Sure enough, just as a commenter pointed out to me, Georgia added its third 2009 commitment tonight.
Chad at Rivals and Dean at Scout both posted information tonight about Chestatee linebacker Chase Vasser committing to Georgia this evening. That comes on the heels of ECI's Washaun Ealey and Dexter Moody becoming the Bulldogs' first two commits for 2009.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Georgia adds two for '09
Both of the recruiting sites have stories up on how Georgia added its first commits for next year's recruiting class today -- both from defending Class A state champion Emanuel County Institute, tailback Washaun Ealey and athlete Dexter Moody.
Ealey is going to be one of the top-tier recruits in the state this year, and if you watched any of the GPB broadcasts of ECI's playoff semifinal in the Georgia Dome, you know why. The kid can flat out run. He scored 58 touchdowns and ran for 2,982 yards last year as a junior. Moody has played several positions, but projects as an outside linebacker in college.
Another guy to watch from their team is lineman J.C. Lanier, who looks like he'll be quite a college player as well. He's got a few offers already and I imagine Georgia might join that list some time before long.
Here are the recruiting sites' story links:
Rivals
Scout
And here's a YouTube video posting from the AJC of Ealey highlights after they named him their player of the year for 2007:
Ealey is going to be one of the top-tier recruits in the state this year, and if you watched any of the GPB broadcasts of ECI's playoff semifinal in the Georgia Dome, you know why. The kid can flat out run. He scored 58 touchdowns and ran for 2,982 yards last year as a junior. Moody has played several positions, but projects as an outside linebacker in college.
Another guy to watch from their team is lineman J.C. Lanier, who looks like he'll be quite a college player as well. He's got a few offers already and I imagine Georgia might join that list some time before long.
Here are the recruiting sites' story links:
Rivals
Scout
And here's a YouTube video posting from the AJC of Ealey highlights after they named him their player of the year for 2007:
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
Georgia released its list of 43 athletes who were named to the fall SEC Academic Honor Roll, including 21 football players. You can read the entire list here. The list is based on grades from spring, summer and fall semesters.
Football (21)
Benjamin Boyd (Housing, Thomasville, Ga.)
Shaun Chapas (Business, St. Augustine, Fla.)
Jonathan DeLaureal (Finance, New Orleans, La.)
Kris Durham (Middle School Education, Calhoun, Ga.)
Bo Fowler (Child & Family Development, Union Point, Ga.)
Chris Gaunder (Biology, Acworth, Ga.)
Demiko Goodman (Consumer Economics, Newnan, Ga.)
Andrew Gully (Consumer Economics, Vienna, Va.)
Mikey Henderson (Housing, Buford, Ga.)
Wes Jacobs (Finance, Cordele, Ga.)
Andrew Johnson (Bio Engineering, Athens, Ga.)
Justin Lyles (Consumer Economics, Macon, Ga.)
Brian Mimbs (Risk Management & Insurance, Dublin, Ga.)
Casey Nickels (Business, Tignall, Ga.)
Mitchell Pittman (Agribusiness, Lyons, Ga.)
Jeff Potterbaum (Sociology, Fayetteville, Ga.)
Brannan Southerland (Consumer Economics, Dacula, Ga.)
Matthew Stafford (Journalism, Dallas, Texas)
Bo Stansell (Unspecified, Watkinsville, Ga.)
Trinton Sturdivant (Exercise & Sport Science, Wadesboro, N.C.)
Will Sullivan (Economics, Calhoun, Ga.)
Football (21)
Benjamin Boyd (Housing, Thomasville, Ga.)
Shaun Chapas (Business, St. Augustine, Fla.)
Jonathan DeLaureal (Finance, New Orleans, La.)
Kris Durham (Middle School Education, Calhoun, Ga.)
Bo Fowler (Child & Family Development, Union Point, Ga.)
Chris Gaunder (Biology, Acworth, Ga.)
Demiko Goodman (Consumer Economics, Newnan, Ga.)
Andrew Gully (Consumer Economics, Vienna, Va.)
Mikey Henderson (Housing, Buford, Ga.)
Wes Jacobs (Finance, Cordele, Ga.)
Andrew Johnson (Bio Engineering, Athens, Ga.)
Justin Lyles (Consumer Economics, Macon, Ga.)
Brian Mimbs (Risk Management & Insurance, Dublin, Ga.)
Casey Nickels (Business, Tignall, Ga.)
Mitchell Pittman (Agribusiness, Lyons, Ga.)
Jeff Potterbaum (Sociology, Fayetteville, Ga.)
Brannan Southerland (Consumer Economics, Dacula, Ga.)
Matthew Stafford (Journalism, Dallas, Texas)
Bo Stansell (Unspecified, Watkinsville, Ga.)
Trinton Sturdivant (Exercise & Sport Science, Wadesboro, N.C.)
Will Sullivan (Economics, Calhoun, Ga.)
AAFL draft results
You can check out the results of all 50 rounds here. I didn't see the name of a single UGA player, but it's possible I missed one. Mark this down -- the No. 1 overall pick in the inaugural AAFL draft was Zarah Yisrael, an offensive guard from Troy...followed closely by former Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall, former Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch and former Florida (and Marshall!) quarterback Eric Kresser.
It's gonna be awesome, I just know it!
It's gonna be awesome, I just know it!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Senior Bowl notes and whatnots
If you come to something like this and can't generate copy, you're not worth a crap as a writer. There's so much stuff you could write about, it's just ridiculous. I was making a list of notebook items I could write and I have enough to go for at least three or four more days, but I don't have any need for that much material.
Anyway, I spoke with Auburn's Cole Bennett, USC's Sedrick Ellis, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, Kentucky's Wesley Woodyard (again -- story on him for Friday), NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock, Cleveland Browns GM Phil Savage and Senior Bowl executive director Steve Hale (who's from Columbus). Also listened in on USC coach Pete Carroll talking to some other reporters and sat in on the press conference with Lane Kiffin and Mike Nolan speaking again today. Like I said, plenty of material to go around.
* There are a whopping nine USC guys in this game. At least half of them will go in the first round, I'm betting. Keith Rivers and Ellis could both be top-10 picks. It'll be interesting to see which one goes first, because they're both pretty dang awesome. Speaking of that group, USC quarterback John David Booty's brother Josh was here today at North practice. Not sure if he's still in the NFL with the Seahawks or not. The two of them look just alike.
* The people watching at this thing is pretty interesting. I'm constantly coming across faces I know, but have no idea who the person is. Usually it's a former NFL player and sometimes it eventually comes to me (like former Dallas/SF linebacker Ken Norton) and sometimes it just has to remain a mystery.
* Chad Henne is going to be a very good NFL player. Mark it down. The guy can chuck it. I wrote off Delaware QB Joe Flacco after the first day because he kept fumbling snaps and looked kind of sloppy, but he's apparently had two very good days since then. North coach Lane Kiffin talked him up pretty big tonight.
* Interestingly, I think Newberry offensive lineman Heath Benedict is holding his own against a lot of higher profile guys. South coach Mike Nolan said it's not always pretty, but he seemed impressed that Benedict hasn't been overwhelmed by playing very good players from D-1A. He apparently even got in a bit of a brawl today, but I missed that part. Nolan was funny talking about it, saying he likes to see the fire because it means something to them if guys are fighting, but he ragged on Benedict for throwing punches at another guy's head when that guy's wearing a helmet.
* I've enjoyed watching Cal running back Justin Forsett. He's a tiny guy (like 5-7), but he makes things happen with the ball in his hands. I can't remember where I read this now, but he apparently had the second-largest hand measurement of any player here. The only one bigger was some behemoth lineman. Weird, huh? Also, I read in his bio that one of his hobbies is photography. You don't see that from too many top-level football players, either, I wouldn't think. His major is interdisciplinary studies with a focus on globalization and consumer behavior. I wonder if that's Berkeley language for "general studies?" It sounds pretty important to me. He was a nice kid, too, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with him down the road.
Injury update:
North: West Virginia fullback Owen Schmitt suffered a knee injury today in practice and is out for Saturday's game. Also out is UNLV linebacker Beau Bell, who hurt his knee on Tuesday. North Carolina's Kentwan Balmer (hamstring), East Carolina's Chris Johnson (shoulder), Michigan's Jamar Adams (Achilles) and Michigan's Shawn Crable (back) are all questionable.
South: LSU receiver Early Doucet will leave town in the morning after reaggravating a hamstring injury. Texas receiver Limas Sweed reinjured the left wrist on which he tore ligaments and had surgery, missing the last half of the season. That's too bad for both those guys because they have generated major draft buzz and I know the scouts wanted to see more of them this week.
Anyway, I spoke with Auburn's Cole Bennett, USC's Sedrick Ellis, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, Kentucky's Wesley Woodyard (again -- story on him for Friday), NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock, Cleveland Browns GM Phil Savage and Senior Bowl executive director Steve Hale (who's from Columbus). Also listened in on USC coach Pete Carroll talking to some other reporters and sat in on the press conference with Lane Kiffin and Mike Nolan speaking again today. Like I said, plenty of material to go around.
* There are a whopping nine USC guys in this game. At least half of them will go in the first round, I'm betting. Keith Rivers and Ellis could both be top-10 picks. It'll be interesting to see which one goes first, because they're both pretty dang awesome. Speaking of that group, USC quarterback John David Booty's brother Josh was here today at North practice. Not sure if he's still in the NFL with the Seahawks or not. The two of them look just alike.
* The people watching at this thing is pretty interesting. I'm constantly coming across faces I know, but have no idea who the person is. Usually it's a former NFL player and sometimes it eventually comes to me (like former Dallas/SF linebacker Ken Norton) and sometimes it just has to remain a mystery.
* Chad Henne is going to be a very good NFL player. Mark it down. The guy can chuck it. I wrote off Delaware QB Joe Flacco after the first day because he kept fumbling snaps and looked kind of sloppy, but he's apparently had two very good days since then. North coach Lane Kiffin talked him up pretty big tonight.
