Bruce Pearl

Funny stuff here - great quote from Bruce Pearl...

In a press conference today, he was quoted as saying," I've made mistakes, I clearly did, but what I was hoping for was that some other dumbass would get on the front page and take me off the hook. I miss Lane Kiffin."

Classic

Boise in the Dome? Yessssir - Here's Why...

Playing Boise in the Georgia Dome to kick off the 2011 season is a move I would love to see happen. My only major concern is having to play South Carolina the next weekend.

-- McGarity would love to get out of playing @ Louisville in 2012. With one of our home games already in Jacksonville that year, and 1 of our OOC games on the road in Louisville, we would only have 3 SEC home games and 3 OOC games in Athens. McGarity has been on record as saying he wants to juggle the schedule so that we can play 7 home games every year. If we can get rid of Louisville the next 2 years, it sets up like this:

• Odd years: 4 SEC games in Athens, 3 OOC games in Athens and 1 OOC game at the massive stadium in Atlanta vs. the Geeks
• Even Years: 3 SEC games in Athens (the 4th home game in JAX), 4 OOC Games in Athens

-- Next year, we would only get 6 games in Athens, but 2 of our Away games would be in Atlanta. The biggest challenge we face with a road OOC game is the long travel back and shortening our week after travelling back east from Oklahoma or Arizona. And, while this game vs. Boise will be a neutral site on paper, it will be a home game in reality. Everybody knows that 85% of the crowd will be barking like crazy.

-- We need to get some national juice going with our program again. We have fallen far off the national radar with our substandard performances in 2009 and 2010. Opening the season vs. Boise State and South Carolina will get us back on that radar as both Boise and USCe could both be top 10 pre-season. GameDay will be there and we will be in the prime-time 8:00 slot nationwide on ABC.

-- This is one final sales pitch to the in-state 4 and 5 star recruits that we are battling Bama, Florida, Auburn, and FSU for --- You can have your coming out party playing in front of Herbstreit, Corso, Fowler and a national TV audience vs. a top 5 team in the GA Dome. 17 and 18 year old kids love this stuff.

-- It keeps Nick Saban, Lane Kiffin, Urban Meyer, Les Miles, etc out of our city and away from all the HS talent in Georgia.

-- We have everything to gain and nothing to lose -- we might be playing a team coming off of a BCS title game. If Boise doesn't make it to the big game, we are playing against a team that will have played in 2 consecutive BSC bowl games. IF we lose, as much as I hate to say this - it's what is expected - we will be underdogs. But, WHEN we win, it could catapult us into a great season and into the national spotlight. Can you imagine what Sanford stadium will be like when we kick it off vs. South Carolina the next week after beating Boise State?

-- Hopefully, opening up with these strong 2 opponents will grab our players attention in the offseason and keep them out of trouble. Nobody will want to be suspended for the national game of the week with GameDay there. This is certainly a double-edged sword as we could very well be without a key player or 3... But, nothing else is keeping our kids out of trouble - maybe this finally will.

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Cam is "Son of the Preacherman"

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Very Interesting Tweets

I am working late tonight and have no idea why these rumors started or why Richt and McGarity are being asked about playing Boise St in the GA Dome next year. Just passing the info along.

@ajcuga: UGA AD Greg McGarity on rumors of a possible Georgia-Boise State game in the Georgia Dome next year: "I just can't comment at this time."

"@marcweiszer: Richt no comment on Boise State game. "I'll tell you Monday," he said when asked about wanting to get in game since other SEC teams have."

"@Dawgs247: Richt on possibly playing Boise State in Ga Dome: "Hypothetically, no comment. ... I'm not making any comment."

Time to Laugh at a Good Joke

Even if the Dawgs take a few hits from the author of this video, it's pretty damn funny.

More on Cam

For those of you that are curious about the saga going on over at AU with the FBI getting involved, there is a really good read out there on the Internet at tigerdroppings.com. This article may or may not be true - only time will tell. But if 25% of what this article says is truth, AU is going to really, really hurt when this investigation is all said and done. This article introduces all the major players behind the scenes and takes us all the way back to the Pat Dye days to show the chain of events that have led us up to the current scandal allegedly taking place. If you have a chance to get away from the desk/boss/wife/kids, click on the link below and take your Blackberry/iPhone/Droid and go sit on the toilet for a really long, good read. Click here to read the full article with all the details. If you don't have the time or for a quick preview, here is an excerpt from the conclusion of the article...

"The FBI has been investigating Colonial Bank and Louder for a number
of possible violations in the financial market crash which are
unrelated to AU. Part of the investigation involved gambling fraud
between McGregor and Colonial Bank. Something called the Rico Stature
allowed the justice department to set up wiretaps on Colonial Bank.
On the wiretaps the FBI found major AU recruiting infractions involving
Louder, McGregor, Dye, Trooper, boosters and others.
Here’s what they say the FBI has on tape and can prove AU did:

• The people above are on tape explaining who they paid and how they did it.
• It involves many AU players
• Providing unmarked Colonial Bank ATM cards to players to withdraw
money from secret accounts.
• Giving “slot machine cards” to the players, which now involves the
Alabama Gaming Commission.
• Provided improper loans to some of the families in our last and
current recruiting class.
• The NCAA “strongly” recommended that AU sit Cam for GA game because
of the mounting evidence.
• President Grogue wanted to sit Cam but was overruled by Louder and
the Board of Trustees.
• Coach Chizik knows none of this and has been lied to by Jacobs.
• The people named above know the S%#& is going to hit the fan “big
time” and have decided “we’re going down” so lets win the title even
if they take it away later.
• Slive knew about this early and sat on the information and is also
in the “crosshairs” of the FBI."

Auburn Has Moved Up...

I never really hated AU before this past weekend. I know several Dawg fans that hate Auburn with a passion and put them right up there with Florida, Tech and Tennessee as far as hated rivals go. I always felt like AU was a "friendly rival", if such a thing exists. Well, I waited 4 days to type this out to see if I was just feeling differently in the heat of the moment. Turns out, Auburn has moved up my list of hated teams. They now sit with Florida at the top of my list.

What Auburn did to move up the list so quickly....

-- Signed a freak athlete that makes Tim Tebow look like a normal dude. No problem with that at all, but the problem comes in when the kid was allegedly shopped around as Dad demanded 6 figures for his son's signature on Signing Day. It's starting to make sense how the new HC with a career record of 5-19 was able to recruit so damn well as soon as he arrived on the Plains.

-- Nick Fairley's hits on Murray drove me up the wall...

