide open he has very good body control doing that. He looks like he is running full speed but he is under control. That is the difference I see in the running styles."
But the differences aren't always easy to discern. Brown can make people miss, too. He threw a 360 spin on a run against Oklahoma State. And Moreno will lower his shoulder and grab the extra yards when he needs to.
"They are very similar because they are both explosive and they finish off runs; they are not afraid to finish off a run," Bobo said. "They hit the hole hard. Thomas might be a little bit more powerful, with Knowshon being more elusive."
What they are is a one-two combination Georgia is trying to establish on a more consistent basis.
"It's fun for me to watch because they're both big-time special guys," Stafford said. "They're both big-time competitors. They are both going to get more carries because of Kregg's injury and we are going to see what they can do. I think they can do a lot of stuff."

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

RB King will be suited up and 'ready to play'
Richt says injuries will determine if freshman enters game

By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/07/07 Athens — Freshman tailback Caleb King will be suited up and ready to play this Saturday against South Carolina. But chances are slim Georgia fans will see him in action.
Coach Mark Richt said earlier this week the Bulldogs would have to get their much-ballyhooed recruit from Norcross "greased up and ready to play" following last weekend's injury to senior Kregg Lumpkin. But Thursday, as Georgia embarked on its last practice for South Carolina, Richt indicated a redshirt season is still the most likely scenario for King, who starred at Greater Atlanta Christian and Parkview High.
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</td></tr><tr><td class="caption">Freshman tailback Caleb King, listed fourth on the depth chart, will be suited up and ready to play Saturday against South Carolina.
</td></tr><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr class="railscreen01"><td>Your Turn</td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <script language="javascript"> function clickVote() { document.pollForm.buttonClicked.value = "yes"; document.pollForm.PageId.value = "poll_vote_submit"; document.pollForm.submit(); } function alert1(){ document.pollForm.buttonClicked.value = ""; } </script> <form method="post" action="/poll/poll/poll/take_poll/PollRefresh.jsp" name="pollForm"> <input name="PageId" value="poll_vote_submit" type="hidden"> <input name="pollID" value="18128" type="hidden"> <input name="page" value="take" type="hidden"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="100%"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Should the Bulldogs consider playing Caleb King? [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> <td align="right" height="15" width="46">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="54268" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Put him in see what he can do. [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="54269" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Not worth mortgaging the future. [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2">
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> "A couple of injuries could get him into the game, I guess," Richt said.
"But, again, Lumpkin's injury is not a season-ending one. So I don't want to get Caleb going for a game or two and then all of a sudden his playing time diminishes and everybody's like, 'Why'd you do that?' So we're not going to be in a rush to play him or anything like that, but I'm not counting it out."
Technically King is fourth-string behind senior Jason Johnson, who returned this week from a neck injury. Starter Thomas Brown and backup Knowshon Moreno will get the majority of snaps.
Richt said that the coaching staff is happy with King, who at one time was rated the No. 1 running back prospect in the country. The Bulldogs simply have plenty of depth and talent ahead of him.
Gamble arrested, released
Redshirt freshman linebacker Darryl Gamble was pulled over Thursday afternoon by the UGA police for driving without a seatbelt and subsequently arrested for driving on a suspended license.
Gamble, 19, was released from Athens-Clarke County Jail at noon on $1,750 bond.
Gamble's mother had paid a ticket for him but had done it late and Gamble did not know his license was suspended, according to Richt. The coach said Gamble will not be subjected to team discipline.
Martinez honored after win
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez was named Rival.com's National Coordinator of the Week on Thursday for the Bulldogs' defensive game plan in a 35-14 win over Oklahoma State last weekend.
His unit held the Cowboys to 266 total yards on offense and only 70 rushing yards while shutting them out in the second-half. The Bulldogs recorded five sacks, an interception and a .231 third-down percentage (3-for-13) against an offense that averaged 35 points a game in 2006.
Wood back at defensive end
Redshirt freshman Brandon Wood moved back to defensive end from defensive tackle this week.
"Quite frankly, he wanted to move back and he asked to move back out and we said 'sure,' " Richt said. "He played good and, watching him practice, I think he has really taken to that. He still moves real good. He is going to be a good player."
Davis a de facto center
Redshirt freshman Kevin Perez is considered Georgia's backup center, but it was starting guard Chris Davis who filled that role during the Oklahoma State game.
Senior starter Fernando Velasco had to leave the game abruptly because of a malfunctioning knee brace before a third-and-short play in the third quarter.
Seeing another guard running onto the field, Davis merely slid over, yelled for the offense to huddle up and took over. The Bulldogs converted the first down.

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Georgia-bred players power Gamecocks

By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/07/07 Columbia — South Carolina has 16 players on its roster from the state of Georgia. Some of them were recruited by the Bulldogs; a lot were not.
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> And all of them are motivated to beat Georgia on Saturday in Athens, but not just because it's a border rivalry. It has more to do with being fellow SEC Eastern Division residents.
"Oh, yeah, it's still a special game for us," senior linebacker Casper Brinkley of Thomson said. "But that's mainly because beating Georgia is a steppingstone to reaching our goal this year. For us to be the SEC champs we have to go through Georgia."
That hasn't gone particularly well of late for the Gamecocks, who are 13-44-2 all-time against Georgia and have dropped the past five games in the series.
Since Steve Spurrier has been the Gamecocks' head coach, he's gone hard after players from the Peach State. Here are five to watch Saturday:
• LB Jasper Brinkley: Senior from Thomson was first-team All-SEC last year ... led the team with 107 tackles, 85 solos and 14.5 tackles for loss. ... Nicknamed B-52 — twin brother Casper is B-51 — because of their big play in the middle.
• WR Kenny McKinley: Junior who played QB at South Cobb High, is Gamecocks' No. 1 receiving target since Sidney Rice's departure. ... 51 catches, 880 yards last season.
• DE Eric Norwood: A North Cobb High grad, was a freshman surprise last year with seven sacks and nine tackles for loss. ... Earned All-America and first-team All-SEC freshman honors.
• CB Carlos Thomas: This Banneker High grad, now a junior, moved from WR to the secondary and returns as a starter. ... Clocked team-fastest 4.37 seconds in the 40. ... Averaged 23.9 yards on kickoff returns last season.
• QB Blake Mitchell: The senior from LaGrange has been a troublemaker (twice suspended, including this year's opener), but will start for 18th time in 26 games on Saturday. ... Was MVP in last season's Liberty Bowl.

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

UGA FOOTBALL
Geathers a big one who got away

By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/06/07 Columbia — His brother, Robert Geathers Jr., played for Georgia before moving on to the NFL. His father, Robert Geathers Sr., is practically related to UGA recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner.
He held a press conference to announce he'd attend Georgia. Put on a Georgia cap and everything.
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</td></tr><tr><td class="caption">Gamecocks defensive end Clifton Geathers was originally to be part of Georgia's class of 2006.
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> Yet here Clifton Geathers is on a warm September evening, big as a mountain and covered with sweat, decked out in South Carolina's garnet instead of Georgia red and talking about how important it is to him to beat the Bulldogs when the Gamecocks play in Athens.
"It's a personal game for me," said Geathers, a 6-foot-7, 275-pound defensive end. "I didn't come here to lose to Georgia. I came here to win against Georgia. I'm pretty fired up about playing them. I'm ready to do some things."
The recruitment of Clifton Geathers in 2006 remains a mystery, however. Rivals.com labeled him, "probably the most difficult prospect to chronicle in recent times."
Here's what we do know:
• A five-star recruit out of Carvers Bay High in Georgetown, S.C., Geathers was considered a solid Georgia commitment in February 2006, but national signing day came and went without him signing with anybody.
• On March 12, 2006, Geathers held a news conference at his school to announce he'd sign with Georgia. Whether or not he actually signed a national letter-of-intent is unclear.
• In the fall of 2006, he enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., a prep school where Georgia often sends its academic non-qualifiers.
• Geathers abruptly left Hargrave — after its final football game but before the end of the semester — and enrolled at South Carolina.
What's unclear is whether Geathers bailed on Georgia or Georgia bailed on him. Geathers admits he had academic issues he needed to resolve.
The summer before going to Hargrave, he worked with a private tutor named Jean D'Arcy Maculaitis of MAC Testing and Consulting in Red Bank, N.J.. Midway through the summer, she told the AJC that Geathers had made "tremendous progress" and should be on the verge of acquiring his eligibility.
Garner won't discuss what happened. "He didn't come here, so it's irrelevant," he said tersely.
Garner coached Geathers' brother, who's now with the Cincinnati Bengals, and having known the family intimately for years, he felt good about landing Geathers for Georgia. Geathers Sr. used to babysit Garner's wife, the former Kimberly Lawson, who was the niece of a counselor at South Carolina State.
"They're like family to me," Garner said.
But if Garner is bitter, he's not showing it. Of Geathers, he says, "Great kid. I love him. I hope he has a great career and gets his degree."
The Gamecocks clearly recruited Geathers hard from the start and never let up. Why he changed his mind is unknown.
Geathers said only that he "wasn't feeling Georgia anymore" and that proximity played a big part.
"It was a difficult decision," he said after a South Carolina practice this week. "I just kind of felt that God was leading me here [to South Carolina] and I felt comfortable here. This is closer to home. I don't have to drive five hours to get home. I'm maybe an hour and 50 minutes away from home."
Geathers' decision does not appear to be one that will have an immediate impact on either South Carolina or Georgia. He played only two snaps in last week's win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
But they expect a whole lot more in the future.
"Clifton's doing fine," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. "He didn't play a lot [in the first game] because they're pretty much a running team and they ran a lot on us. Clifton, he's probably a little more suited to pass rush and knock down passes, that kind of thing. He may be scheduled to play a little more this week."
Asked what would be the perfect scenario for him Saturday, Geathers smiled: "Get in the game, make plays, help us win."
"Us," of course, being South Carolina.

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Can Spurrier get it done at Carolina?

By Mark Bradley | Friday, September 7, 2007, 07:59 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Mark Bradley

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Columbia — Steve Spurrier is funny in a funny sort of way. He doesn’t really crack jokes. He doesn’t spin slice-of-life yarns. What makes him entertaining is that he, alone among football coaches, is incapable of hiding his feelings. He’s 62, but he has the emotional filter of a 9-year-old boy — which is to say, none at all.
If he’s happy, he looks and acts happy. If he’s disgusted — this is the really good part — he tells you so. He might not actually say, “I’m disgusted,” but he’ll wince and roll his eyes to such exaggerated degree that there’s no missing the message. (A printed transcript doesn’t begin to do justice to a Spurrier news conference.) And if this week’s message happens to contradict a just-launched PR offensive … well, too bad.
Spurrier spent the offseason suggesting that South Carolina, the program he has coached since 2005, is ready to win an SEC championship. Given that the school has been playing football for 113 years and still doesn’t have a winning record — the Gamecocks are 516-517-44 — and has managed only four bowl victories and one conference title of any kind (the ACC in 1969), this struck many as a reach.
In a bit of jujitsu, the Gamecock Club took a televised comment from ESPN’s Lee Corso — “I don’t think Spurrier can win the SEC or national title, I don’t care if he coaches here 400 years” — and made it the focal point of a fund-raising campaign. Go to Untitled Document and you’ll find a message from Spurrier, highlights from signature victories over Tennessee, Florida and Clemson, plus an animated game where the user can toss footballs at an unconvincing likeness of Corso.
South Carolina proudly unveiled this Web site and screened the video on the scoreboard at Williams-Brice Stadium just before last week’s opener against Louisiana-Lafayette. And what was Spurrier saying after the halting victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns? That perhaps the naysayers had a point.
From his Sunday teleconference: “We’re just a bunch of average stiffs. We don’t need to think we’re any good.”
From his Tuesday media briefing: “Maybe I’ve overstated our team by throwing out some goals. ‘That guy’s crazy. What’s he talking about?’ “
And this: “Those two teams [Clemson and Florida State in their televised Labor Day game] were flying around, going crazy on defense. If we can get to that level defensively, we can talk about the SEC seriously instead of maybe just dreaming about it.”
Part of Spurrier would love to believe his Gamecocks can win at the highest level because he’s smart enough to make any team win. But that’s the tangle: Is a great coach — which Spurrier indisputably was at Florida, where he took six SEC titles and the 1996 national championship — still capable of greatness when presiding over a program that has known only mediocrity?
Said Corso: “Eighty percent of the college games I ever saw were won by the guy with the best players. Hello? You don’t outcoach people in the SEC. If anybody can win the SEC at South Carolina, it’s Steve Spurrier. I’ve said that a million times. … But Paul Dietzel won a national championship [at LSU], and he couldn’t do it [at South Carolina]. Lou Holtz won a national championship [at Notre Dame], and he couldn’t do it. Those are all facts.”
The wily Holtz lifted the Gamecocks from 0-11 in 1999 to 8-4 in 2000 and 9-3 in 2001, beating Georgia twice running. But Holtz still retired with a losing record in his six South Carolina seasons, which would indicate there’s a ceiling on what even the absolute best can achieve.
But here’s this from Holtz: “I absolutely think Steve Spurrier can win the SEC. It’s very difficult to take a program at the bottom and win a championship with it, but we made it respectable. … They have an excellent stadium, good facilities and championship fans. I’ve talked to Steve, and he thinks he can do it. And he’s already beaten Tennessee and beaten Florida, and he could possibly beat Georgia Saturday night.”
And what of his ESPN colleague’s skepticism? “If you go check Lee’s record,” Holtz said, “I think you’ll find it’s not 100 percent.”
On this issue, however, Corso has it right. It’s one thing to pick off Tennessee or Florida or Georgia in a given season, quite another to do it with regularity. Spurrier has coached as well at South Carolina as he ever did in Gainesville, but this has enabled him to go 7-5 and 8-5, not the 9-2 and 10-2 of his first two Florida seasons. (FYI, the Gamecocks have only had one 10-win season — Joe Morrison did it in 1984.)
Back to Louisiana-Lafayette. At Florida, Spurrier’s teams would win that sort of game 62-14. South Carolina won 28-14 and needed a defensive stop to do it. Said Spurrier: “I was hoping we were past that kind of game. We’re not past it the way we’ve been playing. … We’ll try to fix it, but maybe we’ll figure out that this is the best we can do and we are what we are.”
Also this: “We stopped Wofford [in a 27-20 victory last season], and we stopped Louisiana-Lafayette, but I hope one day we won’t have to depend on a goal-line stand to win that kind of game.”
Much has been made of Spurrier’s latest recruiting class, adjudged the nation’s seventh-best by Scout.com. But it must be noted that four SEC schools were still rated ahead of South Carolina, and that at least half the league’s entries possess a tradition the Gamecocks conspicuously lack. As defensive end Eric Norwood, who’s from North Cobb High but who grew up in Texas, said: “I’d never heard of South Carolina.”
Asked what his perception of South Carolina was when he was coaching Florida, Spurrier said: “Our view was like everybody else’s — they were a little bit above Kentucky and Vandy [in the SEC East] and not quite on the level of Tennessee and Florida and Georgia. That’s about where we’ve been and who we were.”
About here, another coach would have fallen back on his Talking Points — we’re changing all that, we’re bound for glory, et cetera. Spurrier being Spurrier, he took the unvarnished tack. “Heck, Kentucky finished ahead of us last year,” he said. “So maybe they’re being viewed as ahead of us.”
This doesn’t mean Spurrier is conceding anything: If all else fails, there’s always the chance the Evil Genius will conjure up something. (He’s the best seat-of-the-pants coach ever.) But Corso’s point — that you don’t scheme your way to the SEC title — figures to be borne out over time. Owing to Spurrier’s magnetism, South Carolina has begun to accumulate good players. Florida, Georgia and Tennessee amass great players as a matter of course. Not coincidentally, the Gamecocks’ all-time record against those programs is 20-84-7.
“The first two years I tried to be realistic and talk about winning more games than we lost,” Spurrier said. “But then I started to think we had a chance to [win the SEC], and I put that in the back of my mind. And if we could manage to win this game on Saturday or some other games, we might have a chance. We’ll know a lot more about our team after the game Saturday.”
And that sounded optimistic enough. But only two minutes earlier, the cold-eyed Spurrier had said: “Maybe our best team is down the road.”
One game into the season that both he and the long-suffering legions of Gamecocks fans targeted as their time of arrival, the Ol’ Ball Coach is already wondering if he has the resources. And, just maybe, if Corso’s 400 years will be time enough.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Mark Bradley, UGA / SEC