* Interestingly, I think Newberry offensive lineman Heath Benedict is holding his own against a lot of higher profile guys. South coach Mike Nolan said it's not always pretty, but he seemed impressed that Benedict hasn't been overwhelmed by playing very good players from D-1A. He apparently even got in a bit of a brawl today, but I missed that part. Nolan was funny talking about it, saying he likes to see the fire because it means something to them if guys are fighting, but he ragged on Benedict for throwing punches at another guy's head when that guy's wearing a helmet.
* I've enjoyed watching Cal running back Justin Forsett. He's a tiny guy (like 5-7), but he makes things happen with the ball in his hands. I can't remember where I read this now, but he apparently had the second-largest hand measurement of any player here. The only one bigger was some behemoth lineman. Weird, huh? Also, I read in his bio that one of his hobbies is photography. You don't see that from too many top-level football players, either, I wouldn't think. His major is interdisciplinary studies with a focus on globalization and consumer behavior. I wonder if that's Berkeley language for "general studies?" It sounds pretty important to me. He was a nice kid, too, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with him down the road.
Injury update:
North: West Virginia fullback Owen Schmitt suffered a knee injury today in practice and is out for Saturday's game. Also out is UNLV linebacker Beau Bell, who hurt his knee on Tuesday. North Carolina's Kentwan Balmer (hamstring), East Carolina's Chris Johnson (shoulder), Michigan's Jamar Adams (Achilles) and Michigan's Shawn Crable (back) are all questionable.
South: LSU receiver Early Doucet will leave town in the morning after reaggravating a hamstring injury. Texas receiver Limas Sweed reinjured the left wrist on which he tore ligaments and had surgery, missing the last half of the season. That's too bad for both those guys because they have generated major draft buzz and I know the scouts wanted to see more of them this week.
All-American Football League draft this weekend
I just received a press release about the upcoming All-American Football League draft. I have to say I love this idea, but I don't know whether this league can work or not. The draft is Saturday from noon to 3 and will air live on CSS if you have it.
Here's the release:
ATLANTA, GA – The All American Football League (AAFL) announced today that its 2008 inaugural draft will be held Saturday, January 26.
The draft, earlier slated for January 25, has been rescheduled to January 26 to allow for a live television broadcast.
The broadcast will originate from the NBA set at Turner Studios in Atlanta, with live coverage of the first three hours of the AAFL Draft from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m., EST on regional networks within the League’s footprint. The entire draft will be streamed live on a webcast provided by PlayOn! Sports, a division of Turner. The live webcast can be viewed, and the draft will be available on-demand at www.aafl.com.
From 12-1pm ET, there will be an overview of the League, and each team’s protected players will be announced. Protected players are those who played college football in that team’s region, and have been pre-selected by each team. Starting at 1pm ET, the player selection draft will begin. Each team will select a total of 50 players, including their protected players.
Each of the League’s six teams’ draft operations will be held in hotel meeting rooms in their respective cities. A production crew, including an analyst and cameraperson, will be at each team draft site, in order to simulcast draft developments from each location within the live broadcast. A crew will also provide coverage from the AAFL League Headquarters in Atlanta.
Here's the release:
ATLANTA, GA – The All American Football League (AAFL) announced today that its 2008 inaugural draft will be held Saturday, January 26.
The draft, earlier slated for January 25, has been rescheduled to January 26 to allow for a live television broadcast.
The broadcast will originate from the NBA set at Turner Studios in Atlanta, with live coverage of the first three hours of the AAFL Draft from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m., EST on regional networks within the League’s footprint. The entire draft will be streamed live on a webcast provided by PlayOn! Sports, a division of Turner. The live webcast can be viewed, and the draft will be available on-demand at www.aafl.com.
From 12-1pm ET, there will be an overview of the League, and each team’s protected players will be announced. Protected players are those who played college football in that team’s region, and have been pre-selected by each team. Starting at 1pm ET, the player selection draft will begin. Each team will select a total of 50 players, including their protected players.
Each of the League’s six teams’ draft operations will be held in hotel meeting rooms in their respective cities. A production crew, including an analyst and cameraperson, will be at each team draft site, in order to simulcast draft developments from each location within the live broadcast. A crew will also provide coverage from the AAFL League Headquarters in Atlanta.
Lilly hiring ahead
I spoke with Florida State assistant coach Jody Allen about John Lilly's upcoming hiring at Georgia. He spoke very highly of his now former co-worker and said Georgia's getting a great coach and the best recruiter he's ever seen. Story's already on our Web site here.
Looks like Lilly
It appears as though the rumor that had been circulating since David Johnson left for West Virginia might be correct -- Georgia will hire Florida State tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator John Lilly as Johnson's replacement.
My buddy Ira Schoffel, who runs the Osceola newspaper and (I think) warchant.com, the FSU rivals.com site, wrote a column about Lilly's upcoming departure that you can read here...although you probably have to be a rivals subscriber to read it.
If you're not, Ira basically writes that John Lilly is a hard worker and a good recruiter and he will be missed in Tallahassee because he's good people. And if Ira thinks somebody's good people, then they probably are because Ira's good people.
My buddy Ira Schoffel, who runs the Osceola newspaper and (I think) warchant.com, the FSU rivals.com site, wrote a column about Lilly's upcoming departure that you can read here...although you probably have to be a rivals subscriber to read it.
If you're not, Ira basically writes that John Lilly is a hard worker and a good recruiter and he will be missed in Tallahassee because he's good people. And if Ira thinks somebody's good people, then they probably are because Ira's good people.
Munzenmaier suspension/more Senior Bowl stuff
I'm sure most of you have seen this already, but I've been away from Internet access for most of the day and haven't been able to post anything about this until now. Mark Richt pushed Fred Munzenmaier's suspension from one to two games after finding out more details about his arrest early Sunday morning...basically that he gave the arresting officer a lot of lip.
Georgia announced it this afternoon.
Here's Richt's quote:
"I'm adding a second game to the original one-game suspension after reading the complete police report and discussing it with Fred. The way he handled the situation with the police officer was totally inappropriate and demonstrated a lack of respect for authority. We expect our players, just like my children, to show total respect at all times for those in authority and especially police officers."
In other news, I spent another LONG day at the Senior Bowl today. Got some great stuff for stories from ESPN's Chris Mortensen, who was exceedingly nice to a younger reporter (that being me) and 49ers coach Mike Singletary. I talked to him about how some scouting services say Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard might be best served to try safety in the NFL, but he is really impressed with Woodyard's potential as an outside linebacker. Woodyard's from right up the road in LaGrange, so I think I'll be doing a story on that subject later this week.
I spoke with an NFC team's special teams scout about Brandon Coutu this afternoon and he was impressed with Brandon's leg. He was looking forward to watching him kick some field goals at the end of practice.
Also spoke with USC's Keith Rivers and Sam Baker, Georgia Tech's Tashard Choice and Durant Brooks and listened to West Virginia's Owen Schmitt, who is an interesting dude. He looks like an ultimate fighter with a mohawk and a big tattoo across his back. Also went to the press conferences this evening to hear what South coach Mike Nolan (49ers) and North coach Lane Kiffin (Raiders) had to say as well as North QBs Chad Henne (Michigan) and John David Booty (USC) and South QBs Colt Brennan (Hawaii) and Andre Woodson (Kentucky). Got some decent stuff out of that as well.
Among the faces in the crowd today were former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, former Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges, former Kentucky and Baylor coach Guy Morriss, former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta and former Miami Dolphins head coach Nick Saban. I think he's caught on somewhere else since Miami, but I can't remember where. Those are the ones that immediately come to mind anyway. I'm sure there are dozens more guys here looking for a job whose faces I simply didn't recognize.
Georgia announced it this afternoon.
Here's Richt's quote:
"I'm adding a second game to the original one-game suspension after reading the complete police report and discussing it with Fred. The way he handled the situation with the police officer was totally inappropriate and demonstrated a lack of respect for authority. We expect our players, just like my children, to show total respect at all times for those in authority and especially police officers."
In other news, I spent another LONG day at the Senior Bowl today. Got some great stuff for stories from ESPN's Chris Mortensen, who was exceedingly nice to a younger reporter (that being me) and 49ers coach Mike Singletary. I talked to him about how some scouting services say Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard might be best served to try safety in the NFL, but he is really impressed with Woodyard's potential as an outside linebacker. Woodyard's from right up the road in LaGrange, so I think I'll be doing a story on that subject later this week.
I spoke with an NFC team's special teams scout about Brandon Coutu this afternoon and he was impressed with Brandon's leg. He was looking forward to watching him kick some field goals at the end of practice.
Also spoke with USC's Keith Rivers and Sam Baker, Georgia Tech's Tashard Choice and Durant Brooks and listened to West Virginia's Owen Schmitt, who is an interesting dude. He looks like an ultimate fighter with a mohawk and a big tattoo across his back. Also went to the press conferences this evening to hear what South coach Mike Nolan (49ers) and North coach Lane Kiffin (Raiders) had to say as well as North QBs Chad Henne (Michigan) and John David Booty (USC) and South QBs Colt Brennan (Hawaii) and Andre Woodson (Kentucky). Got some decent stuff out of that as well.
Among the faces in the crowd today were former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, former Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges, former Kentucky and Baylor coach Guy Morriss, former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta and former Miami Dolphins head coach Nick Saban. I think he's caught on somewhere else since Miami, but I can't remember where. Those are the ones that immediately come to mind anyway. I'm sure there are dozens more guys here looking for a job whose faces I simply didn't recognize.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Quick Senior Bowl thoughts
Went to the Senior Bowl weigh-in and spoke with several guys there (Brandon Coutu, Oregon State's Alexis Serna, Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski, Kentucky's Wesley Woodyard, USC's John David Booty and Columbus natives Dantrell Savage (Oklahoma State) and Philip Wheeler (Georgia Tech). Wrote a story from that today, which was easy because that stuff was crazy, man. I walked past the ballroom this thing was in and there wasn't a seat to be found. It was standing room only with easily 200-300 people crammed in there. Weird watching these kids paraded in in their underwear and weighed and measured. It was like an hour-long boxing weigh-in without the trash talking or brawling. USC linebacker Keith Rivers looks like he's carved out of stone and he was pretty good in practice. I enjoyed listening to him talk trash to his old USC teammate and North RB Chauncey Washington in practice.