• 1st - he grinds facemasks with Murray and opens up a gash on AM's chin.
• 2nd - he damn near breaks Murray in half as he spears AM in the back drawing a flag for roughing the QB.
• 3rd - the shot on Murray's knee in the final minute of the game. If this guy didn't have the history of cheap shots on QB's, I would give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. But, after watching him play, he is a dirty SOB and I can't assume he wasn't trying to take AM's knees out.

-- Trooper Taylor, with his hat turned around backwards, waving flags and jumping into players arms is a damn thug (is he a coach or an overpaid cheerleader?) . Especially when he goes out to high-five his thug player as Fairley is acting as if he is putting on his heavyweight belt after nearly causing a bench-clearing brawl. Dude has been rumored to be a dirty, cheating recruiter and he certainly passes that eyeball test.

-- I have no problem with Chizik pumping his fist and trying to fire up his players and fans from the sidelines. In fact, I think it's cool when a coach is that into it. But, not when you are doing that in the final minute of a game leading 49-31 and 2 fights have just broken out. Not to mention the fact that he put #90 back in the game after the 1st skirmish. When you do that stuff, you are encouraging a fight to break out.

As for my thoughts on UGA post-game:

-- I absolutely love Ben Jones for starting the fight after Fairley's final hit on Murray. Gotta protect the franchise. Make no mistake about it - Murray is our franchise right now.

-- Speaking of our franchise, Aaron Murray is one the the toughest SOB's that will ever play 'Tween the Hedges. He has taken some big licks this year and Saturday was no different. But, he just keeps finding a way to get back up and take the next snap. Apparently, he was telling Richt to put him back in after limping off with the gimpy knee. Oh, yeah - he is a pretty good QB too. Check our these stats courtesy of David Pollack's twitter account....... WOW

• Greene's best season.......... 2508 yds,20 TD, 4 INT, 148.4 Rating
• Stafford's best season.........3459 yds, 25 TD, 10 INT, 153.54 Rating
• Murray thru 11 games........2580 yds, 21 TD, 6 INT, 156.8 Rating

-- Make no mistake about it - Richt and McGarity were pissed off about the late hits and how the game was handled by the refs on Saturday. I guarantee you they have been bunring up the phone lines of Mike Slive and the entire SEC office. Would we love to have seen Richt go nuts in the post-game press conference? Absolutely - but that is not his style and it never will be. But, there is no doubt in my mind that this was handled by our HC and our AD the proper way through the proper channels.

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Bulldog Hotline Call-in Show with CMR

Click here for another great summary by Jim in Duluth.

Great read on Cam's eligibility chances

Click here

Bring It On

Dawgs win 31-21 as they begin to turn this series around and make it 2 out of 4 in JAX today.

FLA's lack of a kicker will hurt them and force them to turn it over on downs when they would have normally taken the 3 points. We also get 7 points on a defensive TD (or a really short field set up by our D) and 7 points from our special teams.

Leave your prediction in the Comments section.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

2 great videos below. The 1st video takes you from the early 80s to the mid 2000s. The 2nd video has a lot of Stafford, MoMass and Knowshon. Enjoy - if these don't get you fired up, you might already be dead.

Another Take on FLA's Injury/Suspension Report

Everyone knows by now that Chris Rainey is going to play in tomorrow's game. The sports talk hosts are loving Urban for making it an easy day to host and generate conversation. But, what is lost in all of this news is the fact that Florida's K Caleb Sturgis is out for the game, leaving the FL punter Chas Henry as the Gators' best option for FG's. He is 2/5 on the year with a long FG of 39 yards. I think that news will have a bigger influence of the outcome of the game than FL getting a (hopefully) rusty RB/WR back in Chris Rainey.

Pulpwood talks WLOCP

Warning: Turn the volume down if you are in the office or around your kids and don't want the profanity to be heard.

LINK: Pulpwood on WLOCP

Good Stuff

Funny video with CUM and his offensive coordinator - I have to give credit to the Georgia Sports Blog for finding it first.

Knowshon vs. Gators in '07

I swear if I ever have a 3rd kid, I might name him/her Knowshon. Doesn't matter if it is a boy or a girl. The 2007 WLOCP was the most fun I have ever had at a sporting event.

Debate of the Day.....WLOCP Edition

If you are Mike Bobo (or Mark Richt, depending on who you believe is actually calling the plays these days), how would you open the game as far as play-calling/gameplan goes?

OPTION #1 -

Punch the Gators in the mouth and run the ball all over them from the beginning. This is what we did back in '07 with Knowshon. I am not sure what the exact #'s were, but I think we ran every single play of that opening drive that culminated with the Celebration in the Endzone. If I had more confidence in our OL run-blocking, I would do this in a heartbeat. I would love to start the game with a 7 Minute drive with Ealey pounding the Gator's young defensive front. But, if we get stuffed in the backfield on the opening drive the way that Knowshon did in '08 (by Brandon Spikes) and go 3-and-out, nobody is going to be happy. The positive of this gameplan is obvious - send a message to the Gators that we are the more physical team and we are going to push you around all day long. My problem with this gameplan is 2-fold: a lack of complete confidence in our run-blocking AND I don't want to see us getting back to running such a conservative offense when Murray is proving to be a playmaker and with some dude named AJ as our WR.

OPTION # 2 -

Open the playbook up early - get the quick score and let the Gators know that we want to get into a track meet with them. Because we know that the Gators offense can't keep up with our offense. Just throw a little wrinkle that we never see BUT it has to be in our playbook somewhere. Do we not have anything in our playbook that involves Logan throwing a pass off a reverse or some kind of a trick play? I wouldn't be opposed to that sort of a low-risk, high-reward type of play early on hitting AJ deep and getting everyone fired up on the field. The positive side of this is making FL feel a little nervous that they can't possibly score at will with the mess that is their offense right now. On the negative side, the play blows up in our face, we look desperate playing FL again and it sets a bad tone for the rest of the game.

MY TAKE -

I think I am leaning toward Option 2. I am just worried that we won't get the push up front that we will need to sustain a long drive against a fresh set of defensive legs. As the game goes on and we wear them down, I think we can move that direction, but I want to see AM sling that ball around and open up our offense and turn this into a track meet. I don't care what changes that scumbag Urban Meyer makes, I don't think their offense can go toe-to-toe with our offense.

What do you think? It is easy to complain about our play-calling (hell, I have ripped Bobo many times in the past) after the gameplan doesn't work. But, if you were setting the gameplan before kickoff, what do you think we should do with our opening possession? Leave your thoughts in the Comments section.

