Springtime in Georgia 2012

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From the editor : vance leavy folks really love most about our publication is our photos, we are proud of the sports coverage we provide. Murray Poole and Jeff Dantzler, as usual, don’t disappoint with their coverage in this issue.

Murray spent a week at spring practice and certainly dug up some nice nuggets. His articles about nose guards’ John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers and the Georgia running game (page 12) will certainly get your juices flowing for what we can expect when the season begins this fall.

And don’t miss Murray’s five questions with Coach Richt and his depth chart movers story (page 8) to better comprehend what took place during spring practice. Good stuff indeed.

And one page over (4), JD is wasting no time in his assessment that 2012 is an “all-in” year for the Dawgs. You’ve gotta admit our program has a ton of talent coming back this season and has a manageable schedule (to say the least).

However, I think I’ll leave my own prognosticating for our Season Preview issue that will come out June 5. For now, I’m more focused on my sincere hope that the young men on our football team have learned their lessons from some of their fellow teammates who found trouble over the last few months. This team has an incredible opportunity to have a special season.

Hopefully they will realize that and tow the line the remainder of 2012.

I will never be one that thinks these 18 to 22 year-olds aren’t going to have their ups and downs. I was in a fraternity at Georgia where we had anywhere between 85 and 100 guys (much like the number on the football team) and I assure you there were always a few (including me) who had to learn lessons the hard way. You can only hope that our players, much like brothers in a fraternity, try their very best to look after one another.

Enough of that, I’m beginning to sound very much like a person who is just a few months shy of 40 with gray hairs popping up daily.

Scary stuff, indeed.

Also don’t miss Murray Poole’s column on longtime athletic board member, Bob Bishop (page 5). In our future issues, we hope to catch up with other members of the board, but thought it was only fitting to begin with Mr. Bishop who has graciously served on the board for 30 years.

Finally, check out photos from the UGA Alumni awards and a couple of fraternity spring events on page 14. It will certainly bring a smile to your face to see folks doing great things for UGA and seeing students soaking up the best four years of their lives.

Gotta run now … Springtime in Georgia … isn’t it glorious to be a Georgia Bulldog?

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Springtime in Georgia … isn’t it glorious to be a Georgia Bulldog?

While practically everything in this issue of BI has to do with our beloved football team and its fans, it just doesn’t seem right not to begin talking about this year’s Masters.

It began somberly with the absence of longtime AJC columnist Furman Bisher who departed to heaven just weeks prior to the tournament.

Like so many, I was huge fan of Mr. Bisher. His God given writing talents and his uncanny nose for the story certainly helped shaped my love of both sports and journalism. I will never forget when he complimented our publication saying it was something he knew every Georgia fan would love. How cool, coming from a man who had basically covered more sports than anyone in the world. You are certainly missed Mr. Bisher and I am so happy that I was there back in 2009 when you were named a Grady Fellowship (pictured right). A deserving honor, indeed.

Even though Mr. Bisher wasn’t there, you can bet he was watching from above as former Georgia Bulldog and graduate, Bubba Watson hit a historic hook shot off pine straw to the second playoff hole to secure the green jacket. What an awesome moment for Bubba and for the University of Georgia. And then the tears began flowing and not just photo by Associated Press from Bubba. I looked next to me on the sofa and Cheri was jubilantly sobbing. What a special Easter Sunday for Bubba his wife Angie, their new son, Caleb and all of us in the Bulldog Nation.

Springtime in Georgia … isn’t it glorious to be a Georgia Bulldog?

And then a week later, the Georgia sports scene moved from Augusta to Athens for all the festivities surrounding this year’s annual playing of the G-Day game. From Charley Trippi Day to the inaugural Circle of Honor Gala to the spring game itself, UGA fans were treated to what makes being a Bulldog so special. We love our university and we love our teams that represent it, which naturally leads us to love all the student-athletes who helped build and shape such a historic program.

Kudos to the UGA Athletic Department folks in charge of turning the G-Day game into a fullfledged weekend event that I think will only get bigger and better in the coming years. And naturally, we at BI did our very best to capture as much of the festivities in this issue (pages 6 and 9). Enjoy!

And while we do realize and accept that what

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This is an all-in year for the Bulldogs

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Despite the attrition and suspensions that have marred the off-season, expectations are sky-high for Georgia on the gridiron in 2012. The Bulldogs figure to be the consensus favorite to capture the East Division title and return to the Southeastern Conference Championship Game.