Then went to the North team's practice this afternoon and spoke with Savage again and Cal's Justin Forsett. I think I make it clear that I'm no expert on a regular basis, but I thought USC's Sedrick Ellis was an absolute BEAST. He and this other North defensive lineman named Balmer were just killing those turkeys that were trying to block them. I also thought Michigan's Chad Henne looked good throwing the ball and Virginia Tech receiver Eddie Royal made some good stuff happen.
I've got Senior Bowl notes and story in Tuesday's Ledger. Will be doing a story on Savage for Wednesday and some more notes. On that note, better hit the sack. Got to get up in a little less than seven hours.
Then went to the North team's practice this afternoon and spoke with Savage again and Cal's Justin Forsett. I think I make it clear that I'm no expert on a regular basis, but I thought USC's Sedrick Ellis was an absolute BEAST. He and this other North defensive lineman named Balmer were just killing those turkeys that were trying to block them. I also thought Michigan's Chad Henne looked good throwing the ball and Virginia Tech receiver Eddie Royal made some good stuff happen.
I've got Senior Bowl notes and story in Tuesday's Ledger. Will be doing a story on Savage for Wednesday and some more notes. On that note, better hit the sack. Got to get up in a little less than seven hours.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Munzenmaier, Baldwin arrests
EDIT: More details from the police report in the Athens story here. Interesting stuff.
I may add more to this later for tomorrow's paper, but we'll have to see. I'm leaving shortly to go to Mobile for the Senior Bowl, so this may be it. Richt may or may not make a statement on it later today.
Two Georgia football players and another ex-Bulldog were arrested in Athens Saturday night on alcohol-related charges, all in separate incidents.
Current players Donovan Baldwin and Fred Munzenmaier were both booked into Clarke County Jail and released early Sunday morning, while former defensive back Terreal Bierria -- a former member of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks -- was arrested late Saturday night and remained in jail as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Baldwin, 21, and Bierria, 27, were both arrested for driving under the influence, while Munzenmaier, 19, was booked on charges of underage possession of alcohol and pedestrian walking on a roadway.
Baldwin was pulled over by UGA police and booked at 3:05 a.m. on charges of improper driving and DUI. He was released on $2,000 bond at 5:59 a.m.
The backup defensive back appeared in eight games last season, but did not record a tackle.
Athens-Clarke County police arrested Munzenmaier, booked him at 3:39 a.m. and released him at 6:04 on $750 bond.
Last year as a redshirt freshman fullback, Munzenmaier played in 10 games and scored on his only carry, a 6-yard plunge against Ole Miss.
Bierria, who left Georgia after his junior season and was a fourth-round draft pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2002, was pulled over by Athens-Clarke County police and booked at 10:39 p.m. Saturday on DUI and speeding charges. His bond was set at $2,000, but he remained in jail Sunday afternoon while being held for another law enforcement agency.
Bierria played two seasons with Seattle before he was cut prior to the 2005 season. He has not signed with another team and is enrolled as a student at Georgia this semester.
I may add more to this later for tomorrow's paper, but we'll have to see. I'm leaving shortly to go to Mobile for the Senior Bowl, so this may be it. Richt may or may not make a statement on it later today.
Two Georgia football players and another ex-Bulldog were arrested in Athens Saturday night on alcohol-related charges, all in separate incidents.
Current players Donovan Baldwin and Fred Munzenmaier were both booked into Clarke County Jail and released early Sunday morning, while former defensive back Terreal Bierria -- a former member of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks -- was arrested late Saturday night and remained in jail as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Baldwin, 21, and Bierria, 27, were both arrested for driving under the influence, while Munzenmaier, 19, was booked on charges of underage possession of alcohol and pedestrian walking on a roadway.
Baldwin was pulled over by UGA police and booked at 3:05 a.m. on charges of improper driving and DUI. He was released on $2,000 bond at 5:59 a.m.
The backup defensive back appeared in eight games last season, but did not record a tackle.
Athens-Clarke County police arrested Munzenmaier, booked him at 3:39 a.m. and released him at 6:04 on $750 bond.
Last year as a redshirt freshman fullback, Munzenmaier played in 10 games and scored on his only carry, a 6-yard plunge against Ole Miss.
Bierria, who left Georgia after his junior season and was a fourth-round draft pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2002, was pulled over by Athens-Clarke County police and booked at 10:39 p.m. Saturday on DUI and speeding charges. His bond was set at $2,000, but he remained in jail Sunday afternoon while being held for another law enforcement agency.
Bierria played two seasons with Seattle before he was cut prior to the 2005 season. He has not signed with another team and is enrolled as a student at Georgia this semester.
Former Bulldog booked
Former Georgia defensive back Terreal Bierria was booked into Clarke County Jail tonight at 10:39 p.m. for speeding and DUI. He is looking at $2,000 bond and being held for another law enforcement agency. Bierria, 27, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2002 draft. He played a couple of seasons with Seattle before being cut in the 2005 preseason and has not caught on with another NFL team since.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
East-West Shrine Bowl
In case you didn't know, the East-West Shrine Bowl all-star game is today. Georgia's Thomas Brown and Fernando Velasco are on the East team's roster, plus there are several Georgians in the game as well. Among those players:
Dexter Jackson, Appalachian State (Dunwoody)
Michael Grant, Arkansas (Stone Mountain)
Gary Guyton, Georgia Tech (Hinesville)
The game's at 7 p.m. tonight and will air live on ESPN2 if you're looking for something to watch.
And by the way, I'll be going down to Mobile after all for some Senior Bowl stuff. Should be down there for a couple days early in the week, but will be coming back before the game next Saturday. There are a several guys with ties to our area in the game. I'll try to catch up with Georgia's lone Senior Bowler, Brandon Coutu, while I'm there too, so check here and the Ledger Web site next week. Let me know if there's anything you're interested in from down there and I'll try to look into it if it's reasonable.
Dexter Jackson, Appalachian State (Dunwoody)
Michael Grant, Arkansas (Stone Mountain)
Gary Guyton, Georgia Tech (Hinesville)
The game's at 7 p.m. tonight and will air live on ESPN2 if you're looking for something to watch.
And by the way, I'll be going down to Mobile after all for some Senior Bowl stuff. Should be down there for a couple days early in the week, but will be coming back before the game next Saturday. There are a several guys with ties to our area in the game. I'll try to catch up with Georgia's lone Senior Bowler, Brandon Coutu, while I'm there too, so check here and the Ledger Web site next week. Let me know if there's anything you're interested in from down there and I'll try to look into it if it's reasonable.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Sampras coming to Columbus
I was going to post something last night about Dave Johnson's hiring becoming official at West Virginia, but my wireless internet stopped working late last night. I assume you've heard about that by now so instead, I figured I'd let you know about how Pete Sampras is coming to the Columbus Civic Center to play an exhibition match on March 8.
The rumor I hear is that they're going to try to combine this with the only events that draw a decent crowd at the Civic Center. So Sampras is going to ride a bull out to the court before the match, but instead of tennis, he and Todd Martin are actually going to wrestle, WWE-style. Maybe a loser-leaves-town match, although that presents a problem because they'd both want to lose. And then the winner gets to take a lap around the Civic Center in a monster truck before it gets smashed by Truckasaurus the giant robot dinosaur...Clearly I don't have much to do today...BUT I'D SHOW UP TO SEE THAT!
Seriously though, here's the press release they sent out about it today. Maybe one of you will find this interesting:
The greatest male tennis player of all-time will unleash his awesome power and skills at “Serving Up Aces” Pete Sampras versus Todd Martin, Saturday, March 8th, 2008 7:30pm at the Columbus Civic Center. Sampras, known as the “King of Swing”, holds many records, including career Grand Slam titles (14), seasons ended as the world’s #1 ranked player (6 consecutive years from 1993-1998), and weeks spent ranked #1 in the world (286). In addition, Sampras claimed 64 singles titles (4th all-time), and won 762 career matches (2nd all-time). Pete also won a record $43,000,000 in prize money throughout his distinguished career.
Todd Martin boasts an outstanding professional career by finishing in the top 100 for twelve straight years and was a member of 1995 winning Davis Cup Team. He won 8 singles titles, five doubles titles during his career and nearly 10,000,000 in prize money.
DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO see Pete Sampras and Todd Martin. This is a great opportunity to watch two very accomplished tennis players take the court in your own backyard.
Tickets go on sale Friday, January 25th and will be available at the Columbus Civic Center Box Office, Publix Supermarkets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at (706) 494-8330. Tickets start at $25.00, with a limited number of VIP seats available and group discounted tickets.
The rumor I hear is that they're going to try to combine this with the only events that draw a decent crowd at the Civic Center. So Sampras is going to ride a bull out to the court before the match, but instead of tennis, he and Todd Martin are actually going to wrestle, WWE-style. Maybe a loser-leaves-town match, although that presents a problem because they'd both want to lose. And then the winner gets to take a lap around the Civic Center in a monster truck before it gets smashed by Truckasaurus the giant robot dinosaur...Clearly I don't have much to do today...BUT I'D SHOW UP TO SEE THAT!
Seriously though, here's the press release they sent out about it today. Maybe one of you will find this interesting:
The greatest male tennis player of all-time will unleash his awesome power and skills at “Serving Up Aces” Pete Sampras versus Todd Martin, Saturday, March 8th, 2008 7:30pm at the Columbus Civic Center. Sampras, known as the “King of Swing”, holds many records, including career Grand Slam titles (14), seasons ended as the world’s #1 ranked player (6 consecutive years from 1993-1998), and weeks spent ranked #1 in the world (286). In addition, Sampras claimed 64 singles titles (4th all-time), and won 762 career matches (2nd all-time). Pete also won a record $43,000,000 in prize money throughout his distinguished career.