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Gamecocks lineman declared ineligible

The Associated Press
Published on: 09/07/07 Columbia, S.C. — South Carolina defensive end Jordin Lindsay had an NCAA eligibility appeal turned down, meaning he won't be able to play this season.
Athletic department Steve Fink said Friday that Lindsey, a senior, would remain on scholarship with the team and would take this as a redshirt season.
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="175"></table> Lindsey, a 6-foot-3, 256-pound senior, started 15 of 25 games the last two years. He was the starter for South Carolina's final five games and recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass in the Liberty Bowl against Houston.
Lindsey did not play in South Carolina's season-opening 28-14 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette while awaiting a final decision on his academic status.
Lindsey's twin brother, linebacker Dustin, was placed back on scholarship this season. He had been declared academically ineligible after the 2005 season, reapplied for admission and worked with the scout team last fall.
Freshman defensive lineman Travian Robertson started at defensive end a week ago.

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Ellerbe pushes himself to make an impact

Georgia football

Dannell Ellerbe, left, had 11 tackles in the opener against Oklahoma State.
Kelly Lambert / Staff

By Marc Weiszer | Staff Writer | Story updated at 11:37 PM on Thursday, September 6, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>When Georgia linebackers coach John Jancek broke down game film on Sunday morning, he credited middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbe with 11 tackles.
That's four more than the official press box count gave to Ellerbe as the Bulldogs' leading tackler in the 35-14 win against Oklahoma State on Saturday in Georgia's opening game of the season. And it was four fewer than Ellerbe figures would have satisfied him.
"I was expecting about 15 tackles, a pick and a sack," Ellerbe said. "I was expecting big things, but I can live with it."
The first collegiate start for Ellerbe was productive, but it might have just scratched the surface for what's ahead for the junior from Hamlet, N.C.
"I didn't see anybody run through him," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "I saw a couple of stalemates. I saw him knocked back a couple of times. You want your (middle) linebacker to be a devastating tackler if you can, an intimidator, because a lot of times he will get freed up where he won't have to take on a block and can go hunt, so to speak.
"Dannell still has to improve on being able to run through people. He was a very sure tackler and played with a lot of enthusiasm."
Ellerbe has the raw tools to be an effective hunter in the middle of the defense for Georgia, which opens SEC play Saturday at home against South Carolina.
"He's very athletic, very smart and has tremendous speed," defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said. "You want to put a guy in the middle of the field who can run east and west."
Ellerbe's talent was apparent when he arrived on campus in 2004 and redshirted.
Two of the stars of the Georgia defense that season, linebacker Odell Thurman and defensive end David Pollack, wooed Ellerbe to take their jersey number when they left.
"Pollack wanted me to be 47, but I was like 'Man, I can't wear 47 around here,' " Ellerbe said. "It was between Odell and Pollack. They were in my ear all year about taking my number. I just picked Odell because I was with Odell all the time. He was like my brother."
Ellerbe's Georgia career started with a bang with an interception in the 2005 season opener against Boise State. He wound up playing in 10 games, making 15 tackles.
He was arrested in January 2006 for DUI after taking the car of a teammate without permission and crashing it into a tree on campus. On the field, he had a quiet sophomore season with seven tackles.
"I think before I do things now," Ellerbe said. "The first year I came and I did good things, but then I got hurt. The second year I was in the doghouse, and I didn't play that much and tried to gain the trust of the coaches. This year, hopefully, will be the year that I can show everybody what I can do."
Defensive tackle Jeff Owens is a believer.
"I've got faith in him," Owens said. "He's been here since I've been here. It's not like it was his first time stepping on the field. He has experience. I'm confident in him playing behind me as long as I keep the guards off him and let him make plays."
Ellerbe moved to middle linebacker this preseason when the linebackers shuffled positions but was back to his old weak-side linebacker spot for part of last Saturday's game when Darius Dewberry went out with cramps.
"I want to be wherever I can make plays," said Ellerbe, who had a sack and two quarterback pressures in the opener. "I can play both, as you can see, in the game. I'm comfortable at both positions. Either or."
No matter which final tackles tally you look at, Ellerbe made his presence felt wherever he lined up Saturday.
"I think it shows he was pretty active in there and was getting to the football, obviously," Jancek said. "Dannell has a lot of God-given talent. He's been blessed in that way. Right now he's going through a process of continuing to learn at that position and growing at that spot."

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 090707

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dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Screens help speedy Georgia playmakers find openings

Catch and burn

Georgia redshirt freshman Knowson Moreno led the Bulldogs in rushing with 73 yards against Oklahoma State. Moreno also caught two passes for 51 yards.
David Manning / Staff

By Marc Weiszer | Staff Writer | Story updated at 12:02 AM on Wednesday, September 5, 2007
<mcc story=""> </mcc>Mikey Henderson is a proven weapon as a punt returner. At 5-foot-10 and 156 pounds, the speedy Georgia senior can turn into a blur when he finds some open space.
The same holds true with Henderson in the passing game.
Georgia took advantage of the shifty skills of Henderson and powerful running style of redshirt freshman Tony Wilson with a steady diet of quick screens Saturday and watched the receivers roll up the yardage after the catch.
"On offense, we love space," Henderson said. "On defense, they hate space. They want to keep everything close and tight. If we can get the ball outside running away from them, that's the best."
 <table align="left" width="340"><tbody><tr><td> MULTIMEDIA

AUDIO: Listen as sports editor John Kaltefleiter talks with Joe Person, Gamecocks beat writer for The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., on the upcoming game Saturday:

Download this podcast

</P>

</script></P> -->

VIDEO: Watch video as Georgia coach Mark Richt and quarterback Matthew Stafford talk about last week's win and what to expect this Saturday against the Gamecocks:

</div></td></tr></tbody></table>  All of those short passes to the perimeter helped Georgia rack up more than 170 of its 234 passing yards after the catch in its 35-14 victory over Oklahoma State. It was the highest percentage coach Mark Richt could remember for his team. Receivers coach John Eason said the team has reached that many yards before, but not in recent seasons.
"They're using our speed to our advantage," said Wilson, a Florida high school 200-meter track champion who said he was credited with 27 yards after the catch. "They're basically telling us we're going to outrun the dude that's over the inside receiver. Basically, that's a linebacker. They're basically saying if we can't outrun a linebacker, then something's wrong."
The weekly team goal for Georgia, which hosts South Carolina Saturday, is 100 yards after the catch and 150 yards after contact.
"If you can get in space, you can make things happen," said Henderson, who had three catches for 28 yards. "That was our philosophy, trying to get out in space no matter how - screens, quick screens, little bubbles out to the running backs - trying to get outside and make them miss." Oklahoma State coaches counted 22 missed tackles Saturday accounting for more than 160 Georgia yards.
"Most of the big plays on the screens were caused by the corners getting out of position," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "I think they've got some good players out there on the perimeter to make some plays. I thought it was a nice plan on their part to get the ball thrown out there. You don't have to protect and you take some heat off the offensive line." That was part of the thinking on Georgia's part. The screens lightened the load on an inexperienced offensive line that had three new starters.
"Up front we weren't protecting all that well really," Richt said. "We had to do some things to take some pressure off that bunch." Quarterback Matthew Stafford possesses such a rocket of an arm that offensive coordinator Mike Bobo last year labeled him "Howitzer." The Bulldogs, it turns out, can also inflict some serious damage with Stafford firing off what's equivalent to BBs: screen passes that let fleet-footed playmakers run for yardage after the catch.
"I definitely think it will be effective all season," receiver Sean Bailey said. "It's an added dimension. They're not going to be able to focus on just one thing. We have several different threats we can throw at different teams."
On different weeks, against different coverages and blitz packages, the vertical passing game may suit Georgia better.
"There was some stuff that we liked that we thought the flats would be open," Stafford said. "There are other teams we're going to face that are going to give us the same kind of looks." Hitting a couple of deep balls to Bailey will open up passes underneath, too, Stafford said.
"When you throw some of those screens you need a guy that will get yards after contact," Richt said. "If you do that, you'll get 3, 4, 5 yards. Shoot, if you hand it off to your back and get four or five yards, you're pretty happy. Those screens don't necessarily have to go a long way." The little chunks of yards add up and keep the chains moving.
"They basically tell us to catch it and stick it and get how many yards I can," Wilson said. "I knew I could use my size and my speed to get a couple of extra yards."

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 090507

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OnlineAthens.com | DogBytes | Football | Screens help speedy Georgia playmakers find openings 09/05/07

dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="arttitle"> Bulldogs Take On South Carolina To Open SEC Season </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218);" valign="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="left" valign="middle"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"> <tbody><tr> <td class="articlecopy" align="left" valign="top"> Courtesy: UGA Sports Communications
</td> <td class="articlecopy" align="left" valign="top"> </td> <td class="articlecopy" align="center" valign="top"> Release: 09/03/2007
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td align="right" valign="middle"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr> <td class="articlecopy" align="center" valign="middle">
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</td> <td class="articlecopy"> UGA vs. USC Complete Game Notes (.pdf) </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td class="B" valign="top">
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Photo Credit: Radi Nabulsi
Knowshon Moreno <form> <input title="Buy This Photo" style="background-color: transparent;" value="Buy Photo" onclick="goPtp('moreno 2142.JPG','moreno 2142.JPG','Radi Nabulsi','/pics8/250/JG/JGTOLIBAFTVICGL.20070902014554.JPG','/pics8/0/JG/JGTOLIBAFTVICGL.20070902014554.JPG','')" type="button"> </form>
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Another Bulldog-Gamecock SEC Opener
South Carolina has been Georgia’s first conference opponent of the season since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992. This matchup continues Saturday, and the Bulldogs are 11-4 in these games. In the six years Mark Richt has been at the helm of the Bulldog program, five times Georgia has opened the SEC season with a win over the Gamecocks. That has led to three appearances in the SEC Championship game and two SEC titles. Following South Carolina’s win over Georgia in 2001, the Gamecocks finished with a 9-3 record including a win over Ohio State in the Outback Bowl.
Four of the six games between the two teams since 2001 have been decided by six points or less, with Georgia winning each of these tight ones in the series. The last such nail-biter came here in 2005 as Georgia held on for a 17-15 victory. Georgia overcame a 9-7 halftime deficit as Thomas Brown finished with a career-high 144 yards on 20 carries. South Carolina (1-0) won its 2007 opener last Saturday, 28-14 over Louisiana-Lafayette. Cory Boyd ran for a pair of TDs and backup quarterbacks Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher each threw a TD pass. Suspended starting quarterback Blake Mitchell is slated to return for the Georgia game.
Inside The Numbers
The Bulldogs own an all-time Sanford Stadium record of 296-102-1. With last Saturday’s 35-14 victory over Oklahoma State, Georgia has won its season opener 11 consecutive years.
The Bulldogs, under the leadership of Richt, are 33-6 at home and 62-17 overall. The first loss in the Richt era came to South Carolina here in game two of the 2001 season. However since that 14-9 defeat, Georgia is 5-0 against the Gamecocks. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 44-13-2.
Georgia’s 18-0 win at USC last year was the first SEC road shutout by the Bulldogs since 1982.
2006 Flashback: UGA 18, South Carolina 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. --- Georgia’s defense pitched a shutout in honor of Erk Russell and Brandon Coutu’s three field goals helped the Bulldogs blank South Carolina 18-0 in front of 82,513 fans and an ESPN television audience.
A day after the death of Russell, the longtime Georgia defensive coordinator, the Bulldogs held South Carolina out of the end zone. The Gamecocks gained 255 yards but missed a field goal and were stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1- and 2-yard lines during the contest. In honor of Russell, the Bulldogs wore a black “ERK” emblem on the back of their helmets.
The shutout was Georgia’s first since a 30-0 win at Clemson to start the 2003 season. The only other time a Steve Spurrier team was held without points came during his first year as a college coach in 1987, when Duke lost 7-0 to Rutgers.