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DIRECTV Customers

For all the Dawg fans that don't have Charter or Comcast, you have to order tonight's game via ESPN Gameplan. I just hung up with DirecTV and the game will be on channel 790 and will not be blacked out. The bad news is the game is only being offered in Standard Definition. If you order ESPN Gameplan for just 1 day, a charge of $24 will be added to your next bill. There is also a service fee of $1.50 if you order through the automated phone system and a $5.00 fee if you order it through a customer rep. You are not able to order the 1 day Gameplan on the internet - But, if you want to order the rest of the season of ESPN Gameplan, you may do so on DirecTV's website for $73.

You can call DirecTV at (800)GET-SPORTS to get to the automated system or to speak to a customer rep if you have any questions.

UGA-Kentucky

Prediction Time -

On offense, Aaron Murray continues his march towards greatness and will begin to make people re-think their SEC Freshman of the Year ballots. As of Sunday morning, Marcus Lattimore is not the shoo-in that everyone thought he was after he ran over us. Dawgs put up 30+ today.

On Defense, the players continue to show they they "get it" as Kentucky is held to under 20 points for only the 2nd time this year. Todd Grantham is going to look like a better hire every week that the season goes on.

Final Score - Dawgs 31, Cats 17. What say you? Leave your prediction in the Comments section...

Greatest Sports Calls

Here is a list of Sport's Greatest Calls, complete with YouTube videos. Munson's "Run, Lindsay, Run" checks in at 10th on the countdown.

Do You Remember 2007???

Heading into the Florida game, we had already lost to South Carolina in Athens, gotten absolutely thumped in Knoxville, and barely escaped Nashville with a last second win over lowly Vanderbilt. Then we turned into (in my opinion), the best team in the country and finished with a #2 national ranking. I am certainly not saying that we are going to do the same thing this year, but we can still make it to the Georgia Dome if we can build off last week's blowout win over UT. I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out...

- first things first, we need to win out. That part is obvious. But, not as daunting a task as we once thought, considering that Florida looks very average.

- we need Kentucky to knock off South Carolina this weekend in Lexington. It should be very interesting to see how USCe handles prosperity.

- we need Florida to beat South Carolina.

- That would leave us in a 3-way tie for 1st in the East with SC and Florida. The 1st tiebreaker is head to head competition, which would be thrown out since we beat FL, FL beat SC, and SC beat us. The 2nd tiebreaker is record of the tied teams within the division. UGA and FL would both be 4-1, while SC would be 3-2 (thus eliminating SC from the GA Dome). Next up would be head to head between FL and UGA.

- the other scenario would involve SC winning vs. Kentucky but finding a way to lose 3 other SEC games (after Lexington this weekend, they still have to play @ VAN, vs. UT, vs. ARK, and @ FL). Yes - that's an enormous collapse, but this is still South Carolina we are talking about.

I'm not saying we have a great shot, but stranger things have happened. And I will definitely be tuning into the SC-Kentucky game this Saturday night.

Big Bad Bruce

UGA VIII will finally be introduced to the college football world on Saturday when we play Vanderbilt. "Big Bad Bruce" is 13 months old, weighs 55 pounds and is the grandson of UGA VI.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Damn, Damn, Damn. A few quick hits....

THE GOOD
- Aaron Murray is a stud - he is far from being the reason we lost. Playing in a tough environment, the R-Fr showed plenty of poise and great accuracy.
- Justin Houston - Enjoy this season, Dawg fans - it will be his final season in Athens.
-The defensive scheme seemed good - much better than last year when the opposing receivers were WIDE open. At least our players were in place to make the tackle. See THE BAD section for more on this.
- The Tech-Geeks lost to Kansas, who lost 6-3 to North Dakota State University last week.

THE BAD
- While the scheme appeared solid, the defensive players leaving their feet and launching their shoulders into offensive players is gonna drive me crazy. What happened to wrapping up the ballcarrier?
- Our O-Line - I don't care about the experience we have returning. I don't want to hear about injuries and how we need time to gel as a unit. We only get 12 games - we need to play good in the 1st 6 games as well as the final 6. The fact remains that we don't open up any holes for our RB's. For all "the experience" we have up front, I don't think we have much talent.

THE UGLY
- Ealey's fumble was huge. Big momentum killer following the SC fumble.
- Our safety play was a huge disappointment. I was expecting bigger plays from Rambo and The Hitman. Those guys fell backwards on way too many of their tackles. Maybe that is my fault for expecting so much after drinking the kool-aid all summer long.

FIND-A-WAY

There are enough articles out there complaining about (1) The unfair punishment that AJ received from the NCAA, (2) The bad decision that AJ made and how could he put the team in this predicament, or (3) the Chicken Little "Sky is Falling" people that say we are going to lose at least 2 out of the next 3 games without AJ.

Here's a few other ways to look at today's crappy news...

1. Aaron Murray is the real deal. He will have his coming out party over the next few weeks. There is a reason every school in the country wanted him. It would be easier with AJ on the field, but this kid can play. He does not have to win games for us, but he has the ability to make the play. And, from all reports, he has "it", whatever that means.
2. We are going to grow up fast as an offense without AJ out there. While it is true that AJ is the Playmaker on this team and the best WR in the country, we are not lacking for talent on the offensive side of the ball. Tavarres King showed signs last year and has supposedly taken the next step. Kris Durham is a solid option. Marlon Brown made an appearance last week and was almost as highly recruited as AJ. Everybody wanted Wooten-da-BallCarrier on their team when he signed 2 years ago. We have Ealey coming back this weekend. Carlton Thomas looked great last week (I kinda liked him better than King last week, especially if our line is not opening holes and the RB has to make something happen on his own). Orson Charles and the TE's get a bigger role in the offense now. I'm not saying AJ's production will be easily replaced, but we don't lack for weapons.
3. Bobo almost has to do what we did against Tech. We have a red-shirt FR QB that is missing his security blanket in #8. We have a stable of RB's in King, Ealey, and Thomas to go along with 2 great Fullbacks and a ridiculously deep set of TE's. Let's line up, pound the ball and keep it simple. And then run some play-action to TK to stretch the field.
4. Todd Grantham HAS to show up with a great defense without any holes. Something tells me that Grantham will enjoy having his back against the wall in a bunker mentality. I think he will thrive in this type of situation. We can not afford to get into shootouts looking for quick scores without the best player on the field for either team. We need some ugly wins - and playing great D is the key to that. We can not give up the quick score too often and Grantham knows this. The good news is I think we have the right guy running the defense to count on this to happen again. It's gonna be like the BVG days all over again. Unlike the last 5 years, we don't have to score 35 to have a chance.
5. AJ will be healthy for what will hopefully be the key stretch run vs. Kentucky, Florida, Auburn, the Tech-geeks and the GA Dome. We have never seen a healthy AJ Green at the end of the season vs. those opponents. If we can find a way to get through this suspension without a loss, we will be tough to beat with a beefed up lineup that returns AJ Green.