Todd Martin boasts an outstanding professional career by finishing in the top 100 for twelve straight years and was a member of 1995 winning Davis Cup Team. He won 8 singles titles, five doubles titles during his career and nearly 10,000,000 in prize money.
DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO see Pete Sampras and Todd Martin. This is a great opportunity to watch two very accomplished tennis players take the court in your own backyard.
Tickets go on sale Friday, January 25th and will be available at the Columbus Civic Center Box Office, Publix Supermarkets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at (706) 494-8330. Tickets start at $25.00, with a limited number of VIP seats available and group discounted tickets.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Johnson story
EDIT: Here's a story from West Virginia on the subject.
I wrote a story on the David Johnson thing for today's paper. It may be on our web site somewhere, but I haven't found it. For those in Columbus, it's on page B4 in today's sports section. So here it is:
Georgia will apparently soon find itself in the market for a new tight ends coach.
David Johnson, who was a member of Mark Richt’s inaugural coaching staff in 2001, has reportedly accepted a position as the offensive line coach at his alma mater, West Virginia.
New West Virginia coach Bill Stewart has rapidly been filling his staff in the 12 days since being hired full-time after serving as the Mountaineers’ interim coach in their Fiesta Bowl romp over Oklahoma. Nearly all of those hires have been either former coaches or players at West Virginia – and once the paperwork on his hiring is finalized, Johnson will continue that trend.
He was a four-year letterman at West Virginia and starting center on the Mountaineers’ 1981 and ’82 bowl teams, and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the school. He served as a graduate assistant there in 1984-85.
Rumors began to swirl Monday about Johnson’s possible departure, although Georgia has yet to officially address the situation. Georgia tight end Tripp Chandler said Monday night he had heard “some things” about his position coach’s possible move, but didn’t know anything specific.
“I haven’t talked to anybody,” Chandler said.
Although he coached only tight ends at Georgia – tutoring future NFL players Ben Watson, Randy McMichael, Leonard Pope and Martrez Milner – Johnson, 46, has considerable experience coaching the position. He coached offensive line at three previous stops before Georgia, most recently from 1997-2000 at Marshall.
Johnson expressed interest in Georgia's offensive line job late in the 2006 season when former offensive line coach Neil Callaway left to become the head coach at Alabama-Birmingham. The position was later given to Stacy Searels.
Johnson’s departure would carry added significance to the Columbus area, as this region of the state is among Johnson’s main recruiting responsibilities at Georgia.
I wrote a story on the David Johnson thing for today's paper. It may be on our web site somewhere, but I haven't found it. For those in Columbus, it's on page B4 in today's sports section. So here it is:
Georgia will apparently soon find itself in the market for a new tight ends coach.
David Johnson, who was a member of Mark Richt’s inaugural coaching staff in 2001, has reportedly accepted a position as the offensive line coach at his alma mater, West Virginia.
New West Virginia coach Bill Stewart has rapidly been filling his staff in the 12 days since being hired full-time after serving as the Mountaineers’ interim coach in their Fiesta Bowl romp over Oklahoma. Nearly all of those hires have been either former coaches or players at West Virginia – and once the paperwork on his hiring is finalized, Johnson will continue that trend.
He was a four-year letterman at West Virginia and starting center on the Mountaineers’ 1981 and ’82 bowl teams, and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the school. He served as a graduate assistant there in 1984-85.
Rumors began to swirl Monday about Johnson’s possible departure, although Georgia has yet to officially address the situation. Georgia tight end Tripp Chandler said Monday night he had heard “some things” about his position coach’s possible move, but didn’t know anything specific.
“I haven’t talked to anybody,” Chandler said.
Although he coached only tight ends at Georgia – tutoring future NFL players Ben Watson, Randy McMichael, Leonard Pope and Martrez Milner – Johnson, 46, has considerable experience coaching the position. He coached offensive line at three previous stops before Georgia, most recently from 1997-2000 at Marshall.
Johnson expressed interest in Georgia's offensive line job late in the 2006 season when former offensive line coach Neil Callaway left to become the head coach at Alabama-Birmingham. The position was later given to Stacy Searels.
Johnson’s departure would carry added significance to the Columbus area, as this region of the state is among Johnson’s main recruiting responsibilities at Georgia.
Johnson to WVU?
Apparently it's all but done that Georgia tight ends coach David Johnson is on his way back to West Virginia to be offensive line coach. I spoke with a pretty well-placed guy tonight who said they're just crossing all the t's and dotting the i's at this point, waiting for the equal opportunity employment paperwork and background check stuff to come through before they make any official announcements. If you've been following any of the recent West Virginia hires -- like when they hired Florida's Doc Holliday -- in the last few days, it has been the trend that it has taken a couple days for them to make the hirings official, even after the news breaks.
I like coach Johnson, so I'd be sorry to see him go. He's always a pleasant guy and is a forthright and quotable coach. Of added significance to my area is that he's the lead recruiter in the Columbus region of Georgia. In the last couple seasons, he's helped reel in Bruce Figgins, Chris Little, Ben Harden, Michael Lemon, Akeem Hebron, Quintin Banks, Kade Weston, Darius Dewberry and Tripp Chandler.
In this year's class, he's either THE main guy or one of them for commitments Dwayne Allen, Carlton Thomas and Blair Walsh.
I like coach Johnson, so I'd be sorry to see him go. He's always a pleasant guy and is a forthright and quotable coach. Of added significance to my area is that he's the lead recruiter in the Columbus region of Georgia. In the last couple seasons, he's helped reel in Bruce Figgins, Chris Little, Ben Harden, Michael Lemon, Akeem Hebron, Quintin Banks, Kade Weston, Darius Dewberry and Tripp Chandler.
In this year's class, he's either THE main guy or one of them for commitments Dwayne Allen, Carlton Thomas and Blair Walsh.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Grades roll in
UGA released its list of 261 athletes who made a 3.0 or higher grade point average during fall semester. You can see the entire list here. Included on the list are 30 football players:
*Tyler Williamson, Lakeland, Fla.; +Matt DeGenova, Kenner, La.; +Casey Nickels; Tignall; Andy Bailey, Athens, Tenn.; Ramarcus Brown, East Point; Shaun Chapas, St. Augustine, Fla.; Andrew Davis, Tallahassee, Fla.; Jonathan DeLaureal, New Orleans, La.; Kris Durham, Calhoun; Bo Fowler, Union Point; Chris Gaunder, Acworth, Ga.; Drew Gully, Vienna, Va.; Mikey Henderson, Buford; Corvey Irvin, Augusta; Wes Jacobs, Cordele; Andrew Johnson, Athens; Kregg Lumpkin, Lithonia; Justin Lyles, Macon; Brian Mimbs, Dublin; Fred Munzenmaier, Norcross; Christian Norton, Athens; Jeff Potterbaum, Fayetteville; John Potts, Baton Rouge, La.; Justin Respress, Roberta; Joshua Sailors, Athens; Bo Stansell, Athens; Nick Stiles, Athens; Will Sullivan, Calhoun; Charles White, Columbia, S.C.; Drew Williams, Blairsville
*Presidential scholar (4.00)
+Dean’s List (3.50-3.99)
*Tyler Williamson, Lakeland, Fla.; +Matt DeGenova, Kenner, La.; +Casey Nickels; Tignall; Andy Bailey, Athens, Tenn.; Ramarcus Brown, East Point; Shaun Chapas, St. Augustine, Fla.; Andrew Davis, Tallahassee, Fla.; Jonathan DeLaureal, New Orleans, La.; Kris Durham, Calhoun; Bo Fowler, Union Point; Chris Gaunder, Acworth, Ga.; Drew Gully, Vienna, Va.; Mikey Henderson, Buford; Corvey Irvin, Augusta; Wes Jacobs, Cordele; Andrew Johnson, Athens; Kregg Lumpkin, Lithonia; Justin Lyles, Macon; Brian Mimbs, Dublin; Fred Munzenmaier, Norcross; Christian Norton, Athens; Jeff Potterbaum, Fayetteville; John Potts, Baton Rouge, La.; Justin Respress, Roberta; Joshua Sailors, Athens; Bo Stansell, Athens; Nick Stiles, Athens; Will Sullivan, Calhoun; Charles White, Columbia, S.C.; Drew Williams, Blairsville
*Presidential scholar (4.00)
+Dean’s List (3.50-3.99)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Former coach note
I was just putting together our agate page for tomorrow's paper and noticed in the transactions column that former Georgia assistant coach Ken Rucker was reassigned within Texas' coaching staff. He sought and was given the Longhorns' newly created position as director of high school relations and player development. You can read more about it here.
I'm not sure whether health issues may have played a part in his decision. Rucker was diagnosed with prostate cancer last August and was away for the team for a month or so for treatment. He was Texas' running backs coach for the last three years, after holding the same position on Mark Richt's Georgia staff.
I'm not sure whether health issues may have played a part in his decision. Rucker was diagnosed with prostate cancer last August and was away for the team for a month or so for treatment. He was Texas' running backs coach for the last three years, after holding the same position on Mark Richt's Georgia staff.
22 SEC players in Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl released a list today of the 22 Southeastern Conference players who have accepted invites to play in the Jan. 26 all-star game. Only Brandon Coutu among Georgia's seniors will play in the game as of this moment. Quite often the roster turns over at the last minute because of injury or another reason, so this list could change.
I grew up going to this game, so I've always found it kind of intriguing. I used to go to the practices and get autographs. While I was home for Christmas, I was looking through a drawer and found several pieces of paper where I'd gotten Brett Favre's autograph when he played in the game in maybe 1990 (?). Anyway, if anyone's interested in going, Mardi Gras will also be going on at the same time. It's early this year. There's a good parade (Order of the Inca) the night before the Senior Bowl and there are actually five parades the day of the game -- mostly newer upstart parades, but it looks like they have an evening triple-header with the older parade (Maids of Mirth) starting at 6:30, followed by Mobile Married Mystics at 7 and Order of Butterfly Maidens at 7:30. I've never heard of those two, but I haven't lived in Mobile for quite a while...anyway, I'd like to go down there that weekend, but I'm sure I'll have to work. Mardi Gras in Mobile is fun without being suffocating like in New Orleans.