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dirty · Sep 7, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

http://www.georgiadogs.com/pdf1/83630.pdf?ATCLID=1207014&SPSID=60598&SPID=3571&DB_OEM_ID=8800

dirty · Sep 18, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="arttitle"> Georgia Football Practice Notes: September 18, 2007 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218);" valign="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="left" valign="middle"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"> <tbody><tr> <td class="articlecopy" align="left" valign="top"> Courtesy: UGA Sports Communications
</td> <td class="articlecopy" align="left" valign="top"> </td> <td class="articlecopy" align="center" valign="top"> Release: 09/18/2007
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Photo Credit: Steven Colquitt
Matthew Stafford <form> <input title="Buy This Photo" style="background-color: transparent;" value="Buy Photo" onclick="goPtp('stafford0027.jpg','stafford0027.jpg','Steven Colquitt','/pics/250/AK/AKZIKXWKCRCMFPZ.20070814204320.jpg','/pics/0/AK/AKZIKXWKCRCMFPZ.20070814204320.jpg','')" type="button"> </form>
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ATHENS, Ga. --- The No. 22-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (2-1, 0-1 SEC) practiced in full pads for approximately two and a half hours on Tuesday afternoon to prepare for their key match-up with No. 16 Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC) this Saturday evening in Tuscaloosa.
"Tuesdays are always key, and we had a good session today," head coach Mark Richt said.
Richt also announced the captains for this weekend's game, with center Fernando Velasco and quarterback Matthew Stafford serving as offensive captains, defensive tackle Jeff Owens on defense and linebacker Brandon Miller for special teams.
Richt discussed this weekend's game in depth during his weekly press conference earlier on Tuesday.
"I think our guys are getting excited for another SEC opponent," Richt said. "I think hearing that the ESPN Gameday crew will be there got them excited also, knowing that the whole country will be focused on our game. Also for us to have an early game last Saturday and then be able to go home and watch what happened in the Alabama-Arkansas game really got our guys excited about the great challenge that lies ahead of us."
Georgia will take on Alabama on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:45 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN. All Georgia games are broadcast live on the Bulldog Radio Network on AM 750 WSB in Atlanta and on both 106.1 FM and 960 The Ref in Athens. The radio audio also can be heard worldwide on both georgiadogs.com, the official website of UGA Athletics, and on XM Satellite Radio.

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dirty · Sep 18, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="arttitle"> Georgia Football Practice Notes: September 17, 2007 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218);" valign="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="left" valign="middle"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"> <tbody><tr> <td class="articlecopy" align="left" valign="top"> Courtesy: UGA Sports Communications
</td> <td class="articlecopy" align="left" valign="top"> </td> <td class="articlecopy" align="center" valign="top"> Release: 09/17/2007
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350k </td> <td class="odd"> Video Practice Notes: September 17, 2007 </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="sm" align="left"> <script language="JAVASCRIPT" type="text/javascript">  </script> <table style="border: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218);" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr> <td><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="165"> <tbody><tr> <td class="photocopy">

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Photo Credit: Steven Colquitt
Head Coach Mark Richt <form> <input title="Buy This Photo" style="background-color: transparent;" value="Buy Photo" onclick="goPtp('richt2332.JPG','richt2332.JPG','Steven Colquitt','/pics2/250/LV/LVESTTYVXMPQAIQ.20070904001705.JPG','/pics2/0/LV/LVESTTYVXMPQAIQ.20070904001705.JPG','')" type="button"> </form>
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ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia football team began preparations for its first road game of the season by working out for 90 minutes on Monday at the Woodruff Practice Fields. The 22nd-ranked Bulldogs are 2-1 overall (0-1 in the SEC) and are coming off a 45-16 win against Western Carolina. No. 16 Alabama, the Bulldogs' opponent this week, is 3-0 (2-0 in the SEC) following victories against Western Carolina, Vanderbilt and Arkansas.
"We had a good practice today," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "I thought the guys showed a lot of life, a lot of energy. We are excited about the challenge we have this week."
Earlier Monday, defensive tackle Jeff Owens was named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week. Owens had a career-high five total tackles, including two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble against the Catamounts.
Georgia will take on Alabama on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:45 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN. All Georgia games are broadcast live on the Bulldog Radio Network on AM 750 WSB in Atlanta and on both 106.1 FM and 960 The Ref in Athens. The radio audio also can be heard worldwide on both georgiadogs.com, the official website of UGA Athletics, and on XM Satellite Radio.

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dirty · Sep 18, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Spying in football a tradition

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/19/07 Athens — Back in the early '80s when Georgia was rolling and Florida was just rolling over, every advantage possible was trying to be gained by the latter over the former.
To that end, a clandestine trip took place. Two Gators graduate assistants were sent to Athens to get a peek at Georgia's practice. The pair never fell into the view of Georgia coach Vince Dooley and never was caught red-handed.
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="175"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td class="body">RELATED STORIES

• More UGA coverage
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr class="railscreen01"><td>Your Turn</td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <script language="javascript"> function clickVote() { document.pollForm.buttonClicked.value = "yes"; document.pollForm.PageId.value = "poll_vote_submit"; document.pollForm.submit(); } function alert1(){ document.pollForm.buttonClicked.value = ""; } </script> <form method="post" action="/poll/poll/poll/take_poll/PollRefresh.jsp" name="pollForm"> <input name="PageId" value="poll_vote_submit" type="hidden"> <input name="pollID" value="18517" type="hidden"> <input name="page" value="take" type="hidden"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="100%"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Do you think Mark Richt's decision to close practices will make a difference in Saturday's game at Alabama? [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> <td align="right" height="15" width="46">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="55134" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Yes [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="55135" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] No [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2">
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[FONT=arial,helvetica][SIZE=-2]Voter Limit: Once per Hour
View Poll Results [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </form> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> That is until the Al Capone-like bookkeeping of the Florida athletics department came under scrutiny. During an NCAA probe into all things illegal, a transgression was discovered.
The two graduate assistants had used the regular coaches IDs in an attempt to recoup expenses. That was the only way the spying incident was uncovered. In fact, in all there were 13 spying incidents by Florida uncovered from 1980-82, according to NCAA records.
"[Spying] is nothing new," Dooley said. "It's just there is more awareness now because of what happened [with New England's Bill Belichick]."
Georgia football has reached DEFCON status this week. For the first time in his career, coach Mark Richt has shut down practice from all prying eyes. He said he's not sure the policy will continue the rest of the season, but that if it were solely up to him, it would.
Whether it is a bunker mentality remains to be seen. "We wanted some privacy," Richt said. "I think probably we are always concerned every week about people watching practice."
But this week Georgia decided to do something about it. And this week Georgia just happens to be playing Alabama, whose coach just happens to have worked for Belichick. Belichick was fined by the NFL for spying in a game two Sundays ago.
"You just don't know what can come out," Richt said. "We wanted to get it as tight as we could get it."
Richt was asked Tuesday if he believed another team had knowledge of his plays before the game. The coach avoided that direct line of questioning and instead offered this:
"Everybody is a little bit paranoid that a little bit of information is getting out that could make a difference," he said.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford was asked if he felt the defense was tipped off on the fourth-and-2 play that failed miserably against South Carolina and said, "I don't know."
As far as any other underhanded tactics: "I haven't experienced it too much in college, people being all over plays over and over again," Stafford said. "They might get lucky once."
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier intimated after the game that the failed fourth-down play needed to be thrown away and that he had seen it years before.
As for an opponent coming in and watching practice, Richt highly doubts that would happen.
"I would be shocked," Richt said. "You would have to hire somebody to go and act like he is somebody else, and I don't think they would do that."
Oh, really?
"I know from an experience standpoint because I served as chairman of the [American Football Coaches Association] ethics committee for many years," Dooley said. "We have had coaches and schools before our committee, some of whom were accused and not found guilty and others that were accused and found guilty for illegally watching practice."
In one case, coaches were stashed on the eighth floor of the school library, watching practice and writing down plays.
Sometimes, people who don't mean to hurt the program, and even some from within the program, might say something they learned to a friend that could wind up helping the other team.
"I have done some things or planned some things and ended up not using it, thinking that when I was planning it, so-and-so could have been watching," Richt said.
At Southern Cal, the nation's top program, everybody watches every practice.
"Why not?" USC spokesman Tim Tessalone said when asked about having practices open. "[Head coach Pete Carroll] embraces having media, family, friends USC supporters, local community, VIPs at practices.
"We play in front of 92,000 every Saturday, so having anywhere from several dozen to several hundred people at practice each day isn't a distraction," Tessalone said. "It helps with our focus, actually. It is just what we do."
If Richt had USC's players, he might be the same way.
"Their guys are so good it just doesn't matter [if a spy sees practice]," Richt said. "That is part of the reason why."
Richt said Georgia's scores are so close — the 16-12 South Carolina score was one he pointed out — that winning and losing is decided by a much narrower margin.
"A lot of times it is one play," Richt said. "If they get a one-play advantage it could cost you.
"The reality is, it is big," Richt said. "What we do is big. People care, and winning and losing has a profound effect on people's careers and everything else, and sometimes it's a case of loose lips sink ships."

dirty · Sep 18, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

GEORGIA REPORT
Too many receivers no problem for Richt

By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/19/07 Athens — Through three games this season, nine Georgia receivers have caught passes.
Coach Mark Richt thinks it's just about right.
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="175"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td class="body">RELATED STORIES

• More UGA coverage
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> "We might need to boil it down to six or seven, but I'd rather just let them roll in and out of there," Richt said. "I think if you have enough guys there that are talented enough that will make plays and will block and do all the things you need to do, then just roll them.
"You try to have a set rotation and not sub for too many situations. But you want to try to stay fresh at all positions."
A possible downside of that philosophy is not establishing bona fide "go-to" guys. Asked who Georgia's might be, Richt cited Sean Bailey, Mikey Henderson and Mohamed Massaquoi, the principle starters at the Bulldogs three wideout positions. And they are 1, 2 and 3 on Georgia's receiving list, with 11, eight and six catches, respectively.
But the Bulldogs continue to struggle with drops. Against South Carolina, they encountered critical drops late in the game by Michael Moore and Tony Wilson, young players who have played themselves into the rotation due to their play in practice.
Meanwhile, junior Demiko Goodman, who is coming off a knee injury, had two impressive receptions - including a diving catch for a touchdown - against Western Carolina, and Richt said he deserves more playing time.
"I think you want to stay fresh and you want to stay healthy at all positions without losing anything," Richt said. "I do believe we're as close as we've ever been to doing that."
Win would boost perception in SEC
Richt was asked if he thought the Bulldogs' reputation as an SEC power had taken a hit since they have lost five of their past seven league games, including five straight against East Division teams.
"I think winning would help," he said. "I think winning this game would really help. I don't know if perception is a big deal, but you've got to win and sometimes you've got to look good doing it."
Tight end Tripp Chandler probably put it best: "As far as having a pivotal game early on in the season, I don't think it's that much different from any other year. Just about any SEC game is a pivotal game for our team."
Linebackers earn more playing time
Akeem Dent is listed as the starter at strongside linebacker and ahead of Brandon Miller for the second week in a row. Linebackers coach John Jancek said Dent and Miller will compete this week for the starting job.
Also, Richt said middle linebacker Marcus Washington "played his best game for Georgia" this past weekend. "What's happening is we're gaining more depth there," Richt said. "We're finding more players that can play for us."
No live TV for Ole Miss game
Broadcast television has passed on next week's home game against Ole Miss. As a result, kickoff has been set for 1:07 p.m. Comcast Sports Southeast will air a delayed telecast of the game at 9 p.m. on Sept. 30.
Safety Johnson says he'll play vs. Tide
Starting strong safety Kelin Johnson (ribs), who claimed he was ready to play before the Western Carolina game, said he's definitely going to play against Alabama.

dirty · Sep 18, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Saban's impact not limited to field