SEC Media Days

The unofficial kickoff to football season kicked off today in Alabama, where Nick Saban is still going off on the dirty agents that are trying to corrupt NCAA football players' eligibility everywhere. As much as I dislike Saban, I can't disagree with anything he said today...

A lot has happened since our last post here at UGA VIII, so we have a lot to catch up on. Here are 5 quick hits as we get cranked back up over here.

1. I am glad Aaron Murray is our QB1. He was the guy I had pegged since he signed with us out of Tampa 2 years ago. I never thought AM would win the job by default, but I also never thought Mettenberger was going to be the long-term answer.

2. Aaron Murray is the key to the 2010 season. I don't mean that he has to be exceptional or lead us to the promised land. I mean he just needs to be smart enough to get the ball to the playmakers and not lose the game for us. Hand off to Ealey, hand off to Caleb, throw to AJ, Orson, Tavarres King (after he returns from suspension), Durham, Wooten da Ball Carrier, a hopefully much improved Marlon Brown, etc. Actually, a whole lot of Murray's success will depend on Bobo's playcalling...

3. Richt is NOT on the hot seat. Not even close. If we win 7 games this year, then he will be on the hot seat next year. But, that is not going to happen. I expect a minimum of 10 wins this year. Our offense returns 10 starters and Murray replaces a turnover machine (no offense meant to Joe Cox - great kid, big heart). So, the offense should be pretty damn good with a healthy AJ and a much more experienced backfield in King and Ealey, all supported by a very deep, talented offensive line.

4. The off-season arrests are getting old, but they could be a lot worse. We don't have any armed robbery or beating of police officers, BUT these guys have got to get smart. Are they not paying attention to what CMR is doing to guys getting caught? It seems like the message is not getting through even though players are being booted from the team. I am not sure what else Richt and staff are doing for punishment, but I did read some good ideas after the latest DUI involving Dontavious Jackson. I like the idea of punishing the entire team for 1 player's mistake. Peer pressure is a powerful tool that can be used for good at times like this.

5. Our defense is going to be exciting this year. In a good way (turnovers, sacks, TD's) and in a bad way (missed assignments = big play quick TD's). I love everything coming from the defensive side of the ball - Grantham's intensity to Lakatos' new techniques. Unfortunately, I think it is going to take more than a spring practice and a fall camp to install the new defense.

Several more posts to come. Please follow us on Twitter here or become a fan on Facebook here.

Debate of the Day....Best Chance To Win Division?

With the Grapefruit League and Spring Practice both up and rolling, we thought we would throw out a new Debate of the Day to y'all - For 2010, who has the better chance of winning their respective division? The Dawgs in the SEC East or the Braves in the National League East? Both teams have plenty of plenty of potential and a few question marks. Read on and chime in below with your thoughts in the comments section.

UGA in 2010...

The big question marks for UGA are the QB position and how quickly can the D pick up Grantham's new 3-4 scheme? As to the 1st question mark... If Aaron Murray is as half as good as his hype, we will have the best offense in the East, hands down. We return 10 starters from last year's team that averaged nearly 29 points/game and the new QB will be replacing a turnover machine. While having a rookie QB is never ideal in the SEC, this might be the ideal situation to have a rookie QB. Think about it - we have a veteran offensive line, a dynamic tandem at RB and the best WR in the nation. To me (along with the rest of the Bulldog Nation), the big question is on defense. If CTG and the new staff can coach the players up and they are able to grasp the new system quickly, 2010 could be a banner year for the Dawgs. The special teams should be a huge strength for us as we enter into 2010. In Walsh and Butler, we have the best P/K combo in the country to go along with a record-setting return man and a new coaching staff running the unit.

As for the Dawgs' competition to win the East, they have to deal with (1) a rebuilding Florida team with a schizophrenic head coach, (2) a South Carolina team led by Stephen Garcia, and (3) a Tennessee team that is getting to know its 3rd coaching staff in as many years. The East is going to be down this year more than we have seen in a long time.

Braves in 2010...

The Braves are going to have one of the best starting rotations in baseball. Lowe, Jurrjens, Hudson, Hanson, and Kawakami - pretty damn solid. So, the Braves have come back around and gone back to their successful model from the 90s. The other half of the battery is also about as good as you can get - McCann has become one of the best backstops in MLB over the last 4 years. After that, the Braves are loaded with potential - both good and bad. Chipper Jones could hit over .300 with 25 jacks and 100 RBI, but he could also miss 100 games. They signed a former AL Homerun Champ and he is only 32 years old. The problem is Troy Glaus could hit more than 32 HR or he could get less than 32 AB. The super prospect Jason Heyward probably provides all of us Braves fans with the the biggest question mark along with the most excitement. The Braves are really hoping for him to bust out this year and make a significant contribution. The obvious problem is you can't really expect a 20 year old to step in and start mashing in his first big league season.

As for competition, The Braves' big hurdles are the 2-time defending National League Champion Phillies, the big-spending Mets, and the Marlins, who seem to always have a good young lineup that could all break out at any time.

My Take......

The Braves need a bunch of old guys to prove their bodies can endure a 162 game season. Between Chipper, Glaus, Saito, and Wagner, we have a good chance that a major part of our lineup/team will miss significant action over the course of 162 games. The Dawgs, on the other hand, have a bunch of young guys that have to prove they can play at this level. I would much rather bet on young potential rising to a challenge than bet on old brittle bodies making it thought the 6 month grind of a MLB season.

The schedule/competition also favors UGA. I never thought I would say this, but the SEC East will be a little weak next year. Of course, it's all relative when I say that. But, Florida has a lot to replace, including all- world Superman (careful when you click here - it's an awfully bright orange and blue page) and a whole lot of underclassman that left early. Tennessee lost a lot of seniors from an average team last year and they will be getting to know their 3rd coaching staff in as many years. And until they prove otherwise, in my eyes, South Carolina will always be...... well... South Carolina. They just always find a way to screw it up. The Braves, on the other hand, have a tough field to compete against. The NL East will be as strong as any division in MLB in 2010. The Phillies will be going for a 3rd straight pennant, the Mets will get some superstars back from injury (Reyes and Beltran) this year, and the Marlins have been a thorn in the Braves' side since expansion in 1993.

I have gotta go with the Dawgs here. While both teams have the potential to have great seasons and win their East Divisions, the Braves' margin for success is just too thin. And their competition is just too strong and proven. At this point, I think UGA should be favored to win the East next year. But, that's another post for another day.

What do y'all think? I look forward to reading your comments below.