SEC Players In the 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl
Alabama: Simeon Castille, DB; Wallace Gilberry, DL; D.J. Hall, WR
Arkansas: Robert Felton, OL; Marcus Harrison, DL; Peyton Hillis, RB
Auburn: Quentin Groves, DL; Patrick Lee, DB
Georgia: Brandon Coutu, K
Kentucky: Keenan Burton, WR; Rafael Little, RB; Jacob Tamme, TE; Andre Woodson, QB; Wesley Woodyard, LB
LSU: Early Doucet, WR; Jacob Hester, RB; Ali Highsmith, LB; Chevis Jackson, DB; Craig Steltz, DB
Mississippi State: Titus Brown, DL
Tennessee: Brad Cottam, TE
Vanderbilt: Chris Williams, OL
I grew up going to this game, so I've always found it kind of intriguing. I used to go to the practices and get autographs. While I was home for Christmas, I was looking through a drawer and found several pieces of paper where I'd gotten Brett Favre's autograph when he played in the game in maybe 1990 (?). Anyway, if anyone's interested in going, Mardi Gras will also be going on at the same time. It's early this year. There's a good parade (Order of the Inca) the night before the Senior Bowl and there are actually five parades the day of the game -- mostly newer upstart parades, but it looks like they have an evening triple-header with the older parade (Maids of Mirth) starting at 6:30, followed by Mobile Married Mystics at 7 and Order of Butterfly Maidens at 7:30. I've never heard of those two, but I haven't lived in Mobile for quite a while...anyway, I'd like to go down there that weekend, but I'm sure I'll have to work. Mardi Gras in Mobile is fun without being suffocating like in New Orleans.
SEC Players In the 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl
Alabama: Simeon Castille, DB; Wallace Gilberry, DL; D.J. Hall, WR
Arkansas: Robert Felton, OL; Marcus Harrison, DL; Peyton Hillis, RB
Auburn: Quentin Groves, DL; Patrick Lee, DB
Georgia: Brandon Coutu, K
Kentucky: Keenan Burton, WR; Rafael Little, RB; Jacob Tamme, TE; Andre Woodson, QB; Wesley Woodyard, LB
LSU: Early Doucet, WR; Jacob Hester, RB; Ali Highsmith, LB; Chevis Jackson, DB; Craig Steltz, DB
Mississippi State: Titus Brown, DL
Tennessee: Brad Cottam, TE
Vanderbilt: Chris Williams, OL
Sugar Bowl to re-air on FSN South
Just as an FYI, FSN South plans to re-air Georgia's Sugar Bowl win over Hawaii next Monday at 9 p.m. And somehow they've managed to cut it down to three hours. I believe one of my writer buddies told me it ran 4 hours, 2 minutes live with all the stoppages in play and commercials those corporate whores at Fox crammed into their broadcast...But don't forget, college football's higher-ups are really looking out for the athletes and only want to maintain the sanctity of the sport.
From their release:
FSN South will replay the University of Georgia’s decisive victory over the University of Hawaii in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Monday, January 14 at 9 p.m. ET. The game will be televised as a three-hour re-air. Georgia, which finished the season ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll announced on Tuesday, defeated Hawaii 41-10 on January 1 at the Louisiana Superdome.
From their release:
FSN South will replay the University of Georgia’s decisive victory over the University of Hawaii in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Monday, January 14 at 9 p.m. ET. The game will be televised as a three-hour re-air. Georgia, which finished the season ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll announced on Tuesday, defeated Hawaii 41-10 on January 1 at the Louisiana Superdome.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Richt teleconference
Here are most of Mark Richt's responses from this afternoon's teleconference.
On how the team bounced back:
We reached a crisis when it comes to our season, losing the way we did. We had to manage it and it took our seniors to decide what dir they wanted this program to go. And it went in a very pos direction. I’m really proud of all those guys. Over the last seven years, we’ve been able to play together and when bad things have happened to us, we’ve always rallied. Last year was as close as we’ve come to letting it get away from us. And as tough as it got, we held it together and we did the same thing again this year. I’m just real proud of them.
On winding up No. 2:
It was very interesting. There was a lot of drama, a lot of excitement, a lot of passion, a lot of lack of passion early on at times. It was an emotional year, but it was a fun year. I’m gonna remember that we’re no. 2 for the longest, and I’m sure the Bulldog fans will also.
More on finishing second:
We’re excited to be ranked so high. This is the one poll that really does matter the most. We didn’t finish No. 1, but we finished No. 2 in the AP and 3 in the coaches poll. It’s a tremendous honor, just from a personal standpoint. As a head coach, it’s the highest ranking team I’ve ever been involved in coaching, and that’s exciting. And I know it’s very exciting for our fans and our players, and it also is a season where we got a taste of just how close we might be to getting that ultimate goal. And everybody’s gonna be really working hard toward that end.
On what-iffing Monday about what they could have done in the last game:
For me, once you have the realization that you’re not in it, I don’t worry about it anymore. It was nothing I could do to control it after that point. All we could control was how hard we played in the Sugar Bowl and I’m so proud of our coaches and players and how they took the right attitude toward that game. Everybody could’ve been feeling sorry for themselves or being mad or something, but we took it as it was and we took care of business and controlled what we could and the results were great.
On Asher Allen's comment after the Hawaii game that they could have played that well against anybody:
That’s how you want your players to think. There’s no doubt about that. We were ready. I felt like we were ready in my gut. We prepared very hard. We had 15 pract and ev one of them except for one when the seniors were grad, every one of them was geared toward beating Hawaii. It was not an extra spring practice for us. It was devoted and planned strictly to be prepared to play the best we could against Hawaii. We conditioned them more than we have in the past and when we got to the bowl site, as much as we wanted them to have a good time, we also knew we were very serious about getting our rest and very serious about playing hard. We played great that night. Could we have beaten anybody in the country? Maybe, but there’s other good bowl performances out there too.
On what they'll have to focus on in the spring:
We’ve still got some offensive line issues. We’re not sure who our center’s gonna be. That’s a crucial decision to make. We had to move Fernando Velasco, you’ll remember last year, from guard to center because we knew we needed some experience there. And it’s gonna be interesting to see what happens there. We’ve got about four guys that are gonna be banging away at that position and we’ve got to find the right guy. That’s gonna be very crucial for us. And of course, right tackle, we’ve got to find out what we’re gonna do. Our backup tailbacks, we really have besides Knowshon of course who’s there and Caleb who’s there, all of a sudden two more young men came at the mid-year. I’m not even sure if I’m allowed to talk about them. I think I can. I think they’ve been to class today, so I think I can talk about them. We have three scholarship tailbacks besides Knowshon that are all freshmen that’ll be competing. Safety, replacing Kelin Johnson will be important. And as always, how will the new group of seniors respond to their role as leaders. They’ve gotta understand that it’s already begun. I think they know that, but they’ve gotta start fleshing it out, they’ve gotta start living it out, and hopefully we’ll be there to help them along the way.
On the value of the five midyear enrolleess getting an early start:
It helps. It certainly helps these guys get started academically. I love the fact that they can get 15 hours and maybe six in the summer. They might roll into the fall with 21 hours under their belt. Those guys are gonna graduate, even if they don’t redshirt. I love that part of it. And they just get acclimated to the system and acclimated to their teammates and college life and everything. And it does give them a chance to compete in the fall a little bit better than they might’ve if they weren’t here in the spring.
On starting Richard Samuel out at tailback:
We recruited Richard as a back from the very beginning. We do believe he can play linebacker. I’m not gonna say that he would never end up at another spot, but we signed him with the intention of him playing tailback. We did have a conversation, really toward the end of this process, about exactly where we want him. And I told the family, ‘That’s what we recruited you for and we have all the confidence you can do that. But if linebacker’s better for you, ultimately we may get there. But right now, starting out we want you to be a tailback.’ They’re very happy with that. But I think Richard’s open-minded. He’s the kinda kid that would do whatever it would take to help this football team win, and I think he’s very sincere about that.
On whether anyone besides Blake Barnes has left the program:
No sir. We know that Haverkamp’s not with us. That is all that I know of.
On whether he expects any of the juniors to leave:
I’d be very surprised at this point, just talking to Dannell, talking to Brannan Southerland…Jeffrey…I don’t think any one of those three guys are interested at all. We had a team meeting to talk about academics Sunday night prior to classes beginning and with the new meeting, there’s a new seating arrangement and our seniors always move to the front. And I think they enjoy sitting in the front and they look back and were kinda reminiscing that it wasn’t that long ago that they were sitting at the top…at the back of the room – I say the top because it’s tiered seating…and they were kinda looking up and back and going, ‘Man, it seemed like yesterday I was way back there and here I am on the front.’ It was kinda that realization that they’re in a leadership role now. I think they enjoy being there and they’re excited about the opportunity to lead the team.
On playing LSU and Florida on back-to-back weeks in the fall:
I’m not looking forward to that at all. I don’t know who was in charge of that. Sometimes the SEC schedule, they just hand it to you and there’s not much you can do about that part. Your out-of-conference games, you have some say. But I would not say that’s ideal. I doubt that anybody in the country would envy that situation.
On the 2008 schedule:
It does look like a very grueling schedule, and then you add Arizona State at Arizona State, and they’re a fine football team. And in the West, you’ve got Auburn, Alabama, LSU. That’s probably the toughest draw, or one of the toughest draws, you could get in the West. And then of course, you have the usual suspects in the East. And we always finish with Georgia Tech. It’s definitely gonna be a schedule that I would imagine to be preseason ranked as one of the toughest in the country. The computer polls I guess do take some strength of schedule into consideration, and I think voters, when they do even the human vote, even though they may not say, ‘Hey, strength of schedule is a criteria for my decision,’ I think it always comes into play.