Senior offensive lineman Chester Adams is the only player from Alabama on Georgia's roster.
File/Staff

By Marc Weiszer | marc.weiszer@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 11:16 PM on Monday, September 17, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>Back home this summer in Luverne, Ala., Georgia offensive lineman Chester Adams got a chance to take the temperature of a state in a fever pitch about the possibilities of what Nick Saban, a $4 million-a-year coach, could bring to Alabama.
From his Beatles-like arrival in Tuscaloosa in January to the record attendance at the Crimson Tide spring game, Saban has been received like some sort of savior.
"I heard a lot of people talking about it," Adams said. "How big that A-Game was and about how everybody was excited when his plane landed and they greeted him and everything. It was kind of crazy."
Adams grew up a "die-hard Alabama fan," played in high school for a former Crimson Tide head coach (Mike DuBose) and will play his first game at Bryant-Denny Stadium when No. 22 Georgia visits No. 16 Alabama at 7:45 p.m. Saturday. Georgia is the early 31/2-point underdog.
Adams is the only Alabama native on the Georgia roster, but two three-star offensive linemen from the state have committed for Georgia's 2008 class: Ben Jones from Centreville, Ala., and Jonathan Owens from Blountsville, Ala.
"It just runs in cycles," said Georgia recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner, a native of Leeds, Ala., who played and coached at Auburn.
"Alabama traditionally is a hard state to get kids out of. In the end, you always end up finishing second. You just have to see how it goes."
Former Georgia offensive coordinator Neil Callaway used to split recruiting in Alabama for Georgia, but Garner now is responsible for the state in which Georgia targets a select number of players each year.
"A lot of people think going to (recruit) Alabama is just a waste because everybody wants to go to Alabama or Auburn," Adams said. "We're going in there and getting some good talent. I've watched their videos and they look pretty good."
Saban's arrival could make landing top prospects from the state more difficult in years to come. The fruits of Saban's recruiting prowess were seen in the NFL Draft when four LSU players were selected in the first round including No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell and No. 6 selection LaRon Landry.
LSU currently has the No. 2 team in the nation with a roster that still includes players that Saban helped recruit to Baton Rouge before leaving for the NFL's Miami Dolphins after the 2004 season. ESPN analyst Todd Blackledge during Saturday's broadcast called Saban "as good a recruiter as there is in college football."
Saban's reputation was tarnished when he insisted that he would not leave the Dolphins for Alabama before he did just that. That doesn't appear to be an issue so far on the recruiting trail. Alabama currently is ranked seventh for its 2008 recruiting class by Rivals.com. Georgia is third.
Georgia coach Mark Richt isn't sure yet what Saban's impact might be on Georgia's recruiting. Former Bulldog defensive back and assistant coach Kirby Smart is on Saban's staff.
Georgia last week picked up a commitment from Bainbridge safety/quarterback Nick Williams who picked the Bulldogs over the Crimson Tide. Alabama has a commitment from Norcross athlete Devonta Bolton and Mountain Brook (Ala.) offensive lineman Tyler Love. Georgia recruited both.
"It's hard to say," Richt said. "Shoot, there's just X amount of kids out there and we're all going after them. Not everybody can get them all.
"I really think everybody's going to get their share of good players and have enough good players to win and that's going to be a matter of how you coach them and how fortunate you are when it comes to injuries and if one kid decides to stay instead of go pro - all those little things decide winning and losing."

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 091807

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OnlineAthens.com | DogBytes | Football | Saban's impact not limited to field 09/18/07

dirty · Sep 18, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Notebook: Richt bunkers it down

Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford will be seeking his second SEC road victory as a starter Saturday at Alabama.
David Manning / Staff

By Marc Weiszer | marc.weiszer@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 11:17 PM on Monday, September 17, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>The magnitude of Saturday's SEC clash against Alabama became even more apparent on Monday when Georgia coach Mark Richt shut down the entire week of practices to the media.
Practices are usually open during the first 25 to 30 minutes when the team stretches and typically works on special teams. Richt closed practices the Thursday before the opener against Oklahoma State as well.
"It's a big week," junior defensive tackle Jeff Owens said. "It's Alabama. The last time we played Alabama I was in 10th grade. It's going to be a big game this week."
Owens and quarterback Matthew Stafford said they didn't notice reporters and photographers being kept out.
"I wish I could just close it down completely, but it's kind of hard to do with our setup," said Richt in the preseason when talking about Virginia Tech limiting media access to its practices.
"I can understand why every coach would want to close everything that they do especially with the Internet."
While this is the first time that Richt has shut down an entire week of practices, former Georgia coaches Vince Dooley and Ray Goff have closed practices for an entire game week before, sports communications director Claude Felton said.
ESPN's GameDay headed for Alabama
The game will be have an increased national presence since ESPN's College GameDay will broadcast its two-hour Saturday morning show from Tuscaloosa.
"We know this is going to be the game of the week and there's going to be a lot of hype coming into this game," Owens said.
It's just the fifth time the teams have faced each other with both in the Top 25.
Alabama is riding high after its 41-38 win over Arkansas Saturday.
"Georgia is a good team and everybody knows that," Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson said. "The more we hang on this win, the worse it's going to be on our team."
Common opponent gives edge to Georgia
The talk from a team that has played both Alabama and Georgia already this season gives the Bulldogs an edge.
"Georgia is a little more skilled than Alabama," Western Carolina coach Kent Briggs said before Alabama beat Arkansas Saturday night. Western Carolina lost to Alabama 52-6 Sept. 1 and to Georgia 45-16 this past Saturday.
"Alabama was great, but Georgia was faster and stronger," Catamounts quarterback Todd Spitzer said.
Lineup update
Georgia's starting guards Monday were Clint Boling and Chris Davis with Trinton Sturdivant and Chester Adams at tackle, Davis said. Redshirt freshman Akeem Dent, who started Saturday, said he worked again at first-team strongside linebacker on Monday. Cornerback Bryan Evans, who sat out Saturday with a hyperextended knee, said players rotated with the starting unit at his position.
Ole Miss game set for 1 p.m.
There will be no live TV for the Sept. 29 Ole Miss game at Sanford Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. The game wasn't selected for the SEC's package that week. It will air on tape delay on CSS.
This and that
Tailback Kregg Lumpkin practiced Monday with a cast on his broken right thumb. Lumpkin is expected to play special teams this week and possibly could work in the backfield. He said he'll have to carry the ball exclusively with his left hand. ... Owens was named SEC defensive lineman of the week. Owens had a career-high five tackles, two for loss and forced a fumble in Saturday's 45-16 win against Western Carolina.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 091807

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dirty · Sep 18, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Linebackers still trying to find their way

<sw_photos> </sw_photos> By Ryan Lavner | sports@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 11:50 PM on Saturday, September 15, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>Dannell Ellerbe watched all of Western Carolina quarterback Todd Spitzer's hand signals, but that only made him more confused.
As Spitzer panned over to the Catamounts sideline to get the upcoming play, Ellerbe would swivel his head from side-to-side as he attempted to verbally reorganize his linebacking corps.
And that's where the problems began for Georgia's second level of defense.
Perplexed by the Catamounts' new no-huddle offense, communication breakdowns were plentiful by the first-team linebackers in the first half of Georgia's 45-16 win over the Catamounts. When messages were mixed, it appeared as if the Bulldogs defense was tossed around by a smaller Catamounts team.
What was a modest 6- or 7-yard gain for tailback Mike Malone could be a significant chunk of yardage for Alabama freshman tailback Terry Grant next week if the defensive issues aren't shored up.
"They had a little bit of a mental edge on us and we came out pretty flat to start," middle linebacker Marcus Washington said. "They went no-huddle on us and we were stumbling around trying to get the plays in."
The Catamounts exploited a jumbled rotation of seven linebackers to control the ball for 11:17 in the second quarter. A linebacker's version of musical chairs was no excuse for poor play, said linebacker Akeem Dent, who made his first start in place of senior Brandon Miller.
"If we play linebacker we feel like we should get in and get the job done, and every linebacker we put in can do that," Dent said.
To the defense's credit, the Catamounts only had three field goals and an after-the-fact touchdown against Georgia's third string.
"I thought they played well early on in the game," defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said. "I don't know what they did as far as stats, but they gave the offense a good chance to get the ball back."
The stats were there: Dent and Miller both led the team in tackles with six. The unit's cohesion, however, didn't consistently materialize.
"The guys need to communicate better as a team, and we were all just kind of messed up and we were just all bent on one person and one focus," said Miller, who didn't enter the defensive huddle until midway through the second quarter. "It was more of a lack of communication more than a few missed tackles and what not."
When Martinez was asked what concerned him most about his young defense as it prepares to play on the road in the SEC for the first time this season, he pointed to Georgia's lack of experience.
"Our youth (concerns me) going on the road for the first time and seeing how they're going to react and how they'll perform," he said.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 091607

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OnlineAthens.com | DogBytes | Football | Linebackers still trying to find their way 09/16/07

dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Weekend predictions: Alabama looks fishy

By Jeff Schultz | Thursday, September 20, 2007, 07:39 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jeff Schultz

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While the Georgia football team held top-secret practices this week because, as it turns out, that’s why they couldn’t knock anybody over in the South Carolina game, “Science” magazine reported some really shocking news last week.
Researchers at Tokyo University, which also can’t knock anybody over and yet somehow has eluded the SEC as a non-conference opponent, secretly used salmon as surrogate parents to hatch baby trout. This is a major scientific breakthrough, and great news for researchers in Flowery Branch, where they’re attempting to cross two cast-off quarterbacks in hopes of hatching season-ticket renewals. But I digest.
The Japanese scientists injected sperm-growing cells from rainbow trout into sterile Masu salmon, who, I’m guessing, were about to go the adoption route.
Which leads me back to our little Trembling Chihuahuas. They had closed practices this week. With any luck, they were held in Tokyo, because they need to be injected with a new personality.
They looked weak against South Carolina. They didn’t look much better against Western Carolina, which largely exists to make you look good.
Alabama is 3-0 under Nick Saban, who I’m fairly certain is the tragic result of crossing Pinocchio with snake sperm. He is a disciple of Bill Belichick. So you can understand why Mark Richt would suddenly be concerned about his practice turning into a YouTube production.
Nothing secret about the game: It’s ESPN’s GameDay.
But the result? Shocking! Salmon spawning trout! Dogs and Blocks, living together!
Take the 3 1/2. But the world learns: Bowsers in an upset.
Pros, Lies and Videotape
Panthers at Falcons: I don’t know why the Falcons wouldn’t let Byron Leftwich wear No. 7. Seems to me it would’ve been a great way to clear some inventory in the gift shop. Joey Harrington is a really a nice guy, but that’s not a warm embrace he’s about to feel. Carolina covers 4.
Chargers at Packers: Marty Schottenheimer got fired because he went 14-2 and lost to New England by a field goal in the playoffs. Norv Turner is 1-1 and just got drilled by the Patriots on national TV 38-14. As a head coach, he’s a pillow in Tombstone. But: Methinks L.T. goes nutso this game: Chargers win and cover the 41/2.
Lions at McNabb: Let me say that I believe I’m being edited differently because I’m not Presbyterian. Eagles win, but take Detroit and 6 1/2.
Colts at Texans: Matt Schaub is 2-0. I know, but it’s market correction week in Houston: Colts cover 6.
Bills at Patriots: Roger Goodell didn’t suspend Belichick and took some heat. So now he’s backtracking and wants to see more videotapes. What next, dust for prints? You’ve got a better chance still finding somebody on the grassy knoll. Pats win, but I invoke the NFL/two-TD rule: Take the Bills and 16 1/2.
Titans at Saints: Is it just me or was Reggie Bush better when he was lying about his parents living illegally in a free house? Saints cover 41/2.
Semi-pros, Lies and Videotape
Yech again: It’s one thing to lose to Boston College. It’s another to get completely waxed on your home field (total yardage: 527-267?) by a team you were favored to beat. But then it wouldn’t be a Chan Gailey team if it all made sense. Lose at Virginia, and the Clemson game suddenly becomes the plug in the drain. Tech covers 3.
Florida at Mississippi: Something you may not know: The Gators have lost three straight games in Mississippi. I figure this will go down in history, like the fact Custer actually ducked a few arrows. Florida covers 23.
Poultry at LSU: Steve Spurrier said this week, “I don’t want our guys to go down there with false belief that we have a great chance to win this game.” Know the difference between that and the doomsday talk of Georgia week? This time he’s right. If they don’t hyperventilate, Tigers cover 16 1/2.
Arkansas State at Tennessee: The Vowels ran for 37 yards in Gainesville. Now, if Phil Fulmer actually ran 37 yards, that would be something. (Thank you. Try the veal.) Tennessee wins, but the line’s too big. Hey, 19 (and a half), we can dance together.
Kentucky at Arkansas: If Rich Brooks wants another contract extension, he had better push for it soon because Andre Woodson’s leaving in January. Kentucky 3-0? And they haven’t even played Georgia yet! Enough: Arkansas covers 6 1/2.