We're Still Streaking

Men's Tennis had a huge comeback upset win today over #6 Kentucky to keep the home winning streak alive. That means 70 straight home wins for the Dawgs and Coach Diaz is now one win shy of 500. He will become the 6th coach in NCAA history to surpass 500 career wins. After being down 3-0, the Dawgs stormed back with wins at #3, #4, #6, and #5 singles. The match was clinched by Junior Drake Bernstein. Bernstein was down 3 match points as he was serving in the 3rd set. Down 4-5, love-40, Bernstein stormed back to win the final 3 games as UGA continues streaking in dramatic fashion.

Next match is at home vs. #21 Vanderbilt on Sunday @ 1 pm.

Looking way ahead, the Dawgs will be hosting the NCAA Championships at the Dan Magill Complex, known as the "Mecca of College Tennis" this year. Dates are set for May 20-31 and tickets can be purchased here.

IF YOU LOVE SPORTS!!

DAVIS CUP UPDATE!!

John Isner, the former bulldawg great, has just entered into a 5th set with world #2 Novak Djokovic. The match is being played in Serbia and it has a college tennis vibe to it. The USA and Isner are down 2 matches to 1 , and we need Isner to pull through in the 5th set to give Sam Querry a chance in the final deciding match. Isner has shown the heart of a bulldawg the whole match, lets pull him through!! Live scoring here. And if you have Tennis Channel it is on NOW Live.

Spring Practice Links - Day 1

There are some great updates out there on the 1st day of spring practice. Enjoy...

David Hale's 1st report from a bunch of quick tidbits from spring practice - I think all Dawg fans will be glad to hear his initial reaction to Grantham's coaching style. Later on, Hale followed up with a full report on the practice. Finally, he has some video highlights up from Practice #1 of the New Defensive Era. Over at the Macon Telegraph, Hale does a piece on how excited the coaches are to be working together on the field.

Marc Weiszer has a live report from spring practice, and then he empties the notebook later.

Tim Tucker (AJC) reports on new jersey #'s, among other things.

The AB-H has a report on Grantham's 1st day, as well as a story on the 1st Day of the QB Race.

Scout has a story on the learning curve of the Dawg's new defense, and another story on the excited nervousness that some of the players had before getting back on the field.

Battle Hymn Notes leaves us with 12 questions heading into UGA's Spring Break.

The Hits Keep Coming...

Here's to hoping that Alec Ogletree will continue the tradition of huge hits from our safeties that we saw in CMR's early years with Thomas Davis and Greg Blue. Dude is laying people out here...

Just for the fun of it - here is one of Blue's biggest hits - I remember this like it was yesterday. I was sitting in the end-zone seats by the locker rooms and I thought #17 had decapitated that poor reciever from AU.

Q & A with Todd Grantham

Friday evening, Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham spent approximately 17 minutes fielding questions from Bulldog beat writers.

Among the subjects, his initial impression with the talent he'll have at his disposal, plus his thoughts on recruiting thus far.

The following is what he had to say.

Q - What has been your first impression of the players you will have at your disposal?

A - "After working with them on Mat Drills, I'm excited to get spring started. I'm looking forward to getting these guys on the grass and seeing what they can do with some pads on. I'm real pleased with the players that we have here and I'm encouraged by their effort. From what I've seen in Mat Drills you're working to develop discipline and mental toughness and that's the thing you're trying to develop there and I've been very pleased with the progress made in those areas."

Q - Can you explain what you're looking for from your outside backers, inside backers the ends and the responsibilities of each?

A - "As an outside backer, you're an edge rusher so you've got to have some athletic ability, you've got to have some flexibility. You've got to be able to bend your body and get to the quarterback.
You've also got to have the ability to do some drops, most of the time it's a flat or a hook, but it's a short area drop. You've also got to have the ability to tackle in space because there's more range from the end of the tackle to the sideline sometimes so you've got to have the range right there.
"As an inside backer, you've got to have similar skill sets in terms of athletic ability; you've probably got a little more range, a little more of an ability to close to a guy in space. You've got more coverage responsibility as an inside linebacker, in other words you've got more areas, more zones, more matches, different matches, a little bit different run-fits. You're not going to rush the passer as much although it's still important you can do that, it's a different kind of rush. Coming off the edge, you're going to engage the tackle, be one-on-one with a tackle usually and we want to get backs, which I feel we will win those battles but we expect to get big guys, offensive tackles on our guys coming off the edge whereas when you come up the middle you usually get on backs inside, so it's a different kind of rush.
"As far as our ends, our D-linemen in general, they're going to have some pass rush. They're generally bigger guys, thicker guys; they still have the length you look for but they may not have the skill set as an outside backer would have. But they're not asked to do the same kind of things because they're bigger guys. Really, when you talk about defensive linemen you're talking about guys you want to be physical at the point, physical at the line of scrimmage. You want guys that have some stoutness to them and can knock guys back and penetrate but yet have enough athletic ability that they can shed guys, escape blockers and they can win some one-on-one matchups inside, not only to disrupt the quarterback in the pass game, but also make some plays in the run game. That's the skill set of those three people."

Q - What's it been like getting your hands wet with recruiting along with trying to get your program built on defense?

A - "I've been really excited; I'm really pleased with the way recruiting is going. Basically, the way we've structured our meetings is we're working half days on recruiting, and then the other half to three-quarters of a day we're working on football, so that's more than a day, right? Basically, we're working a day-an-half within a day. Seriously, what we're trying to do is handle recruiting, evaluate all the players in the state of Georgia. I've been really excited with the players I've seen on tape, the talent that I expected to see is here and I'm excited to get guys on our campus and show them what we offer defensively, as well as what the University of Georgia offers. If we do that, like I told you before, if we can just get guys within a five-hour radius to come to our school, we can become very competitive and based on what I've seen on tape it's exceeded my expectations."

Q - Explain the dynamics of the defensive coaching staff and the strengths you feel the group brings?

A - "I think the critical thing is to make sure everybody's on the same page, making sure we understand what we're trying to get accomplished, making sure the language that we're talking is all the same because the guys that we hired I feel are good teachers. The big thing you've got to do when you're installing something new is be very precise in how you install it, you've got to be very consistent, you've got to all talk in the same language, make sure you're all on the same page so that the players understand and really that's what we've been trying to do as a staff."

Q - Will any of the defensive terminology be the same as last year?

A - "We're going to use our language, there might be something where a guy can say "same as" but the terminology we'll use is what I'm used to."

Q - How excited are the guys that they will be able to go after the quarterback?