On whether they need to do anything different this offseason because of all the preseason No. 1 talk:
Not really, but I think if guys want to start talking about it out in the open, they’ve got to understand there’s a lot of responsibility that goes with it – mainly work, preparation. They’ve gotta understand that those types of seasons don’t happen on accident, they happen because people pay the price. If that motivates our guys to work even harder, then that’s great.
On their approach to a commitment still taking visits this month:
I think any time a guy does that, he takes a risk of losing his opportunity. We’re true to our word with these guys and we want them to be that with us. I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘If you do this, we’ll do that.’ But if they do that, they do take a risk.
On whether he expects much/any change to the recruiting class between now and signing day:
No, I don’t. There could be something happen absolutely between now and the end, because things always tend to change in the last few weeks of recruiting – whether it’s somebody bails out on you or whatever it may be. But we’re in very good shape right now. We’re very pleased with how it’s gone. I’d say if there is change, it’d be very little if at all.
On whether he sees change coming to college football's postseason:
Well yeah, I think so. There’s some players in the game that they all have to agree. That’s the big problem. You’ve got a lot of different conferences, a lot of different commissioners and presidents across the country and there’s some people on both ends of the spectrum. To try to get everybody to come together on something besides what exists is gonna be the big challenge. But I can see change is on the horizon. I really believe it is.
On whether Trinton Sturdivant will be OK for spring:
I would say so. He was walking around without crutches at our team meeting. I’m not gonna sit here and say he’s at 100 percent, but he seemed to be doing well. And I talked to Ron Courson and I don’t think anything that Trinton has that will require any surgery.
On whether anyone else will have an offseason surgery that would limit them in the spring:
There’s a possibility, but I’m just sitting here trying to think off the top of my head. At one time I thought Chris Davis might have a little something, but I talked to him yesterday and I don’t believe he’s gonna anything that would keep him from spring. There may be something out there that I just cannot think of right this second, but it’s not a lot. This year, I’ll tell ya, we were very, very, very blessed with the health of our team for the most part. A few guys certainly had a rough time, but when you look at the overall picture, it was a good year for lack of injuries.
On how the team bounced back:
We reached a crisis when it comes to our season, losing the way we did. We had to manage it and it took our seniors to decide what dir they wanted this program to go. And it went in a very pos direction. I’m really proud of all those guys. Over the last seven years, we’ve been able to play together and when bad things have happened to us, we’ve always rallied. Last year was as close as we’ve come to letting it get away from us. And as tough as it got, we held it together and we did the same thing again this year. I’m just real proud of them.
On winding up No. 2:
It was very interesting. There was a lot of drama, a lot of excitement, a lot of passion, a lot of lack of passion early on at times. It was an emotional year, but it was a fun year. I’m gonna remember that we’re no. 2 for the longest, and I’m sure the Bulldog fans will also.
More on finishing second:
We’re excited to be ranked so high. This is the one poll that really does matter the most. We didn’t finish No. 1, but we finished No. 2 in the AP and 3 in the coaches poll. It’s a tremendous honor, just from a personal standpoint. As a head coach, it’s the highest ranking team I’ve ever been involved in coaching, and that’s exciting. And I know it’s very exciting for our fans and our players, and it also is a season where we got a taste of just how close we might be to getting that ultimate goal. And everybody’s gonna be really working hard toward that end.
On what-iffing Monday about what they could have done in the last game:
For me, once you have the realization that you’re not in it, I don’t worry about it anymore. It was nothing I could do to control it after that point. All we could control was how hard we played in the Sugar Bowl and I’m so proud of our coaches and players and how they took the right attitude toward that game. Everybody could’ve been feeling sorry for themselves or being mad or something, but we took it as it was and we took care of business and controlled what we could and the results were great.
On Asher Allen's comment after the Hawaii game that they could have played that well against anybody:
That’s how you want your players to think. There’s no doubt about that. We were ready. I felt like we were ready in my gut. We prepared very hard. We had 15 pract and ev one of them except for one when the seniors were grad, every one of them was geared toward beating Hawaii. It was not an extra spring practice for us. It was devoted and planned strictly to be prepared to play the best we could against Hawaii. We conditioned them more than we have in the past and when we got to the bowl site, as much as we wanted them to have a good time, we also knew we were very serious about getting our rest and very serious about playing hard. We played great that night. Could we have beaten anybody in the country? Maybe, but there’s other good bowl performances out there too.
On what they'll have to focus on in the spring:
We’ve still got some offensive line issues. We’re not sure who our center’s gonna be. That’s a crucial decision to make. We had to move Fernando Velasco, you’ll remember last year, from guard to center because we knew we needed some experience there. And it’s gonna be interesting to see what happens there. We’ve got about four guys that are gonna be banging away at that position and we’ve got to find the right guy. That’s gonna be very crucial for us. And of course, right tackle, we’ve got to find out what we’re gonna do. Our backup tailbacks, we really have besides Knowshon of course who’s there and Caleb who’s there, all of a sudden two more young men came at the mid-year. I’m not even sure if I’m allowed to talk about them. I think I can. I think they’ve been to class today, so I think I can talk about them. We have three scholarship tailbacks besides Knowshon that are all freshmen that’ll be competing. Safety, replacing Kelin Johnson will be important. And as always, how will the new group of seniors respond to their role as leaders. They’ve gotta understand that it’s already begun. I think they know that, but they’ve gotta start fleshing it out, they’ve gotta start living it out, and hopefully we’ll be there to help them along the way.
On the value of the five midyear enrolleess getting an early start:
It helps. It certainly helps these guys get started academically. I love the fact that they can get 15 hours and maybe six in the summer. They might roll into the fall with 21 hours under their belt. Those guys are gonna graduate, even if they don’t redshirt. I love that part of it. And they just get acclimated to the system and acclimated to their teammates and college life and everything. And it does give them a chance to compete in the fall a little bit better than they might’ve if they weren’t here in the spring.
On starting Richard Samuel out at tailback:
We recruited Richard as a back from the very beginning. We do believe he can play linebacker. I’m not gonna say that he would never end up at another spot, but we signed him with the intention of him playing tailback. We did have a conversation, really toward the end of this process, about exactly where we want him. And I told the family, ‘That’s what we recruited you for and we have all the confidence you can do that. But if linebacker’s better for you, ultimately we may get there. But right now, starting out we want you to be a tailback.’ They’re very happy with that. But I think Richard’s open-minded. He’s the kinda kid that would do whatever it would take to help this football team win, and I think he’s very sincere about that.
On whether anyone besides Blake Barnes has left the program:
No sir. We know that Haverkamp’s not with us. That is all that I know of.
On whether he expects any of the juniors to leave:
I’d be very surprised at this point, just talking to Dannell, talking to Brannan Southerland…Jeffrey…I don’t think any one of those three guys are interested at all. We had a team meeting to talk about academics Sunday night prior to classes beginning and with the new meeting, there’s a new seating arrangement and our seniors always move to the front. And I think they enjoy sitting in the front and they look back and were kinda reminiscing that it wasn’t that long ago that they were sitting at the top…at the back of the room – I say the top because it’s tiered seating…and they were kinda looking up and back and going, ‘Man, it seemed like yesterday I was way back there and here I am on the front.’ It was kinda that realization that they’re in a leadership role now. I think they enjoy being there and they’re excited about the opportunity to lead the team.
On playing LSU and Florida on back-to-back weeks in the fall:
I’m not looking forward to that at all. I don’t know who was in charge of that. Sometimes the SEC schedule, they just hand it to you and there’s not much you can do about that part. Your out-of-conference games, you have some say. But I would not say that’s ideal. I doubt that anybody in the country would envy that situation.
On the 2008 schedule:
It does look like a very grueling schedule, and then you add Arizona State at Arizona State, and they’re a fine football team. And in the West, you’ve got Auburn, Alabama, LSU. That’s probably the toughest draw, or one of the toughest draws, you could get in the West. And then of course, you have the usual suspects in the East. And we always finish with Georgia Tech. It’s definitely gonna be a schedule that I would imagine to be preseason ranked as one of the toughest in the country. The computer polls I guess do take some strength of schedule into consideration, and I think voters, when they do even the human vote, even though they may not say, ‘Hey, strength of schedule is a criteria for my decision,’ I think it always comes into play.
On whether they need to do anything different this offseason because of all the preseason No. 1 talk:
Not really, but I think if guys want to start talking about it out in the open, they’ve got to understand there’s a lot of responsibility that goes with it – mainly work, preparation. They’ve gotta understand that those types of seasons don’t happen on accident, they happen because people pay the price. If that motivates our guys to work even harder, then that’s great.
On their approach to a commitment still taking visits this month:
I think any time a guy does that, he takes a risk of losing his opportunity. We’re true to our word with these guys and we want them to be that with us. I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘If you do this, we’ll do that.’ But if they do that, they do take a risk.
On whether he expects much/any change to the recruiting class between now and signing day:
No, I don’t. There could be something happen absolutely between now and the end, because things always tend to change in the last few weeks of recruiting – whether it’s somebody bails out on you or whatever it may be. But we’re in very good shape right now. We’re very pleased with how it’s gone. I’d say if there is change, it’d be very little if at all.
On whether he sees change coming to college football's postseason:
Well yeah, I think so. There’s some players in the game that they all have to agree. That’s the big problem. You’ve got a lot of different conferences, a lot of different commissioners and presidents across the country and there’s some people on both ends of the spectrum. To try to get everybody to come together on something besides what exists is gonna be the big challenge. But I can see change is on the horizon. I really believe it is.
On whether Trinton Sturdivant will be OK for spring:
I would say so. He was walking around without crutches at our team meeting. I’m not gonna sit here and say he’s at 100 percent, but he seemed to be doing well. And I talked to Ron Courson and I don’t think anything that Trinton has that will require any surgery.