PROFIT MARGIN

In summation: Slimski
Last week: 7-4 straight up, 5-4-2 against the line
Quarterly report: 20-9 straight up, 16-10-3 against the line (Totals have been adjusted to reflect a loss erroneously credited to win total last week, thanks to alert readers who clearly have no life, no job and no purpose other than to give me grief, which is amazing considering we’re not related. Also, as clarification spread “pushes” are credited as ties, because, dude, I’m not Vito the Bookie and that’s the way they do it in Vegas, less the “juice.” )
Permalink | Comments (122) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC, UGA / SEC

dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

UGA FOOTBALL
Georgia ready for pass game to take over

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/21/07 Athens — As far as debates go, the one between Demiko Goodman and Matthew Stafford can at least come to a reasonable and conclusive conclusion.
The topic is easy enough: Which can go farther faster —the ball out of Stafford's hand or the feet at the end of Goodman's legs.
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="175"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td class="body">RELATED STORIES

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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> "Stafford's got an arm, but I am confident in my speed," Goodman said.
"I can probably out-throw him," Stafford countered.
The only way to find out is to test it out. Georgia might do exactly that Saturday against Alabama.
"We need to take more shots than we do sometimes," Georgia coach Mark Richt said about the vertical passing game. "You want to sustain the drive. You don't want second-and-10. But sometimes you have to open it up. We need to do it more than we have."
The Crimson Tide (3-0) are 23rd nationally in pass efficiency defense. But then again they haven't exactly played very stout passing offenses, with the possible exception of Vanderbilt. The Commodores managed only 175 passing yards against the Tide.
Georgia has taken a few shots downfield to date. Sean Bailey hauled in the longest pass of the season, a 47-yarder against Oklahoma State. The second-longest pass play of the season was a 35-yard screen pass to Knowshon Moreno.
Joe Cox hit Goodman for a 34-yard touchdown against a clearly overmatched Western Carolina defense.
This week will present more of a challenge and a chess match.
"Most good defenses are going to stop your run first and do what they can do," Richt said. "To do that, most people try to outnumber your run game and that puts your perimeter in more of a one-on-one situation.
"If you don't do anything to threaten that situation and you don't make plays to make them think twice about playing that single coverage, you are done," Richt said.
What Georgia has not done is threaten too many corners. The Bulldogs have used a short passing game so as not to put too much pressure on the young offensive line. In addition, Bailey had been the only serious vertical threat.
But now the line has to put it on the line. Also, Goodman, who tore his ACL in the 10th game of the season last year, is close to 100 percent and ready to contribute.
"One of the things that we were concerned about was having people who can get by people on the field," wide receivers coach John Eason said. "We knew that [Goodman] could run. We knew that he could stretch the field. It was just a matter of being healthy."
And not spending too much time trying to fake out defensive backs.
"He was always trying to give moves, and the other day before he got the touchdown [vs. Western Carolina] I told him to just run, no moves, run," Eason said.
That is advice Goodman and the offense will have to continue to heed if they want to stretch the field and have a chance against Alabama.
"As an offense you always need big plays," Goodman said. "You can grind with Thomas [Brown]. You can run with Thomas. You can throw the short route. But I think big plays are always a great thing to do. I think we are going to stretch it out and I think we are going to do well offensively the rest of the season."
If so, then Georgia would finally get to fully utilize Stafford's arm. The sophomore has one of the stronger arms in college football but has rarely been able to showcase it in his 16 games. Stafford had one pass play for more than 50 yards last season, a 53-yarder to A.J. Bryant.
"I like trying to make plays and doing that kind of stuff," Stafford said. "We will have some chances this week like you do every week."
Georgia's chances may be improved because of the Alabama man coverage.
"I think there are going to be a lot of opportunities," Goodman said. "It's going to be us and the [defensive backs] and we've got to see who makes a play."
"We are really capable," Bailey said. "Given some opportunities, we will make the big plays. As a receiver, hearing the head coach say that [going vertical] is something he wants to do and he is going to put emphasis on in practice, it is encouraging."

dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Which teams will show up?

By Bill King | Friday, September 21, 2007, 08:45 AM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In talking with other UGA fans this week about Saturday’s game against the Crimson Tide, the one constant has been that none of them had a sure feel for how the game will go.
All of their assessments were preceded by a lot of ifs. If Georgia can run against Alabama like Arkansas did … (of course, we don’t have the Razorbacks’ offensive line, not to mention Darren McFadden). Or if Georgia can get its long passing game going against Nick Saban’s man coverage (and IF our receivers hold on to the ball). And so on.
But the basic comment most Dawg fans have made is that it depends on WHICH Georgia team shows up … the one that plays up to its capabilities or the one we saw in the South Carolina game and the first quarter against Western Carolina.
Interestingly, I’ve found the same lack of certainty among Bama fans. They feel good about the game if the team that got off to a fast start against Arkansas shows up. But if Bama plays like it did in the second half against the Razorbacks …
The oddsmakers have installed the Tide as the favorite, but only by a field goal. Even they don’t have a strong feeling about the outcome of this game.
History is against the Dawgs since Georgia has won only one time out of seven visits to Tuscaloosa. (A little homecooking by officials played a part in a couple of those.) But that lone Georgia win was the last time we were there, in 2002, when fans (and UGA alum Pat Dye) were similarly unsure about what to expect from the Bulldogs.
And recent history (late last season) shows that the Dawgs are capable of beating anyone when least expected. Most observers feel Georgia has more talent and speed while Bama has a more confident and experienced team. But it’s a team coming off an emotional and bruising come-from-behind win.
This is just the kind of matchup that makes college football great.
Go Dawgs!
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dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

GEORGIA REPORT
Two freshmen to start on UGA O-Line again

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/21/07 Athens — Once again, Georgia will go with two true freshmen on the offensive line.
Only this week Clint Boling and Trinton Sturdivant will have to face Alabama, not Western Carolina.
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="175"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td class="body"> RELATED STORIES

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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> "None of those freshmen should be playing, to be honest with you," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "But they are."
Before last week Richt had never started two true freshmen on the line. Before last week Georgia had not started two true freshmen on the offensive line since at least 1945.
Sturdivant has started the entire season at left tackle. Richt said his athleticism has allowed him to stick with blocks, but he does not have the strength to take on bull-rush blocks. Boling will start at guard in place of Scott Haverkamp. Last week Boling started at right tackle in place of Chester Adams.
"I would like all those guys to have a year or two under their belt before they have to start doing what they are doing," Richt said. "So far [Boling] has been strong enough to handle the physicality of the game."
Georgia will also take true freshman Justin Anderson to Alabama in case there are injuries and he is needed. The Bulldogs would like to redshirt Anderson.
Bulldogs get earful of 'Bama fight song
For those Georgia players who didn't know the Alabama fight song earlier this week, no doubt they are familiar with it by now.
They probably could hum right along with it, too. That's because Alabama's fight song was piped into Sanford Stadium Thursday to simulate the crowd noise Georgia might encounter in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"[The noise] is a concern," Richt said.
That's why even when Georgia wasn't within earshot of the speakers of Sanford Stadium, the offense employed other methods to prepare for the noise of Bryant-Denny Stadium, such as having quarterback Matthew Stafford whisper his calls.
"They are going to be living through something they have never been through," Richt said of his offense. "[Stafford] is the guy that really has to be able to handle that situation, and at least he has had a taste of it so it won't be a complete shock to his system. But he will have to handle it."
Even though Stafford has played at South Carolina, at Auburn and in Jacksonville, he has never played in an opponent's stadium as large as Bryant-Denny (92,138).
Johnson urges team to learn from errors
Correcting mistakes requires forgetting the past, safety Kelin Johnson said.
"I think we get down on ourselves sometimes," Johnson said. "I believe that if we just learn to keep having fun we will forget about the mistakes that we make. If you are having fun it outweighs everything that you do on Saturday."
But forgetting the past is not easy, as Georgia found out when it stepped onto the field and was less than spectacular for the first quarter against Western Carolina.
"If you lose, you think about what you could have done to win that game," Johnson said. "If you just focus on what you need to do to get better and learn from mistakes, you will get better."
Washington back in middle of things
It didn't appear, for a time at least, that Marcus Washington would make it back from his ACL injury.
Turned out the junior middle linebacker made it back just in time.
"About the first or second scrimmage I was just watching him move and make plays, and it gave you a lot of encouragement," Richt said.
Washington, who missed the final two games last year because of his knee injury, will start his first game at Georgia.
"Now we got that wide body in there plugging up all those holes," joked linebacker Dannell Ellerbe.
Washington isn't the most svelte-looking player at his position linebacker and struggle awhile with his weight while injured. But he has 12 tackles and a sack in three games this season. And his play has been strong enough for the coaches to move Ellerbe back to the weakside linebacker spot.
"For him to play as well as he has has been great for him," Richt said.
No decision has been made on the starter at strongside. Brandon Miller or Akeem Dent could get the start. Dent started last week and is listed as the starter on the depth chart.

dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

UGA FOOTBALL
Wilson coolly fills need as Alabama QB

By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/20/07 Tuscaloosa, Ala. — He starred down the road at Hoover High.
His mother was an Alabama cheerleader during the undefeated national championship run of 1979. He has longish, light brown hair with sweeping bangs that reach down to his eyes.
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Butch Dill / AP

(ENLARGE)

</td></tr><tr><td class="caption">Against Arkansas, John Parker Wilson led Alabama on a 73-yard, game-winning drive in the closing moments.
</td></tr><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td class="body"> RELATED STORIES

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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> He uses all three of his given names.
That John Parker Wilson could become a favorite son of the Crimson Tide Nation was already evident before last Saturday, when the quarterback led Alabama to a come-from-behind 41-38 win over Arkansas at Bryant-Denny Stadium. There was 8 seconds left when Wilson hit senior receiver Matt Caddell on a 4-yard game-winner.
Now, as undefeated and 16th-ranked Alabama (3-0, 2-0 SEC) prepares for Saturday's visit from Georgia, Wilson has acquired certified stellar status.
"He's just cool," Caddell said. "Off the field, he's real cool, real laid back. Fun to be around."
Wilson was the life of the party on the field this past Saturday. Alabama trailed 38-34 with 2:13 remaining and 73 yards to go.
"Everybody was so cool and composed," Wilson recalled this week. "Nobody seemed nervous or caught up in the moment at all."
A lot of that had to do with Wilson, his teammates said.
"He's got all the pressure on his back because he's the quarterback at Alabama," freshman tailback Terry Grant said. "But he's cool with it. He's a cool guy. Calm, very focused. You can tell by the way he handled himself Saturday night."
Jogging out to the field for that final drive, Wilson and Caddell were seen chatting. "I was like, 'JP, we can move the ball down the field on these guys,' " Caddell said.
Recalled Wilson: "I said, 'Matt, let's go score a touchdown.' I didn't know it was actually going to be him."
It was.
Alabama faced third-and-1 at the 4. Caddell ran to the back of the end zone, then, tightly covered, cut left along the back line. Wilson's pass came in high over Caddell's left shoulder and just over the outstretched arms of Arkansas' Jamar Love for the touchdown.
Pandemonium ensued. Bryant-Denny was rocking.
"It was a pretty easy catch, really," Caddell said. "JP put it where nobody else could get it."
Georgia's coaches were impressed.
"You know, I hadn't really studied him that much, but I did watch him in that ballgame and he really handled himself extremely well," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "When bad things happened, he weathered the storm very well, and I think that's pretty important for a quarterback."
It was a perfect ending to an imperfect night for Wilson. He finished with 327 yards on 24-of-45 passing with four touchdowns, but he also threw two picks, was sacked twice and fumbled. His mistakes helped Arkansas come back from an early 31-10 deficit.
"We did some good things in the passing game but those turnovers could have cost us the game," he said.
Wilson's assessment echoed that of his no-nonsense coach.
"There were a couple of throws he'd like to have back. But he made a lot of good throws in the game, made a lot of plays, handled the blitz well," Nick Saban said. "I thought overall he managed the game well. He got us into the right plays for the most part. We want his focus to remain on continuing to improve and feeling more and more comfortable and confident in our offense."
Wilson appears to be doing just that. That's why he is, in large part, being credited for putting the "roll" back in the Tide offense. They come into Saturday's game against Georgia averaging 465 yards and 39 points a contest.
Alabama already had the offensive pieces it needed in place when Saban made his heralded arrival from Miami and the NFL earlier this year. DJ Hall, who surpassed Ozzie Newsome as the Tide's all-time leading receiver this past week, is a big-play threat. Wideouts Caddell and Mike McCoy have proved reliable mid-range targets. And now the Tide is getting 134 yards a game from the freshman Grant at tailback.
In front of them is a veteran offensive line that features an All-America candidate in sophomore tackle Andre Smith, an All-SEC center and two other seniors.
Now it appears they have the quarterback they've been longing for since Jay Barker left in 1994.
Wilson, for one, is not buying into the hype.
"It's still early, and I think that's the way we're looking at it," he said. "It's only the fourth game and we have a lot of football left. We can't hang on or get too caught up in this win and get ready for Georgia."

dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Caddell becomes quiet Crimson hero

Alabama receiver Matt Caddell, right, catches the game-winning touchdown over Arkansas defender Jamar Love last Saturday night.
Associated Press