A - "In general, players want to make plays so I think that's the big thing; I think that players want to win and players want to make plays. I think players also want to please the coach or they want to have success, look at it that way and as a coach if you can make players understand that you have their interest at heart, that you can make them a better player, they pay attention and I think they'll give you the effort that it takes to be successful because sometimes it comes down to winning a one-on-one matchup. You've got to be able to do those things. You can do those with technique, you can do that with athletic ability; the combination of both allows you to win more often than not so I'm looking forward to getting on the grass and letting them fly around with some pads on."

Q - What have been the biggest questions recruits have had for you?

A - "I think the biggest thing is just where guys would play. There's a little bit of an unknown about what is it, where would I fit in and I think that's the big thing about recruiting is you're developing a relationship with players, but you're also educating them on how they would fit in because it's a two-way street. We want to make sure we're getting guys that are going to allow us to win the SEC but at the same time, we want to make sure they understand how we're going to utilize them and how they would fit into our program because when they get here we want to make sure that they're happy and that everybody understands what's expected."

Q - How much of your system do you expect to install during the spring?

A - "It's important that we install our system, for first and second down on all the different personnel groups we're going to see; it's important we develop a third-down package, it's real critical that we identify the players that will help us compete for an SEC Championship and really define the roles for the players. I think it's critical you define the roles for each player so when they leave for the summer, here's what you can do to improve yourself, here's what you can work on so when we come back everybody's got an understanding.
"It's also important that we work on all the different offenses that we're going to see so when it comes Week 7 that we see something that may be a little different; we're fully ready for it. It's going to be a busy spring."

Q - How important will it be for your players to cross-train?

A - "I think the biggest thing is you need to have flexibility in your systems and the players need flexibility because I've always said you evaluate your players 1-50. If somebody gets hurt you want to put the next-best player in the game so I think it's important that players are flexible, that they can adjust and that they can play more than one position so we will have more than those guys in there to see how they can do to give us some depth. I've always been a big believer that injury creates depth. Sometimes you're afraid to put a guy in there then all of a sudden a guy gets hurt and you're forced to then all of a sudden it's like 'Hey, this guy can play' then the other guy comes back and you've got depth. So I've always believed that injury creates depth and that's why it's critical that guys learn more than one spot so to allow you to get the best players on the field. Scheme is important we're going to have a good scheme, but fundamentals area really critical and to have players that can make plays is critical. To make plays you've got to have your best players on the field, so it's going to be real critical to have your best players on the field."

Q - You've said DeAngelo Tyson and Kwame Geathers will play nose, what about Brandon Wood?

A - "He can play in there, he will be an end but he will play in there."

Q - What about DeMarcus Dobbs?

A - "Yes, again, anybody who plays end can play nose."

Q - Have you determined what players will play outside linebacker?

A - "Justin Houston will be an outside backer, Cornelius (Washington) will be an outside backer, Montez (Robinson) will be an outside backer. Richard Samuel will start as an outside backer for now."

Q - Where will Abry Jones play?

A - "Abry will start out as an end but again he will be a guy who can also play nose."

Q - What are your expectations for Richard Samuel?

A - "Basically with him it's just to let him get his feet wet with being a defensive player. We'll teach him the techniques, he's going to be raw but we want to let him go out and improve every day and as long as he does that and showcase his athletic ability, which he does. He's done an excellent job to date, I think it will be a growing process for him. I just want him to work every day to get better, just get his feet wet and the mindset that now you're chasing the guy with the ball. He'll have an understand of what's going to happen to him because sometime when you've got an offensive perspective, you have a feel for the formation that the ball's going here because you've been over there and understand that. So I think those things will help him. We're going to teach him to play with his hands, to shed blocks, tackle and finish the play. Those are things we will work on but athletically he has shown the skills that are needed, so I look forward to getting him out there in the spring."

Q - Could Richard redshirt?

A - "We have that (option) but right now we're just focused on getting guys ready for next year."

Q - Are there any bad habits you need to get your players to change?

A - "The only thing I did was when I came here was to evaluate the players and just get a feel for their athletic ability, where I thought they would fit in our scheme and as we move forward I'm just interested in making them better players, make them fundamentally sound in what we want them to and that's the approach we're going to take. We're going to introduce our system to them but I think it's real critical that you develop your fundamentals in spring practice and that goes to attacking blockers, playing with your hands, shedding blocks understand where the ball carriers in relative to your position and tackling.
"There's all kind of different tackling. There's inline tackling, there's angle tackling, there's in space one-on-one, there's space with another guy, inside outside; there's space sideline tackling. We'll expose them to all kinds of tackling but I think it's real critical that you develop those fundamentals in spring practice because it is a fundamental game; it's about attacking blocker, knocking a guy back, blocking and finishing the play. Those are the things we're going to emphasize."

Q - What have your meetings been like with the players so far?

A - "It's been very general. We've had them watch some tape, but I don't think there's anything like being on the field. So even though they've seen it, I think until you can go out and do it, that's the best way guys learn, to get a real feel for it."

Q - Is there much difference coaching professional players as opposed to those in college?

A - "Not really, most players generally want to succeed. You obviously have a different daily schedule, but you still have your meeting times and your development with the players. I feel like as a coach right now they really have, sometimes you have a veteran player it's hard to change that guy. But these guys are so young sometimes they don't have habits at all, so that can be a good thing, too. I don't think there's ultimately any difference. Players want to play, players want to have success and if you can get players to buy into your product, they will generally play hard. If players play hard, they're generally going to succeed."

Courtesy of Rivals

Wow, Part II

I forgot about this, but say hello to Grantham's newest LB. I am not sure who the bigger freak is......

Richard Samuel in this play??........




............Or AJ in this play??



All I can say is Wow. I look forward to Richard Samuel at LB for the next couple of years.

Wow

It's hard to not get a little excited about Aaron Murray as our next QB with all the praise being thrown his way. According to ESPN's Joe Schad, Colt McCoy says that Murray is "one of the most impressive players he's ever seen". Then, this video pops up on Rivals counting down the top 10 QB camp performances since 2006 (check out Murray's 1st pass to WR Matthew Stafford). Murray was 2nd in the video's rankings, finishing behind Stafford and ahead of:

• Tim Tebow (anytime the media ranks you ahead of Tebow, you know you've impressed)
• Matt Barkley (last year's media darling at USC)
• Ryan Mallet (IMO, the SEC's best QB heading into 2010, hands down)
• John Brantley (the guy that is supposedly going to make UF fans forget about Tebow)
• Josh Freeman (1st round NFL draft pick for TB)
• Jake Locker (would have been one of the top picks in this year's draft if he had left Washington early)

That's a solid list to be #2 on. And it's pretty damn cool that UGA has the top 2 spots. If half of the hype on Murray is true, Logan might as well start learning the playbook from the perspective of a WR or a CB.