On whether anyone else will have an offseason surgery that would limit them in the spring:
There’s a possibility, but I’m just sitting here trying to think off the top of my head. At one time I thought Chris Davis might have a little something, but I talked to him yesterday and I don’t believe he’s gonna anything that would keep him from spring. There may be something out there that I just cannot think of right this second, but it’s not a lot. This year, I’ll tell ya, we were very, very, very blessed with the health of our team for the most part. A few guys certainly had a rough time, but when you look at the overall picture, it was a good year for lack of injuries.
Quick update
Among the relevant things from today's teleconference:
* Mark Richt said he would be highly surprised if any of his juniors were to enter the NFL draft.
* He believes everyone will be healthy for the spring and offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant, who injured his ankle in the Sugar Bowl and left the Superdome on crutches, is now walking around without needing the crutches. There may be some other minor surgeries for UGA players ahead this winter, but nothing major, he said.
* The five new enrollees were supposed to start classes today. That would be Ben Jones, Dontavius Jackson, Akeem Hebron, Richard Samuel and Tavarres King.
* I asked him about Samuel starting out at tailback at UGA instead of linebacker. He said that was their intention all along. Proving yet again that I don't know squat. When I saw Samuel play in the fall, I believe I said I'd eat my hat if he didn't play linebacker in college. So break out the mustard, I believe that thing'll be tough to chew.
* There was some other stuff where he was talking about Michael Adams' pushing for a playoff system. He's at a coaching convention in Anaheim, Calif., so he hasn't seen the proposal and hasn't talked at length with President Adams about it...But he said he thinks most of his coaching counterparts would support an eight-team playoff system and he believes something like that is on the horizon. Interesting stuff. I hope so, because this current system's a bunch of malarkey. Nothing about the game I watched last night convinced me beyond a shadow of the doubt that we were watching the two best teams in the country playing for the national championship. It's just ridiculous.
* Mark Richt said he would be highly surprised if any of his juniors were to enter the NFL draft.
* He believes everyone will be healthy for the spring and offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant, who injured his ankle in the Sugar Bowl and left the Superdome on crutches, is now walking around without needing the crutches. There may be some other minor surgeries for UGA players ahead this winter, but nothing major, he said.
* The five new enrollees were supposed to start classes today. That would be Ben Jones, Dontavius Jackson, Akeem Hebron, Richard Samuel and Tavarres King.
* I asked him about Samuel starting out at tailback at UGA instead of linebacker. He said that was their intention all along. Proving yet again that I don't know squat. When I saw Samuel play in the fall, I believe I said I'd eat my hat if he didn't play linebacker in college. So break out the mustard, I believe that thing'll be tough to chew.
* There was some other stuff where he was talking about Michael Adams' pushing for a playoff system. He's at a coaching convention in Anaheim, Calif., so he hasn't seen the proposal and hasn't talked at length with President Adams about it...But he said he thinks most of his coaching counterparts would support an eight-team playoff system and he believes something like that is on the horizon. Interesting stuff. I hope so, because this current system's a bunch of malarkey. Nothing about the game I watched last night convinced me beyond a shadow of the doubt that we were watching the two best teams in the country playing for the national championship. It's just ridiculous.
News of the day
There's lots of stuff to report on today. Here's a little rundown:
* The first thing is UGA president Michael Adams' press conference that starts in 20 minutes concerning his proposal for an eight-team football playoff. I have to admit, I didn't expect to see this day arrive, as he has publicly opposed such an arrangement for quite a long time. You can read his letter to NCAA president Myles Brand here.
* Mark Richt will hold his season-wrapping teleconference today at 5. I think it will sort of be a state of the union kind of thing. We'll probably get some updates on who's arrived, injuries, that kind of stuff. I'm sure this playoff thing will come up again. I'll post anything interesting that comes from it later.
* The final polls came out today. Georgia finished second in the Associated Press poll (with three first-place votes) and third in the USA Today coaches poll, after being leapfrogged yet again, this time by Southern Cal.
* Lastly, the Football Writers Association released its Freshman All-America team today. Georgia's Knowshon Moreno was the only Bulldog, although two other Georgians -- Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry (Fairburn, Ga.) and Florida State center Ryan McMahon (Rome, Ga.) -- also made the list. You can read it here.
* The first thing is UGA president Michael Adams' press conference that starts in 20 minutes concerning his proposal for an eight-team football playoff. I have to admit, I didn't expect to see this day arrive, as he has publicly opposed such an arrangement for quite a long time. You can read his letter to NCAA president Myles Brand here.
* Mark Richt will hold his season-wrapping teleconference today at 5. I think it will sort of be a state of the union kind of thing. We'll probably get some updates on who's arrived, injuries, that kind of stuff. I'm sure this playoff thing will come up again. I'll post anything interesting that comes from it later.
* The final polls came out today. Georgia finished second in the Associated Press poll (with three first-place votes) and third in the USA Today coaches poll, after being leapfrogged yet again, this time by Southern Cal.
* Lastly, the Football Writers Association released its Freshman All-America team today. Georgia's Knowshon Moreno was the only Bulldog, although two other Georgians -- Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry (Fairburn, Ga.) and Florida State center Ryan McMahon (Rome, Ga.) -- also made the list. You can read it here.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Harmon switches to Georgia
For those who didn't see his announcement on the U.S. Army All-American Game, Jefferson County OL/DL A.J. Harmon has decided to switch his commitment from Clemson to Georgia.
I thought he might stick with Clemson, but his switch isn't exactly a shocker. He seemed to be at quite a lot of Georgia games and events for someone who was committed to another school. I had that conversation with other writers several times this year when we'd see him in Athens.
Rivals.com lists him as its No. 1 offensive guard in the nation, but I've always heard Harmon has his heart set on playing defensive line in college. That will be an interesting thing to follow. It's not like Georgia has a shortage of young offensive guards right now, what with many of the guys who redshirted this year being projected at that position (Anderson, Little, Strickland) and Clint Boling playing there this year. Rivals has him as its No. 45 overall prospect and No. 3 from Georgia. His switch means Georgia has commitments from all five of Rivals' top five Georgia prospects.
Scout has him as the No. 10 offensive tackle and No. 82 overall prospect in the nation. They've got him as the No. 6 prospect from Georgia.
Also, Cedar Grove WR Josh Jarboe, who was on some Georgia fans' radar this year, picked Oklahoma today at the Under Armour All-American Game
I thought he might stick with Clemson, but his switch isn't exactly a shocker. He seemed to be at quite a lot of Georgia games and events for someone who was committed to another school. I had that conversation with other writers several times this year when we'd see him in Athens.
Rivals.com lists him as its No. 1 offensive guard in the nation, but I've always heard Harmon has his heart set on playing defensive line in college. That will be an interesting thing to follow. It's not like Georgia has a shortage of young offensive guards right now, what with many of the guys who redshirted this year being projected at that position (Anderson, Little, Strickland) and Clint Boling playing there this year. Rivals has him as its No. 45 overall prospect and No. 3 from Georgia. His switch means Georgia has commitments from all five of Rivals' top five Georgia prospects.
Scout has him as the No. 10 offensive tackle and No. 82 overall prospect in the nation. They've got him as the No. 6 prospect from Georgia.
Also, Cedar Grove WR Josh Jarboe, who was on some Georgia fans' radar this year, picked Oklahoma today at the Under Armour All-American Game
Quick thoughts
It's been a whirlwind week or two between the bowl stuff and trying to come back to Columbus and hit the ground running with getting back to work here and moved back into my house...so I haven't made as much of an effort to blog as I typically would when I'm in Athens and don't have anything to do. And truthfully, I've also been trying to watch all the episodes of the fourth season of The Wire before the final season starts Sunday night. I'm failing miserably thus far, but Sunday afternoon may well involve lots of couch time to catch up. That show is awesome.
Anyway, I've been wanting to post some observations from the game before I waited too long.
* Matthew Stafford was under the weather at the Sugar Bowl and Knowshon Moreno wasn't at 100 percent (although I think he would have played A LOT more had it been a close game). Think of how big of a buttwhipping that game could have been if Georgia really wanted to pull Hawaii's pants down and spank them.
* I'll be curious to see what happens with Marcus Howard as a pro prospect. He finished the year with more than 10 sacks and obliterated Hawaii's blockers on national TV in his final game. The NFL's evaluation process is so dependent on measurables that you know Marcus' size isn't going to help. But the guy got results. Maybe somebody will take a flyer on him. He said the other day that he has received an invite to the NFL combine, which is a good start.
* Same thing with Kregg Lumpkin. This season was pretty much a waste, and he's had injury trouble for much of his Georgia career. But he has the potential to be a good pro back, I think...For that matter, I'll be interested to see what happens with lots of their seniors -- Brown, Coutu, Adams, Velasco, Miller, Johnson, Flowers. All those guys can do some things that might help them catch on with somebody for at least a year or two, if not longer. But it's tough to get that opportunity and even tougher to stick. I'll do some draft stuff when we get closer to Georgia's Pro Day.
* I think Hawaii's players might have done a little too much chirping out in public before that game. They poked the tiger with a stick a few too many times.
* Mark Richt is going to get a raise in the near future. Count on it.
Anyway, I've been wanting to post some observations from the game before I waited too long.
* Matthew Stafford was under the weather at the Sugar Bowl and Knowshon Moreno wasn't at 100 percent (although I think he would have played A LOT more had it been a close game). Think of how big of a buttwhipping that game could have been if Georgia really wanted to pull Hawaii's pants down and spank them.
* I'll be curious to see what happens with Marcus Howard as a pro prospect. He finished the year with more than 10 sacks and obliterated Hawaii's blockers on national TV in his final game. The NFL's evaluation process is so dependent on measurables that you know Marcus' size isn't going to help. But the guy got results. Maybe somebody will take a flyer on him. He said the other day that he has received an invite to the NFL combine, which is a good start.