By Roger Clarkson | Staff Writer | Story updated at 11:08 PM on Thursday, September 20, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Maybe the quietest guy on Alabama's roster ignited the loudest celebration heard at Bryant-Denny Stadium so far this season.
Matt Caddell's over-the-shoulder touchdown catch of a 4-yard John Parker Wilson pass with eight seconds left helped Alabama beat Arkansas 41-38 last Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The catch not only started Bedlam in the stadium, it also led the television highlight reels.
"Matt certainly delivered in the clutch," Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
"He made a fantastic play at the end of the game in the end zone to take the ball pretty much away from one of their guys in a jump ball situation."
Caddell will try to follow up his career game on Saturday when Georgia (2-1, 0-1) visits Alabama (3-0, 2-0). Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Caddell, a senior from McAdory High School in McCalla, Ala., went overlooked in Alabama's first two games. He did not catch a pass against Western Carolina and Vanderbilt, while Alabama established its running attack centered on redshirt freshman Terry Grant.
"As long as we're winning, I'm okay with blocking and running routes and doing my job," Caddell said. "I looked at the schedule and we're going to play a lot of games. I knew I'd get some catches."
He made up for lost time against Arkansas by snaring a career-high nine passes for 91 yards and the game-winning touchdown. After the game, he had about 80 text messages and 20 missed calls on his cell phone.
Despite the lack of attention prior to Arkansas, Caddell did not say much, which is not unusual for him. His teammates say he is probably the quietest member of the Crimson Tide.
"He's not like most receivers. He's really quiet," Wilson said. "Most receivers tell me they're open on every single play. Nobody ever has them covered, even when they're surrounded by three guys. But Matt's not like that. He never tells me he's open. He tells me what kind of coverage they were in and things like that. But he doesn't say he's open."
Caddell's catch instantly caught on with the television highlight shows. It was No. 3 in ESPN's top 10 plays of the day. It was also a nominee for the network's weekly game-changing performance award.
While Caddell appreciated all the attention, he did not want it to go to his head.
"Just growing up, God wants us to be humble so that's something I try to be, as humble as possible," Caddell said. "It's a blessing and an honor to go out and be able to make plays like that, you have to be able to take advantage of opportunities."
Caddell's game-winning catch overshadowed a record-setting performance by one of his more high-profile partners at receiver. That same night DJ Hall broke Ozzie Newsome's Alabama career receiving yards record. But he aggravated a thigh injury and did not play in the second half until the final drive. Alabama used him as a decoy on that series and he did not catch a pass. Hall practiced on Wednesday, but Saban said he's probable for Saturday's game.
With Hall shelved nearly all of the second half, Caddell stepped into the breach. Caddell caught six of his nine passes in the fourth quarter, including four on Alabama's final drive.
"I was just able to go through the reads and he was the guy getting open," Wilson said. "I'm not surprised. He does everything he is supposed to. He comes to practice every day. He's a dependable guy. If you are dependable then you step up in a situation like that."

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 092107

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dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Young line must grow up fast

<sw_photos> </sw_photos> By Marc Weiszer | Staff Writer | Story updated at 11:08 PM on Thursday, September 20, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>Georgia's Trinton Sturdivant and Clint Boling are about to find out what it's like to play as first-year freshmen starting offensive lineman on the road.
Alabama's Andre Smith remembers it well.
The trip to Arkansas. A week later going to Florida's "Swamp."
Playing in hostile environments for the first time.
Sturdivant is right where Smith was a year ago. A freshman starting left tackle in the SEC.
"The only thing I was scared of really was don't get embarrassed in front of 92,000 people," said Smith, the only sophomore on the Outland Trophy watch list. "That's how I thought about everything. That was my goal."
Sturdivant and Boling will play before 92,000-plus Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium when No. 22 Georgia travels to No. 16 Alabama for its first road game this season.
"They're the best we've got and I think they're going to be very good players for us at the University of Georgia," offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. "They've got to be good players for us Saturday in Tuscaloosa and that's a big task for any individual, especially for a freshman. They're working hard this week and we're going to try and put them in situations that they can handle. As long as they play hard and give good effort, I think we can live with the results."
Sturdivant, from Wadesboro, N.C., has started every game this season. Boling, who played at Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, started at right tackle last week and is slated to start at guard Saturday, coach Mark Richt said.
They have been shielded from the media this season. Interview requests have been turned down since early August. Offensive line coach Stacy Searels also continues to decline to talk to the media.
Smith, a freshman All-American last year, was free to speak to the press as a rookie.
"It's like a two-headed sword," Smith said. "It could help, but it can hinder. People might start telling you how good you played. Then you can get the big head and it's all downhill from there."
Bobo sees value in keeping the freshmen off limits for interviews.
"Your five guys up front have got to play well together," Bobo said. "Them talking to Bubba (Fernando Velasco) and Cheese (Chester Adams) and those guys explaining the ropes to them instead of getting overwhelmed with five of y'all (media) guys around asking them, 'hey, you're going to Tuscaloosa,' and getting them thinking about it, instead of just focusing on their job and their task at hand."
Redshirt freshman starting guard Chris Davis is also playing his first road game. He at least got a season to get acclimated.
"Oh, man, I don't even want to know what it's like for them," Davis said. "They've done a great job. Clint Boling didn't even have that extra half a year that Trinton had (enrolling early). Clint came in fresh and didn't really have anything under his belt - no spring game - and he's done a great job. It's unbelievable the progress he's made."
The 6-foot-5, 293-pound Sturdivant has gotten as much as 85 percent of Georgia's offensive snaps. Alabama leaned on Smith even more last year when he logged a team-high 831 snaps.
Richt said Sturdivant is holding up well without many missed assignments.
"He's getting better," Richt said. "He's not as strong as he will be one day. People will try to bull rush him a little bit. He does have athleticism."
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Boling hasn't played as much as Sturdivant because he's played both tackle and guard. Junior tight end Tripp Chandler has been impressed with Boling's footwork and strong fundamentals he picked up in high school.
Chandler sometimes helps the players with line calls.
"I remember playing as a true freshman," Chandler said. "It's tough. You're not used to playing in front of 90,000 people. You go from playing in front of 10,000 and you think you're playing in front of the whole world. The game is so much faster."
Against Western Carolina last week, Sturdivant and Boling became the first pair of first-year freshmen offensive tackles to start in the modern era at Georgia, but not in the SEC.
Florida in 1992 reached the first SEC championship game starting first-year freshmen offensive tackles Reggie Green and Jason Odom.
That's something for Sturdivant and Boling to shoot for this year and beyond.
"I think they're doing a great job," Chandler said. "I can't wait to see what they'll do, not only the rest of the season but with the seasons they'll have after I'm gone."

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 092107

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dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Grant's sibling has Richt connection

Notebook

Alabama running back Terry Grant, right, is second in the SEC in rushing with 134.3 yards per game.
Associated Press

By Marc Weiszer | Staff Writer | Story updated at 11:08 PM on Thursday, September 20, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>Slowing down Alabama redshirt freshman tailback Terry Grant is on the to-do list Saturday night for Mark Richt's Georgia football team.
It turns out Grant's older brother slowed down runners as a teammate of Richt when the two played for the University of Miami in the early 1980s.
Defensive tackle Lester Williams was a first round draft pick of the New England Patriots in 1982 and played in the Super Bowl.
"Lester and I were in the senior class and he was out of Miami Carol City," Richt said. "Nowadays with recruiting he probably would have been the highest-rated defensive tackle in America. My high school team actually played them my senior year. He probably body slammed me a few times I would think."
Richt was unaware of the family ties. The Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger reported in 2005 that Williams, who lives in Montgomery, Ala., spoke by phone a couple times a week with Grant.
Grant, from Lumberton, Miss., is the second-leading rusher in the SEC at 134.3 yards per game, which ranks eighth nationally. He has five rushing touchdowns.
"I would have been nicer to Lester," Richt joked. "Try to keep up with him."

Importance not lost

Georgia is 36-16 in SEC play under Richt, but has lost five of its last seven conference games.
Knocking off a top-20 Alabama team would even Georgia's SEC record at 1-1 and perhaps change a perception that the team isn't as formidable as it was from 2002-2005 when it won two SEC titles.
"I think winning this game would help a lot," Richt said. "I don't know how people perceive us. Probably not like a big giant."
ESPN College GameDay will be in Tuscaloosa before the 7:45 p.m. game.
"This is a sport that's kind of what have you done for me lately and are you winning now?" quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "It doesn't matter how many years ago we won the SEC."
Said Richt: "You've got to win and you've got to look good doing it sometimes so when people turn your film on, they've got some respect for what's about to happen."

Feel the noise

Georgia practiced Thursday in Sanford Stadium with artificial noise to prepare for its first road game of the season.
"The crowd noise definitely if you haven't heard it before it gets you ready," Stafford said. "I think it might be good for the young guys to hear that and really kind of feel like what's it's like to play where you can't hear yourself think."
Senior tackle Chester Adams is one of two seniors on a starting offensive line that includes three players playing their first road game for Georgia.
"That's why we go to the stadium on Thursday and crank up the noise a little bit so we can get our ears trained and get our signals right," Adams said.

Young pups up front

Richt revealed that Clint Boling and Chris Davis will start at offensive guard against Alabama. That gives Georgia two first-year freshmen (Trinton Sturdivant and Boling) and a redshirt freshman (Davis) in the starting offensive line.
"None of those freshmen should be playing to be honest with you," Richt said. "They really shouldn't, but they are."
Richt said he didn't know if redshirt freshman Akeem Dent or senior Brandon Miller would start at strongside linebacker.
Dannell Ellerbe is set to start at weakside linebacker and Marcus Washington in the middle. Washington was an uncertainty this summer coming back from knee surgery.
"Marcus has been a big surprise for us," Richt said. "For him to play as well as he has been great for him and great for us."
This and that
Freshman offensive lineman Justin Anderson, who has yet to play this season, is expected to be on the 70-player travel squad to Alabama. Freshman tailback Caleb King and freshmen punter Drew Butler aren't. Brandon Coutu will serve as backup punter. ...Former Georgia Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker is among three finalists for the SEC's all-time best running back in voting conducted by AT&T to mark the conference's 75th anniversary. Emmitt Smith (Florida) and Darren McFadden (Arkansas) were the other two top vote getters. Voting is now open for best receiver. Fans can vote on AT&T handsets by texting SEC to 234567. ... Saturday's game is on XM channel 140 and 144.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 092107

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dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Notebook: Richt not worried about Smart

<sw_photos> </sw_photos> By Marc Weiszer | Staff Writer | Story updated at 11:44 PM on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>Georgia closed down practices this week to keep out any prying eyes that could benefit Saturday's opponent Alabama.
There's not much it can do with any insight that former Georgia assistant Kirby Smart may have from his time on Mark Richt's staff coaching running backs in 2005 that might help the Crimson Tide this week.
Smart left Georgia to join Nick Saban with the Miami Dolphins and came with him to Tuscaloosa, where he's secondary coach and assistant head coach. Richt said changes in terminology implemented under first-year offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and offensive line coach Stacy Searels minimizes the issue of Smart being on the opposing side this week.
"When your terminology changes, your codes and hand signals and all that changes too," Richt said. "It's just one of those years where just about everything changed. I don't really think about it much."
Richt said Smart might have had a good feel of Richt's tendencies as a playcaller but might not with Bobo in his first full season with that job
Smart and Bobo are close friends and former Georgia teammates, but haven't spoken much this season.
"We really haven't talked much leading up to this game just because we play them," Bobo said. "We'll talk after. I don't want to slip up and say anything I shouldn't say."
On the flip side, Searels served as offensive line coach on Saban's staff at LSU in 2003-04.
"Maybe it could be a little beneficial but not too much," center Fernando Velasco said. "It's just got to come from us studying film just like any other opponent. Obviously, they were on the same staff for two years, but he really hasn't said too much."
Threat of Lumpkin
Senior tailback Kregg Lumpkin is wearing a super-sized cast on his right hand that at first sight looks similar to what former Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis played with in games.
"I guarantee you that's a weapon," joked running backs coach Tony Ball
The cast is protecting a thumb Lumpkin broke in the opener against Oklahoma State. Lumpkin will play on special teams but Richt said he probably would only be used in an emergency situation at tailback. He is carrying the ball with his left hand.
"I really haven't seen anything that has made me nervous as I watched him," Richt said. "He's probably carrying it a little bit better than I thought he would."
Lumpkin caught kickoffs and passes and took part in a pass protection drill in practice Wednesday, Ball said.
"He didn't flinch in the drills that we did and I told the guys to get physical with him," he said.
No big changes on kickoff coverageGeorgia ranks 92nd in the nation in kickoff coverage defense, allowing 23.8 yards per return.
"We're not making wholesale changes on personnel," Richt said. "We're just trying to get better at it. It's just so hard to get a guy ready who hasn't done it a lot. The guys with the most amount of reps have the best chance in our opinion to get it done."
Assistant coach Jon Fabris said there's not one issue he can pinpoint that's been the problem. "It's a little bit of this and a little bit of that," Fabris said.
"Consistency, everything from personnel to schematic things to fundamentals."
Munson likes Mimbs
One indication that junior Brian Mimbs is off to a good start as Georgia's punter this season is that even longtime radio voice Larry Munson is impressed.
"The new punter is kicking the dog out of the ball," Munson said Wednesday.
Georgia leads the SEC and is 21st in net punting with a 38.5 yard average. Mimbs is third in the SEC in punting with a 42.7 yard average.
This and that
Cornerback Bryan Evans, who missed last week's game with a hyperextended knee, is probably less than 100 percent and is "competing to play," Richt said. ... Saban, whose team just played Arkansas, said Wednesday that Georgia is "probably the fastest team and has more team speed than anybody that we've played against so far."