And don't forget to check out the "Debate of the Day" between Champ Bailey and David Pollack that we did last week.

Debate of the Day.... Champ vs Pollack

Our QB debate started some good conversation, so we thought we would move over to defense for the next installment of the "Debate of the Day". These two guys were two of the best ever to wear the red and black. One of them has gone on to a Hall of Fame NFL career and the other's career got cut short due to injury. Here are some stats on Champ and Pollack with our picks below.

Champ Bailey

• 33 total games (24 starts) in 3 years
• 1st team All-SEC in '97 & '98
• NCAA All-American in '98
• Won Bronko Nagurski Award for top Defensive Player in country in '98
• Had 147 total tackles , 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble, and 8 interceptions
• Played over 950 snaps on offense and defense in '98
• Had 47 receptions for 744 yards and 5 touchdowns
• Averaged 103.5 all-purpose yards with special teams, rushing, and receiving in '98
• Future NFL Hall of Famer

David Pollack

• Only 2nd player in UGA history to be a 3-time All-American '02-'04 (Herschel)
• 1st team All-SEC from '02-'04
• SEC Player of the Year in '02
• Won Ted Hendricks Award (best defensive end) in '03-'04
• SEC Defensive Player of the Year in '04
• Won Lombardi Award in '04
• Won Lott Trophy in '04
• Won Chuck Bednarik Award in '04 for best Defensive Player in the country
• Recorded almost 280 total tackles
• Holds record for career sacks at UGA with 36

DRM's pick...

I think this debate is a lot closer than most people would think. Champ was amazing when he was in Athens. And he didn't get that much recognition until he started playing both ways. He was definitely a corner that would shut down one side of the field. His junior year was one of the best ever by any player in Athens history . BUT , we are talking about one of the best defensive players in NCAA history in David Pollack. He was the anchor of the defense during the best 4 year stretch of Georgia football history. He had one of the greatest defensive plays in history which single handily won the South Carolina game. He ranks 3rd in NCAA history with 36 career sacks. And was the crowd ever louder when he had one hand in the dirt and the other raised up trying to get the Dawgnation on their feet !!! My pick David Pollack

RB Dawg's Pick...

I thought this was going be an easy choice for me - Pollack is one of my favorite players of all time and the 2nd most decorated player in UGA history. But, then I started to really think about it. And it comes down to this - would I rather have the best DE in the country or the best shutdown CB in the country that also lines up at WR? It's the chicken or the egg argument - does the D-Line make the secondary look good because they are rushing the QB into bad throws or does the secondary make the D-Line look good because nobody can get open, thus forcing the QB to hold onto the ball longer? I can't believe I am going to type this, but I am going to take Champ. If he was on Richt's championship contending teams in the early 2000's instead of Donnan's underachieving teams, he would have gotten all kinds of Heisman hype, ala Charles Woodson when Michigan won it all. The dimension that he added to the offense to go along with shutting down half the field for our defense on every single play is just too much for me to pass up. Dude could absolutely fly and has gone on to be the best CB in the NFL over the last decade.

What do y'all think? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments below...

Vanity Fair with John Isner

Here is the article that Vanity Fair did with former bulldog John Isner while in Memphis last week....

The professional tennis circuit isn’t just about the Grand Slams. In this new series, VF.com goes behind the scenes at the many tournaments that lead up to the U.S. Open, in August.

One of 32 men playing in this week’s Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, in Memphis, Tennessee, is John Isner, currently the No. 2-ranked American player on the A.T.P. World Tour. You might remember this six-foot-nine-inch ace as the kid who knocked out Andy Roddick in an epic match during the 2009 U.S. Open. Born in North Carolina, the 24-year-old played collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia before turning pro in 2007.

WHAT I MOST LOOK FORWARD TO ABOUT TRAVELING TO MEMPHIS is the great food. Corky’s BBQ is something I always go to. Blue Plate café for breakfast. I don’t get that type of food in Tampa, Florida.

MEMPHIS DIFFERS FROM THE REST OF THE TOURNAMENTS because this has more of a down-home feel. It’s in the South, which is where I’m from. It’s really the only tournament of the year that’s kind of in this region. The people are so nice here in the South. It’s a tournament I look forward to every year.

MY FAVORITE TOURNAMENT is the U.S. Open because the atmosphere is great. Everyone always roots the American on. It’s just a great thrill to play in that tournament.

THE MOST MEMORABLE TOURNAMENT I’VE PLAYED IN is probably the U.S. Open. I’ve had some good wins there before. Made the final 16 there last year. That was the first time I’ve done that. And I think I was also the last American left in the draw, so that was a good accomplishment.

MY BIGGEST CAREER WIN is Andy Roddick. I beat him in the U.S. Open. That’s my best win so far.

I USUALLY TRAVEL WITH my coach, Craig Boynton. I’ll usually check two bags and will carry my computer bag and tennis bag on the plane.

I HAD A TRAVEL DISASTER WHEN just this year I won the tournament in Auckland, and I had to play two days later in Melbourne, but I got to Melbourne and didn’t have any bags. Fortunately they came the day of my match, and I was able to put my shoes and clothes on and go out and play.

THE HARDEST PART ABOUT TRAVELING FOR WORK is that I’m a big guy, so traveling is sometimes uncomfortable for me. It’s also expensive because I have to buy the really nice seats, which kind of sucks.

THE BEST PART ABOUT TRAVELING FOR WORK is that it’s better than sitting behind a desk! You get to travel around the world and play a game, so it’s not too bad.

Debate of the Day...Stafford vs. Greene

Who would you rather have as your starting QB? Matthew Stafford or David Greene? The stats and our picks are below...

DAVID GREENE

• 42 Wins in 4 years (most ever in NCAA until Colt McCoy broke record this year)
• Gave UGA its first SEC title in 20 years
• Named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2001
• Named to 1st Team All-SEC in 2002
• Named MVP of the SEC Championship Game in 2002
• Named to 2nd Team All-SEC in 2003 & 2004
• 11,528 career passing yards
• 1,440 attempts, 849 completions (58.96%)
• 72 TD, 32 INT
• 138.30 QB Rating

MATTHEW STAFFORD

• Named to the 2006 SEC Coaches All-Freshman Team
• Named Offensive MVP of 2006 Peach Bowl
• Named All-America by Pro Football Weekly in 2008
• Named to 2nd Team All SEC in 2008
• Named MVP of the 2009 Outback Bowl
• Threw school record 25 TDs in 2008
• 7,731 career passing yards
• 987 attempts, 564 completions (57.14%)
• 51 TD, 33 INT
• 133.30 QB Rating

DRM's take....