* Same thing with Kregg Lumpkin. This season was pretty much a waste, and he's had injury trouble for much of his Georgia career. But he has the potential to be a good pro back, I think...For that matter, I'll be interested to see what happens with lots of their seniors -- Brown, Coutu, Adams, Velasco, Miller, Johnson, Flowers. All those guys can do some things that might help them catch on with somebody for at least a year or two, if not longer. But it's tough to get that opportunity and even tougher to stick. I'll do some draft stuff when we get closer to Georgia's Pro Day.
* I think Hawaii's players might have done a little too much chirping out in public before that game. They poked the tiger with a stick a few too many times.
* Mark Richt is going to get a raise in the near future. Count on it.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Bama opening with Clemson
This has been in the works for quite some time, but I'm not sure whether it was completely official until Alabama announced its 2008 schedule today. They're opening against Clemson on Aug. 30 at the Georgia Dome. Not really all that relevant to a UGA blog, but for the fact that part of the reason they're doing it is to make some recruiting inroads in Georgia. And that, I know for certain, is something Mark Richt and Co. aren't too excited about.
What do you think, Georgia fans? Are games like this that much of a concern? I can't say that I think it would have a huge recruiting effect, but that's definitely not a very strongly held opinion.
What do you think, Georgia fans? Are games like this that much of a concern? I can't say that I think it would have a huge recruiting effect, but that's definitely not a very strongly held opinion.
Thomas Brown postgame Q/A
Sorry I didn't do more in the last week. I was derelict in my duties as a blogger. I spent a little too much time enjoying New Orleans. I have to say I'm glad to be back in Columbus today, where I can spend several months recuperating before I have to worry about the daily football grind again. That said, I think Georgia will be VERY good next year. It should be an outstanding team, although UGA might have the most difficult schedule of any of the title contenders next year. Early road games at South Carolina and Arizona State, followed by a late-season stretch of away games against LSU, Florida, Kentucky and Auburn on consecutive weeks. It's not fair, but that's going to be a tough table to run.
Anyway, here is some of what Thomas Brown had to say after the Sugar Bowl. I would have posted this earlier, but I haven't had a lot of internet access lately until this evening. (By the way, the beat writers are going to miss Thomas. What a great kid and great quote.):
On going out with this win:
It’s a great way to end. It’s exactly the way I wanted to end, go out on top as a senior with this senior class and hopefully propel this Georgia team into the top three next year.
On whether the win validates their opinion that they belong at the top:
No doubt. We beat the only undefeated team left in the nation and we beat them by 31 points, so we beat them pretty soundly. It probably would have been worse than that if we’d kept our first-team offense in there.
On whether he was surprised by how they dominated:
Not at all. We kinda got tired of all week hearing about Colt Brennan and the offense and Georgia being on upset alert and everything like that. We just wanted to come out and prove what our offense can do, and also what our defense can do.
On whether he knew he'd have to carry the load:
I had somewhat of an idea, but I wasn’t sure. I just kinda prepared to make sure I could carry the load if I had to. Knowshon was able to spell me a few times and Kregg got in at the end of the game, so we all stayed fresh.
On how most thought they needed to keep the defense off the field to win, but that the defense did pretty well on its own:
Most definitely. But also one thing we wanted to try to do was run the ball effectively throughout the game and control the clock, just in case the offense got out of hand. But like you said, the defense did a wonderful job of stopping a high-powered offense.
On Hawaii:
They were gonna fight to the end, exactly what we thought they were gonna do. But we did a wonderful job of preparation and studying them in the film room. When we came out, we knew exactly what they were gonna do when they lined up against (?) the ball. The main thing about it, we made plays when the time called for it.
On whether Georgia was that much better than Hawaii:
I believe so. Like I was just saying, I feel like we could’ve scored more points if we left our first-team offense in there. But we kinda let up a little bit and put the subs in there.
On whether he was excited for the seniors to go out this way:
Most definitely. I’m just very excited about the way the season went, the way I kind of dreamt to go out on top with this senior class. We’ve just been through so much, and to see Marcus Howard get that MVP trophy meant a lot to me.
How good will this team be next year?
They’ll be as great as they want to be. We only have, I think, 14 seniors leaving and deep sophomore and junior classes, they played a lot this year, so I expect good things from them.
Can this team play for the national title?
I expect them to.
Anyway, here is some of what Thomas Brown had to say after the Sugar Bowl. I would have posted this earlier, but I haven't had a lot of internet access lately until this evening. (By the way, the beat writers are going to miss Thomas. What a great kid and great quote.):
On going out with this win:
It’s a great way to end. It’s exactly the way I wanted to end, go out on top as a senior with this senior class and hopefully propel this Georgia team into the top three next year.
On whether the win validates their opinion that they belong at the top:
No doubt. We beat the only undefeated team left in the nation and we beat them by 31 points, so we beat them pretty soundly. It probably would have been worse than that if we’d kept our first-team offense in there.
On whether he was surprised by how they dominated:
Not at all. We kinda got tired of all week hearing about Colt Brennan and the offense and Georgia being on upset alert and everything like that. We just wanted to come out and prove what our offense can do, and also what our defense can do.
On whether he knew he'd have to carry the load:
I had somewhat of an idea, but I wasn’t sure. I just kinda prepared to make sure I could carry the load if I had to. Knowshon was able to spell me a few times and Kregg got in at the end of the game, so we all stayed fresh.
On how most thought they needed to keep the defense off the field to win, but that the defense did pretty well on its own:
Most definitely. But also one thing we wanted to try to do was run the ball effectively throughout the game and control the clock, just in case the offense got out of hand. But like you said, the defense did a wonderful job of stopping a high-powered offense.
On Hawaii:
They were gonna fight to the end, exactly what we thought they were gonna do. But we did a wonderful job of preparation and studying them in the film room. When we came out, we knew exactly what they were gonna do when they lined up against (?) the ball. The main thing about it, we made plays when the time called for it.
On whether Georgia was that much better than Hawaii:
I believe so. Like I was just saying, I feel like we could’ve scored more points if we left our first-team offense in there. But we kinda let up a little bit and put the subs in there.
On whether he was excited for the seniors to go out this way:
Most definitely. I’m just very excited about the way the season went, the way I kind of dreamt to go out on top with this senior class. We’ve just been through so much, and to see Marcus Howard get that MVP trophy meant a lot to me.
How good will this team be next year?
They’ll be as great as they want to be. We only have, I think, 14 seniors leaving and deep sophomore and junior classes, they played a lot this year, so I expect good things from them.
Can this team play for the national title?
I expect them to.
Marcus Howard postgame Q/A
Here are a few minutes of what Marcus Howard said to me and a couple reporters after the game Tuesday...
On his sack that created the fumble-touchdown:
Full speed, I had a clear shot at him. I beat the tackle inside and it was just. That’s probably one of my favorite sacks I’ve ever had.
On their plan coming in:
Coach Martinez said, ‘Hit Colt Brennan.’ He made it a big statement, a big priority. He said, ‘If he ran the option, don’t fan out, just hit him. When he passes the ball, as long as it’s legal, hit him.’ And that’s what we did. Our priority was to hit Colt Brennan. That’s what the defense did.
On whether Colt Brennan talked any trash to him:
He said one thing one time and that’s what really got me hyped up. I had a good pressure and he had an incomplete pass, but it was an interference and he jumped in my face. I think that just triggered me and I just passed that emotion onto the defense.
On when that happened:
That was in the first quarter before the first sack. He just jumped in my face and went, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.’ It just triggered me.
On how the defensive rotating helped him and the defense:
I’m fresh. I think our defense, really the coaching staff got us prepared. They ran us a lot, a whole lot. … I don’t think there’s one guy on that defense that’s sucking wind right now.
On how much he played in the fourth quarter:
I just played one series in the fourth quarter.
On what Hawaii's players said to him after the game:
They didn’t say nothing to me because I was up here, but I don’t know what they said to the other players, though.
On the significance of a defensive player winning the bowl MVP award:
It’s of great significance. It just shows that it’s not always about offense. Like we say, ‘Defense wins ballgames,’ and that’s what happened tonight.
On how his performance might help him as an NFL prospect:
I think it’s gonna help me a lot. I got an invite to the combine last week and that just made me come out here and play with no worries. I guess if I got an invite, someone’s looking at me. Like you said, everybody was just doubting me. I really took that to the heart and I tried to push that on down to the other D-ends.
On his sack that created the fumble-touchdown:
Full speed, I had a clear shot at him. I beat the tackle inside and it was just. That’s probably one of my favorite sacks I’ve ever had.
On their plan coming in:
Coach Martinez said, ‘Hit Colt Brennan.’ He made it a big statement, a big priority. He said, ‘If he ran the option, don’t fan out, just hit him. When he passes the ball, as long as it’s legal, hit him.’ And that’s what we did. Our priority was to hit Colt Brennan. That’s what the defense did.
On whether Colt Brennan talked any trash to him:
He said one thing one time and that’s what really got me hyped up. I had a good pressure and he had an incomplete pass, but it was an interference and he jumped in my face. I think that just triggered me and I just passed that emotion onto the defense.
On when that happened:
That was in the first quarter before the first sack. He just jumped in my face and went, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.’ It just triggered me.
On how the defensive rotating helped him and the defense:
I’m fresh. I think our defense, really the coaching staff got us prepared. They ran us a lot, a whole lot. … I don’t think there’s one guy on that defense that’s sucking wind right now.
On how much he played in the fourth quarter:
I just played one series in the fourth quarter.
On what Hawaii's players said to him after the game:
They didn’t say nothing to me because I was up here, but I don’t know what they said to the other players, though.
On the significance of a defensive player winning the bowl MVP award:
It’s of great significance. It just shows that it’s not always about offense. Like we say, ‘Defense wins ballgames,’ and that’s what happened tonight.
On how his performance might help him as an NFL prospect:
I think it’s gonna help me a lot. I got an invite to the combine last week and that just made me come out here and play with no worries. I guess if I got an invite, someone’s looking at me. Like you said, everybody was just doubting me. I really took that to the heart and I tried to push that on down to the other D-ends.
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