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 092007

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OnlineAthens.com | DogBytes | Football | Notebook: Richt not worried about Smart 09/20/07

dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Applewhite infuses progressive thinking

Major Applewhite
Associated Press

By Roger Clarkson | Staff Writer | Story updated at 11:44 PM on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ‹ Major Applewhite was born to be a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
His father, an Alabama alumnus, named him after Crimson Tide running back Major Ogilvie.
On Saturday, Applewhite, 29, will lead Alabama's offense against Georgia as the youngest coordinator in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision. Kickoff between the Bulldogs (2-1, 0-1) and the Crimson Tide (3-0, 2-0) is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Applewhite will not be the only youthful offensive coordinator in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Mike Bobo, 33, will handle Georgia's offense.
"I like having a guy I can relate to," Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson said. "I like having somebody there who's been through the wars and knows what it's like."
Applewhite has rocketed up the coaching ranks since playing his last downs with Texas in the 2001 Holiday Bowl. After just five seasons as a coach, Applewhite was hired by Nick Saban as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator last spring.
"Major Applewhite has done an outstanding job here," Saban said. "We've scored an adequate amount of points each week. There are certainly a lot of things we can improve on and getting those things corrected is the most important thing."
Under Applewhite's direction, Alabama scores 39.0 points and gains 465.3 yards a game, fifth in the SEC in both categories. The Crimson Tide attack also features balance. Alabama is fifth in the SEC in passing at 246.3 yards a game and fifth in rushing at 219.0 yards a game. Alabama is also undefeated at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC.
Applewhite began his coaching career at the same place he became a cult figure as a player, Texas.
"Having a guy like that who's been in the heat of the battle and not that long ago definitely helps," Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford said. Stafford is from Dallas Highland Park in Texas.
"I remember watching Major Applewhite," Stafford said. "He was a heckuva quarterback and he's definitely got a good offensive mind."
He helped tutor future Longhorn quarterback Vince Young. Applewhite was the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse in 2005 and became the offensive coordinator at Rice in 2006. Under his direction, Rice set a school record for points scored and had a 1,000-yard passer, rusher and receiver for the first time in the program's history.
Applewhite brought a different philosophy to the Crimson Tide this season. He streamlined the playbook and introduced a more open style of play. Alabama plays faster than it did last season which has given the Crimson Tide a chance to showcase its skill players like Wilson, redshirt freshman running back Terry Grant and receivers D.J. Hall, Keith Brown and Matt Caddell.
"We do a lot of different things this year from last year," Alabama center Antoine Caldwell said. "We do a lot different play calls and schemes. I can't go into any details. But he came in and simplified a lot of things. Since it's a lot simpler, we can play at a faster tempo."
Bobo now coaches on the same practice fields he used as a player. Bobo captained the Bulldogs in 1997, a year before Applewhite made his first start at Texas. After a one-year stint as quarterbacks coach at Jacksonville State in 2000, Bobo returned to Georgia as quarterbacks coach.
He helped recruit Matthew Stafford out of Dallas Highland Park and the two formed a partnership. Bobo's youth helped that relationship mature.
"I really like it," Stafford said. "The longer you're out of this game as a player, the harder it is for you to get back in and realize what's going on. Just being barely out of the game helps you understand what defenses are doing now. Defenses now are completely different from what they were 10 years ago."
Bobo changed much of Georgia's offense once he gained the reins. He switched up the terminology. He introduced complexities into the pro-style offense that might not be apparent to observers.
"It may not be stuff y'all can see, but it's definitely different," Stafford said. "There's a lot more to it and I love it. It's a lot of fun to run to tell you the truth. There's new wrinkles you can add every week."

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 092007

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dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Georgia looks to expose Crimson Tide secondary

Stretching the field

Georgia reciever Demiko Goodman catches a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Joe Cox in the second half of Georgia's 45-16 win over Western Carolina.
Trevor Frey / Staff

By Marc Weiszer | Staff Writer | Story updated at 11:30 PM on Tuesday, September 18, 2007
<mcc story=""></mcc>The last time Georgia went up against a team coached by Nick Saban, the Bulldogs hit for big plays in the passing game over and over and over again.
Now with the re-entry of speedster Demiko Goodman to Georgia's aerial attack that already includes Sean Bailey, the No. 22 Bulldogs could be a threat to stretch the field Saturday when they face No. 16 Alabama and Saban in Tuscaloosa.
"They play a lot of man coverage so I think there's going to be a lot of opportunities," said Goodman, who has returned from an ACL injury last season. "It's going to be us and the DBs and we've got to see who's going to make the play."
Georgia's receivers made the plays in a 45-16 spanking of LSU on Oct. 2, 2004 in Saban's last season with the Tigers. Quarterback David @@@@@@ threw a school-record five touchdown passes including scores of 25, 29, 24 and 21 yards.
 <table align="left" width="340"><tbody><tr><td> MULTIMEDIA

VIDEO: Watch as coach Mark Richt and the Dogs talk about the upcoming game against Alabama:

AUDIO: Listen as sports editor John Kaltefleiter and longtime Alabama columnist Paul Finebaum with the Mobile Press-Register talk about the upcoming Georgia-Alabama game:

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</td></tr></tbody></table>  "(Saban is) extremely aggressive as a defensive-minded coach," said senior receiver Sean Bailey, who caught a 21-yard pass against LSU in 2003 for his first career touchdown. "He likes to go man on the outside and bring a lot of blitzes. It's going to put some opportunities on the outside in our hands and we've got to make the plays."
Goodman grabbed his first collegiate touchdown on Saturday in Georgia's win over Western Carolina, hauling in a diving 34-yard catch from Joe Cox in the fourth.
He also had a 17-yard catch on a seam route and has moved up in the receiver rotation.
"It helps us a lot if (Goodman) continues to make those kind of plays," coach Mark Richt said.
"The touchdown catch was an outstanding play. He ran the route properly and really turned it on at the end and made a burst to go get it and made a fine catch, but I really liked the first catch he had."
Richt said that Georgia hasn't taken enough shots down field this season, but there might not be as many opportunities this time around against Saban, he said.
"The last couple of times we played them they were really, really sold out to bring the house and pressure and play up in your face," Richt said. "I don't see that as much but you see elements of it."
With Bailey and Goodman, the Bulldogs' have weapons on the outside to give defenses something to think about.
"I think it's good for everybody to see there's someone who can run by you," Richt said.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Goodman had shown that kind of ability last year before his injury.
The junior had his best game as a Bulldog against Ole Miss last Oct. 9, making four catches for 71 yards including a 32-yard reception. He was starting his second straight game when he suffered his season-ending injury against Kentucky on Nov. 4. He said he "completely tore" the ACL in his left knee the first quarter of that game, but completed the game even having a 29-yard catch after the injury.
Goodman, who had 13 catches for 187 yards last season, showed Saturday that Thomas Brown isn't the only Georgia skill player to return lickity-split from a torn ACL.
Goodman and Brown worked out together as they rehabbed their ACL injuries.
"We almost tore our ACLs again trying to get back," Goodman said.
Ten months after tearing his own knee ligament against Kentucky, Goodman says he's nearly as good as new.
"I think because of the ACL injury, I was fast before but I think I've gotten faster now," said Goodman, a sprint standout who broke Georgia's indoor 400 record with a third place finish at the SEC indoors during his freshman year.
Goodman thinks he's a better receiver, now, too. He's studied film, worked on his routes and focused on what it takes to play the position.
"He can really go," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "Once he opens up his stride, he can get out and go."
Stafford said Georgia will need to provide strong pass protection against what he said is a good front seven of Alabama to successfully go deep.
Goodman's blazing speed and Stafford's strong arm could be a lethal combination.
Could Goodman outrun a Stafford bomb?
"Hey, Stafford's got an arm, but I'm confident in my speed," Goodman said.
Stafford thinks he's got the edge.
"I'll probably out throw him," Stafford said.
Against Alabama, Stafford hopes to hit Goodman right in stride.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 091907

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dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="arttitle"> Georgia Football Practice Notes: September 20, 2007 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(218, 218, 218);" valign="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="left" valign="middle"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"> <tbody><tr> <td class="articlecopy" align="left" valign="top"> Courtesy: UGA Sports Communications
</td> <td class="articlecopy" align="left" valign="top"> </td> <td class="articlecopy" align="center" valign="top"> Release: 09/20/2007
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ATHENS, Ga. --- The No. 22-ranked Georgia Bulldogs held their final practice of the week at Sanford Stadium on Thursday, working out in helmets and
shorts as artificial noise was played over the sound system.

Georgia (2-1, 0-1 SEC) travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday to face the No. 16-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Kickoff is slated for 7:45 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN.

Prior to the practice session, Georgia head coach Mark Richt met with the media.

"We're getting ready to get our last little preparations in for this ballgame," Richt said. "So far, we've practiced well, and I'm excited about getting on to Tuscaloosa."

"I think there will be an awful lot of excitement there in that stadium knowing it will be a night game, knowing that the Alabama fan's are excited about the start of their season and knowing that Game Day is there," Richt added.

When asked about the team's travel squad for the weekend, Richt indicated that senior Brandon Coutu would be the team's backup punter in addition to his normal kicking duties. Richt also noted that freshman offensive tackle Justin Anderson would make the trip.

All Georgia games are broadcast live on the Bulldog Radio Network on AM 750 WSB in Atlanta and on both 106.1 FM and 960 The Ref in Athens. The radio audio also can be heard worldwide on both georgiadogs.com, the official website of UGA Athletics, and on XM Satellite Radio Channel 144.

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dirty · Sep 21, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Game Notes

dirty · Sep 29, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Georgia offense gets more balanced, effective

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/28/07 Athens — Thomas Brown had 74 yards rushing against Alabama. So did Knowshon Moreno.
Sean Bailey had — you can probably guess — 74 yards against Alabama, too (receiving, not rushing).
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> It all adds up to more than 222 total yards. The equation is offensive balance for Georgia, and a whole lot of frustration for its opponents.
"Defenses can't key on one thing," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "We are running the ball out of passing formations. We are passing it out of running formations. We're doing a whole lot of stuff."
A prime example was the first drive against Alabama. Georgia had six passes and four runs. But several of those passes came out of running formations, and Alabama wasn't ready. Georgia zipped down the field in 10 plays and put seven points on the board.
"When you come out in the first quarter and have a drive like that and get points, even if it is three, it gets it rolling for the whole team," Brown said.
That's not to say everything is perfect. Everything will never be perfect.
"We've by no means arrived as an offense and are playing flawless football," Stafford said. "We know we're not."
But Georgia is getting closer to where it wants to be when it comes to striking a balance. The Bulldogs had 40 rushes and 36 passing attempts against Alabama, a 26-23 overtime win in Tuscaloosa. In contrast, two weeks earlier against South Carolina, Georgia had 31 rushes and 45 pass attempts in a 16-12 loss in Athens.
"You want to keep them guessing," offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said about defenses. "We are aware of that as an offense, and we try to keep them off balance and try and steal a couple of first downs and a couple big plays here and there by breaking some tendencies."
One thing different from just a couple of weeks ago is that Georgia's personnel are meshing.
They are also building off each other. That in turn has allowed Bobo to utilize more plays and players.
"That is wearing [defenses] down as the game goes on because we are rotating running backs and receivers," Brown said. "Most of the [defenses] keep the same guys on the field the entire game; as the game goes along, fatigue sets in, and that adds to their confusion."
Nobody is better at exploiting that confusion than Mikey Henderson and his quickness.
"When you see us moving and coming out of different formations, [the defenses] are definitely looking at each other and making their checks," Henderson said. "If you have a defense that is having to think, that is a good thing.
"If they can just line up and know what is going on then they can play full speed," Henderson said. "The more you have got to think, you may be hesitant and then we can go out there and do our thing."
Essentially, you flinch and they are gone.
Run or pass every time and you lose in the SEC. That was a lesson Georgia coach Mark Richt learned early in his career. After a game against Auburn, in which Georgia threw the ball all over the field, Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville told the media Richt would learn soon enough what balance was.
Richt apparently has not forgotten.
"I don't think you can win big doing [just running]," Richt said earlier this week. "You look back a couple of years at Auburn and they said we are going to smash everybody in the mouth [with Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams, both currently starters in the NFL] and they lost to Georgia Tech and Southern Cal back to back.
"Then [Auburn offensive coordinator Al] Borges came in and they became much more diversified," Richt said.
Diversified is how you want your portfolio and your team.
"We are doing a pretty good job of trying to be 50-50," Bobo said. "We would like more production and that comes down to execution. We are not executing like we should be. But I see improvement every week.'"