This debate isn't even close. Greene played in 2 SEC Championship games in 4 years and in 2002 was the MVP of the game. He won more games as a QB than any other QB in the history of college football until Colt McCoy broke the record this past season. Greene also brought the Dawg-Nation back to the level that we all wanted as he passed for more yards than anyone in SEC history. Despite all the yards and many more games (and pass attempts), Greene still has one less interception than Stafford in his career. During one stretch of his career, Greene threw the ball 214 straight times without throwing a pick which is also an SEC record. Has Stafford ever gotten to 100 attempts without throwing a pick?? I will sleep just fine knowing that David Greene is running my offense.

RB Dawg's take...

This will probably go against the popular vote as the obvious sentimental choice is David Greene. And, I give Greene all the credit in the world for staying in Athens for 5 years as opposed to Stafford's 3 years. I know that #7 never led us to the GA Dome, much less to an SEC title. But, there is a reason that the guy was drafted #1 overall in the NFL Draft. And has anyone taken a look at the defensive players that were on Greene's teams? David Pollack, Greg Blue, Sean Jones, Thomas Davis, Odell Thurman, Jonathan Sullivan, Boss Bailey are some names off the top of my head (Stupid question - who gives a team a better chance at success - Brian Van Gorder or Willie Martinez??). Not to mention having Jon Stinchcomb and Max Jean-Giles on the offensive line. Of course, Greene had the intangibles and knew "how to win", but I always thought Stafford got a bad rap on that. Dude looked like he knew how to compete pretty damn hard a few times this past fall in Detroit.

What do y'all think?? Let us know in the comments below.

Looking Ahead... Way, Way Ahead

I was going over our depth chart by class heading into the 2010 Spring Practice. Wow - we are really young. I'm not sure what that means for 2010, but Richt has us lined up to make a serious run in 2011. Check out who we lose after the 2010 season by position...

(NOTES - All recruiting stars assigned to the 2010 commits are according to Rivals. Also, I have combined all the defensive tackles and the defensive ends into one category - DL. I did the same with all of our safeties and cornerbacks - DB.)

OFFENSE....................

QB - We lose nobody. Logan Gray is a Junior, while Aaron Murray, Zach Mettenberger, and 2010 commitment Hutson Mason (3 stars) are all Freshmen

RB - We lose nobody. Caleb King is a Junior, while Washaun Ealey, Dontavious Jackson and Carlton Thomas are all Sophomores. We also have 2010 commits Ken Malcome (4 stars) and Alex Ogletree (3 stars) listed on the depth chart as Freshman. I have also read that Ogletree could possibly be a FB in Athens...

WR - We lose Kris Durham and you might as well go ahead and consider AJ a Senior also. But, we have a lot of talent being developed behind AJ. Israel Troupe is a Junior, while Marlon Brown, Tavarres King and and Rontavious Wooten are all Sophomores. Michael Bennett (3 stars) will be a Freshman.

TE - We lose nobody. Bruce Figgins and Aron White are Juniors, while Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch are both Sophomores.

FB - Fred Munzenmaier and Shaun Chapas are both Seniors. And Charles White is the only player sitting behind them and he is a Junior. Looks like the rumors of Alex Ogletree moving here make some sense.

OL - We do lose Clint Boling and both Davis boys (Chris and Josh). BUT, we have lots of depth here (not that you can ever have enough depth in the trenches). Our Junior Offensive Linemen are Trinton Sturdivant, Justin Anderson, Ben Jones, Cordy Glenn, Tanner Strickland and Ben Harden. Our Sophomores are AJ Harmon and Jonathan Owens. Our Freshman are Chris Burnette, Dallas Lee, and Austin Long. The 2010 commits are Kolton Houston (3 stars), Brent Benedict (4 stars), and Kenarious Gates (3 stars).

DEFENSE..............

DL- We will lose DeMarcus Dobbs, Kiante Tripp and Brandon Wood as our Seniors. DeAngelo Tyson and Justin Houston are our only Juniors and Abry Jones, Cornelius Washington, Montez Robinson and Jeremy Longo are the Sophomores. Kwame Geathers and Derrick Lott are both Freshman, while Garrison Smith (4 stars), Mike Thornton (4 stars), Brandon Burrows (3 stars), TJ Stripling (4 stars), Dexter Morant (4 stars), and Jalen Fields (4 stars) are the 2010 commits.

LB - We will lose Akeem Dent, Akeem Hebron and Daryl Gamble. Our Juniors are Marcus Dowtin, Nick Williams and Richard Samuel (can't wait to see him at LB!!). Our only Sophomores are Mike Gilliard and Christian Robinson. The Freshmen will be Chase Vasser and 2010 commit Demetre Baker (3 stars).

DB - The only Seniors are Quintin Banks and Vance Cuff (I was shocked to read that 2010 will be his final season in Athens - time flies...). We only have 2 Juniors as well - Brandon Boykin and Jakar Hamilton (can't wait to see this guy play 'Tween the Hedges). The Sophomores represent the biggest class at this position with Branden Smith, Makiri Pugh, Sanders Commings, Bacarri Rambo, and Shaun Williams. The Freshman class is made up Jordan Love along with 2010 commits Alec Ogletree (4 stars), Marc Deas (3 stars) and Derek Owens (3 stars).

P/K - Our depth chart is full with 3 juniors - Brandon Bogotay, Drew Butler and Blair Walsh.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN???

Out of the 84 players on scholarship, we only have 14 Seniors in 2010. You read that correctly - Fourteen!!! I think it is safe to say that AJ will be gone after this year also. So, we only lose 15 players off the 2010 roster (plus whatever defections we have between now and next spring). 23 players are Juniors (that includes AJ), 21 are Sophomores, while 26 are Freshman this year (I am not including Lonnie Outlaw, who will not be in Athens until 2012). Obviously, a handful of those 26 will red-shirt this year and be Freshmen again in 2011.

All in all, we really don't lose much off of the 2010 team. Take a look at the players we are losing:

Munzenmaier

Chapas

AJ (assuming he leaves early)

Durham

Boling

J Davis

C Davis

Wood

Dobbs

Tripp

Hebron

Gamble

Dent

Banks

Cuff

Obviously, losing AJ will be a huge loss. But, other than that, I am not sure that I can find a gaping loss that we can not overcome in 2011. Clint Boling has been great at OL, but we have a LOT of experience behind him and I think Searles will continue to develop the young talent. The other position of concern is FB - we must find the heir apparent at a position that has served Mark Richt's teams very well during his time in Athens.

I think we will be a good team in 2010, with a chance to be a great team in 2011 that makes a serious run at a title. What do you think?