dirty · Sep 29, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

GEORGIA REPORT
Richt warily eyes Dome proposals

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/28/07 Athens — Mark Richt is always wary of another team coming into his state to recruit.
Now some of those teams are getting the help of television and the Atlanta Sports Council. That duo has teamed up and tried to pitch regular-season neutral-site college football games in the Georgia Dome. Alabama and Clemson have been in talks about opening the 2008 season there.
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> Richt said he was less than thrilled that such a game could take place and that a recruiting advantage could be gained as a result. Still, the coach had to acknowledge it is a good idea.
"I'm surprised more of that doesn't happen — and it probably will happen," Richt allowed. "I'll say this, the Atlanta Sports Council, they do a great job of trying to think out of the box a little bit and try to attract people to do those kind of things. [Sports council president] Gary Stokan is on the ball, and I'm sure that's where it's all coming from."
But it could hurt Georgia when it comes to recruiting. Now teams like Alabama and Clemson can tell players from Atlanta they will play in the Georgia Dome on front of family and friends.
Plus, the schools get a solid nonconference game without having to travel to the opponent's stadium.
"I'm sure they would love it," Richt said of the schools involved. "Most people want that home and away. That return, a lot of people don't want to do that. But you could see two teams saying, 'We'll just play one time. We'll play right here, we don't have to worry about a return game.'"
The more Richt talked about it, the better the idea sounded to him. But the coach quickly cut himself off and said.
"I don't want to encourage anybody [to play in the Dome], though."
Lineup change puts Miller in as starter
Prince Miller is expected to get the first start of his career against Ole Miss. The cornerback would replace Thomas Flowers and play opposite Asher Allen.
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez has not made a final decision, but Miller has been going with the first team this week in practice.
"[Martinez] feels like he has earned an opportunity to play out there in the boundary [corner]," Richt said.
Miller did have a crucial fourth-quarter pass interference penalty against Alabama. But Richt said that was a hustle play where the timing was just off for Miller.
"He is coming like mad and trying to time it just right," Richt said of the interference call. "You want to be there to break it up and sometimes you get there a little too quick. It is heartbreaking penalty when you continue the drive. The game probably would have been over. But if you play too soft and the guys catches it without any true resistance then you get more upset about that."
Trash talking goes silent this week
Georgia has searched in vain for some bulletin board material this week. Alabama gave them some last week when defensive end Wallace Gilberry said he was going to send flowers to Matthew Stafford's mother.
In public, Stafford handled the trash talking with a sense of humor and responded that his mom loves flowers.
But behind closed doors, Richt said the Gilberry comment helped serve as motivation.
"I think the guys took a little offense to that," Richt said.
Third down conversions
Georgia went from 3 of 18 on third downs against South Carolina to 9 of 19 against Alabama. The secret, according to Thomas Brown was not necessarily the extraordinary play on third down, but the solid play on first and second.
"One thing we are doing a better job of is getting more yards on first and second down so we are not in third and long," Brown said. "Those (long third downs) are hard for anybody."
Georgia averaged 4.2 yards on first down against Alabama.
Extra points
Wide receiver A.J. Bryant (knee) is progressing faster than first anticipated. Richt has talked to him about redshirting but no decision has been made ... Special teams player Rowdy Francis is out with hamstring ... Guard Scott Haverkamp is out with an ankle injury.

dirty · Sep 29, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

UGA FOOTBALL
Lost focus has Dogs' defense beatable

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/26/07 Athens — The yells, the pleas, even the commands fell on deaf ears late Saturday night.
It didn't even matter who was doing the yelling, pleading or commanding for Georgia. Linebacker Brandon Miller tried and failed. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe had a thing or two to say, but his words didn't work. Georgia coach Mark Richt called a timeout and tried to calm a defense headed in reverse. That failed, too.
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• More UGA coverage
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> Nothing Georgia's defense tried could stop Alabama's 89-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown drive that tied the game and sent it into overtime before the Bulldogs won 26-23.
"It surprised me," safety CJ Byrd said. "I was surprised we didn't stop them."
Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. Georgia's defense has allowed two drives to continue when stops needed to be made this season.
The first stop needed was against South Carolina. Trailing 16-9 with 4:42 to go, Richt elected to kick a field goal. He wanted to rely on his defense to get the ball back with enough time left to give the offense a reasonable chance to score. Instead South Carolina got three straight first downs, held the ball for 3:22 and went 40 yards. Georgia lost 16-12.
Evidence of Georgia's inability to stop fourth-quarter drives can even be found in last year's games against Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Both were losses. In a 15-12 win over Georgia Tech, the Jackets took a fourth-quarter lead in 2006 with a punishing 56-yard drive — including eight running plays — before Georgia came back to win.
"It's like we do good all game and then when we really need the stop, it's like we can't get it," Ellerbe said.
Everybody is at a loss to put a finger on the exact reason Georgia has struggled to get the crucial stop.
Georgia has rotated players like never before, so fatigue should not be an issue, Richt said.
The defensive calls are not being changed. In fact, Richt approved of all the defensive calls during that South Carolina drive.
"It might be just an attitude thing," Richt said. "I am going to challenge the defense on that very point, and the rest of the season we have got to finish."
"We have just got to stop making mental mistakes; that is what could have cost us even worse," cornerback Thomas Flowers said. "We were fortunate [against Alabama]."
Cornerback Bryan Evans made the biggest mental mistake on a 43-yard completion from John Parker Wilson to Keith Brown.
"He just didn't turn and bail hard enough," Richt said. "The guy took off like a shot, and we didn't give enough cushion."
Two plays and another first down later, Richt called timeout.
"I wanted to settle everybody down," Richt said. "Let's just stop and realize it doesn't matter if they go 88 yards when they need 89. The bottom line is they've got to score a touchdown.
"It didn't work out," Richt said. "But that was what I wanted to convey to them; 'I know they got the bomb and they are moving the ball, but if they don't get in the end zone it doesn't matter.'"
What does matter is that Georgia didn't focus, the players said, and nobody made a play.
"Everybody is looking for somebody else to make a play," Miller said. "They're not really focusing on making the play themselves.
"Even though we were there, we might have been waiting for somebody else to make a play," he said. "That has got to change. We can't have that."
What Georgia has had is inconsistencies in focus and determination in the last minutes of games. For instance, Alabama had first-and-7 just a few minutes earlier in the fourth and Georgia held the Tide to a field goal. Then, the next drive, the defense couldn't get a stop.
"It is really stressful," Ellerbe said. "We're going to have to work at being more focused at the end of the game. We have known this since last year. It's just something that is going to have to happen."
"We have to finish the way we started," Miller said. "If we would have finished the way we started they wouldn't have scored at all."

dirty · Sep 29, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

GEORGIA REPORT
Richt: Moreno not ready to start

By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/26/07 Athens — The growing legions of Georgia fans pining for Knowshon Moreno to become the Bulldogs' starting tailback will have find another cause to champion.
"That's not going to happen," Georgia coach Mark Richt said of possibly starting Moreno ahead of senior Thomas Brown. "Knowshon's not ready to be the starter yet, in my opinion. He's talented, but he's still growing. He's still learning. It's tough to do. And Thomas is playing extremely well in his own right, and he's a great leader, too. You've got to have leadership."
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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <script language="javascript"> function clickVote() { document.pollForm.buttonClicked.value = "yes"; document.pollForm.PageId.value = "poll_vote_submit"; document.pollForm.submit(); } function alert1(){ document.pollForm.buttonClicked.value = ""; } </script> <form method="post" action="/poll/poll/poll/take_poll/PollRefresh.jsp" name="pollForm"> <input name="PageId" value="poll_vote_submit" type="hidden"> <input name="pollID" value="18754" type="hidden"> <input name="page" value="take" type="hidden"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="100%"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Do you agree with Mark Richt that Knowshon Moreno isn't ready to start? [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> <td align="right" height="15" width="46">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="55636" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Yes. No sense in rushing him just yet. [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="55652" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] No. He's proven he's a big time player. [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <input name="choice" value="55653" type="radio"> [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Can't make up my mind right now. [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2">
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[FONT=arial,helvetica][SIZE=-2]Voter Limit: Once per Hour
View Poll Results [/SIZE][/FONT] </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </form> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table bgcolor="#cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="170"><tbody><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="168"><tbody><tr><td class="body"> RELATED STORIES

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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> It's hard to argue with how the Dogs have been utilizing both players. Against Alabama, the duo combined for 44 offensive touches — 25 by Brown, 19 by Moreno — for 209 yards total yards and two touchdowns. Georgia ran 76 offensive plays.
Moreno is the better pure runner, leading the team with 342 yards rushing and 5.3 yards per carry. Brown, who has averaged 3.9 yards on 54 carries, appears to be the better blocker and certainly is more knowledgeable about the offense. Both catch the ball well out of the backfield: Brown's nine catches are one better than Moreno.
"We do like to have those guys touch it," Richt said. "We want the best players getting the opportunities, and those guys have been the most productive to this point. ... I like how we utilize our backs."
Lumpkin close to return
Tailback Kregg Lumpkin is close to returning to the backfield, and Richt said Lumpkin will rejoin the rotation when that time comes.
"He may have to be clubbed up one more game," Richt said, referring to the cast Lumpkin wears. "But when he's healthy enough and can really wrap up the ball like it needs to be, we'll definitely get him some reps back there at tailback. We're not going to give up on Lump."
Lumpkin broke a thumb against South Carolina and hasn't had a carry since the first game but was able to play special teams against Alabama.
Chandler disappointed
Tight end Tripp Chandler is still reeling from what he called a "disappointing" game against Alabama in which he dropped two passes and whiffed on a key block in the overtime win over the Crimson Tide.
"For me personally, the game was a disappointment," said Chandler, who met with position coach Dave Johnson about strategy for improvement. "As a player for Georgia you just can't let that happen. One [drop] led to one [missed] block, and one [missed] block led to another [drop]. It was like a domino effect."
Meanwhile, Richt gave Chandler — who had a huge 11-yard catch to set up a game-winning field goal try at the end of regulation — a soft vote of confidence.
"I don't know what happened [on the dropped balls]," Richt said. "He's been very sure-handed. ... I guess he's human. Even so, he's got to keep fighting to keep his job like everybody else."
Extra points
Richt re-opened practices to the media, but he barely cracked the door. He said reporters would be allowed to view practices once a week, for 20 minutes on Tuesdays. "There's no strategy during that time," he said. During the opening Tuesday, tight end Coleman Watson was observed walking out of practice after being yelled at by offensive line coach Stacy Searels. ... Receiver Sean Bailey was named offensive captain for this week, but Richt said Bailey, Mohamed Massaquoi and Mikey Henderson all probably played the best games of their careers last Saturday. ... Saturday will be Georgia's last home game until Nov. 3 (Troy).

dirty · Sep 29, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

GEORGIA REPORT
Dogs offensive line good, but not great

By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/25/07 Athens — Georgia's offensive line got the job done against Alabama.
But that doesn't mean the unit isn't still a work in progress, Georgia coach Mark Richt said.
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> In fact, the play of quarterback Matthew Stafford is making the line look better.
"Matthew, he made some spectacular throws under pressure," Richt said.
Two of those plays were passes to Mohamed Massaquoi. The first play of the game, Stafford avoided pressure and slung the ball to Massaquoi for a first down. There was a later a third-down conversion when Stafford found Massaquoi.
"We didn't hardly block a soul," Richt said of the latter play. "It's not like we are doing an unbelievable job of giving him all day long. We have done a good job, not a great job, and he has done a great job of getting rid of that ball."
Well, not every time. One of Stafford's two interceptions against Alabama was thrown under duress and should have been thrown out of bounds, Richt said. The other was an overthrow where the protection actually was good.
The offensive line will continue to operate with just six players this week unless Scott Haverkamp rebounds from an ankle injury suffered last week in practice. Haverkamp is listed as questionable.
Finding the extra yard
Knowshon Moreno has been receiving praise from just about every corner of the SEC. But at Georgia, Richt said he is expecting more from the redshirt freshman.
"He still has a ways to go in terms of finishing runs a little bit better," Richt said.
An example of what he was alluding to was evident in the third quarter Saturday.
Faced with second-and-20 at Georgia's own 29-yard line, Moreno went around the right side for 19 yards. At the end of the run he hammered the safety and then stood there for a second before he stepped out of bounds.
"If he would if have cut back inside or drove his feet a little bit he would have had the first down," Richt said.
Georgia missed the subsequent third-and-short and had to punt.
Moreno earns SEC honor
Moreno was picked as SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance against Alabama on Saturday.
Moreno, a 5-foot-11, 207-pound native of Belford, N.J., tied senior Thomas Brown with a team-leading 74 rushing yards during the Bulldogs' 26-23 overtime win. Moreno also scored the second touchdown of his career on a 6-yard run in the third quarter and had two catches for 22 yards.
Georgia senior Brandon Coutu has been named a Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Star of the Week, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Monday.
Etc ...
Georgia and Tennessee's kickoff has been set for 3:30 p.m. Oct. 6 and will be televised by CBS. The game is part of a day-night doubleheader for the network. Florida and LSU play the night game in Baton Rouge, La., set to broadcast at 8:28 p.m. ... Former Georgia athletics director Vince Dooley received the Homer Rice Award on Monday. The award is presented annually to the retired athletics director with a distinguished career and who has made a significant impact on the athletics director profession and intercollegiate athletics. The award is named for Homer Rice, former athletics director at Georgia Tech and founder and first president of the Division I-A Athletic Directors Association.

dirty · Sep 29, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

Ole Miss Game Notes

dirty · Oct 2, 2007

Re: UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

UGA FOOTBALL
Brown named SEC offensive player of the week

By CHIP TOWERS
Published on: 10/01/07 Athens -- Georgia's Thomas Brown on Monday was named SEC offensive player following his performance against Ole Miss this past Saturday.
Brown, a 5-8, 200-pound senior from Tucker, rushed for a career-high 180 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 45-17 victory at Sanford Stadium. The tailback averaged 11.2 yards per carry and scored on runs of 50, 41 and 4 yards. Brown now has eight touchdowns and is averaging 9.6 points per game, which ties him with Florida's Tim Tebow for the SEC lead.
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</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> Brown's rushing total was the most for a Bulldog since Verron Haynes recorded 207 yards against Georgia Tech in 2001 and Georgia's 328 rushing yards against the Rebels was the most for the Bulldogs since 1991. Brown has now gone over 100 yards rushing six times in his career.

UGA Football Information Thread for the Upcoming NCAA Football Season

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