The goal, the minimum – a return to the SEC Championship Game with a record better than the 10-2 mark the Bulldogs took to the Georgia Dome in 2011 ... with wins over Tech and Florida again.

There are facts, questions, concerns, musts and needs to be dealt with.

Facts

Georgia beat Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and Tech in the same season for the first time since the powerhouse SEC champions of 1981.

Georgia went 1-4 vs. ranked teams a year ago, and is 1-9 against ranked foes the last two years. Tennessee had a losing record and Florida went 7-6.

Three SEC teams finished in the top five nationally a year ago. Georgia didn’t play any of them in the regular season, though did meet LSU in the SEC Championship Game – losing 42-10. For a second straight year, the Dogs don’t play Alabama, LSU or Arkansas.

Musts

So despite the aforementioned attrition and suspensions, and with the obvious notion that any SEC schedule is going to be tough, this slate is very manageable. That last fact gets back to the original. With no Bama, Bayou Bengals, or Bobby Petrino-less Razorbacks, anything shy of 11 or 12 wins and a return to Atlanta would be disappointing.

In a league that has captured six straight national titles, with this schedule and with what Georgia has coming back, if the Dogs don’t go to Atlanta at 12-0 or 11-1 with a crystal ball in the crosshairs, the red and black faithful are bound to be asking, “If not now, then when?”

To get there, the first thing the Bulldogs must do is stop beating themselves. Georgia threw four pick-sixes a year ago, three in losses. In a crushing 45-42 loss to South Carolina, the Dogs had an interception and a fumble returned for touchdowns, an interception returned to the five and a fake punt 70-yard run by a defensive end for a score.

That type of performance obviously won’t yield a title.

Beating Florida and Tech is essential.

From 1990 through 2010, the Gators went 18-3 against Georgia, the darkest era against a rival since the infamous eight-game drought against Tech from 1949-56. But culprits like Steve Spurrier, Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow are gone. History. Will Muschamp, who was 0-4 in the series as a Georgia safety, is headed into his second season at the Gator helm. For the first time since the interim Gary Darnell in 1989, Florida has a coach with a losing record against Georgia. This is a real opportunity to turn the series. The Bulldogs have better material back. For Georgia to get to college football’s ultimate height, controlling the series in Jacksonville is a must. Losses to Ron Zook coached Florida in 2002 and 2003 cost the Bulldogs shots at the national title.

Amongst Mark Richt’s greatest successes is a 10-1 record against Tech. As painful as

the aforementioned losses to the Gators were, the loss that stung the most was to Tech in 2008. That would have given Georgia eight straight in the series. But the Dogs have won the last three. If Georgia has a 10-1 or 11-0 record and a date with LSU on horizon, there must be no looking past Tech. Georgia fans like putting up Christmas trees, and you can’t do that if you lose to Tech.

Questions and Concerns

Georgia’s scholarship numbers are down. Down to the point of a team that is on probation. Of course the Bulldogs are not, but attrition and a less than full boat have the Dogs around a dozen down from a full boat of 85.

Depth is a concern, particularly in the secondary out of the gates, as Georgia must deal with a rash of suspensions. Missouri has a high octane passing game, and the Dogs have had to move over star receiver Malcolm Mitchell for at least the first two games.

Three of Georgia’s starting four are reportedly suspended for at least one game.

Georgia must get production out of several highly touted incoming freshmen on defense. As good as the stop unit was a year ago, the fact is Georgia couldn’t stop Boise State in the second half. Georgia got gashed

by Marcus Lattimore and South Carolina in the fourth quarter. LSU sliced up the Bulldogs defense in the second half after a dominating first 30 minutes from the Bulldogs.

And Michigan State cut through the Dogs to tie up the Capital One Bowl, which the Spartans eventually won in overtime.

The Dogs D must be fresh when the chips are down. Freshmen will have to help here while also earning reps that will be extremely valuable come 2013, when Georgia will likely have to replace eight to nine defensive starters.

These freshmen should also be able to help on special teams, an area that was again beyond shaky in 2011. Poor field goal kicking, the fake punt run for six, the punt return for six by LSU and an F-minus showing that nearly cost the Dogs the game at Vandy stand out as sore points. Georgia must replace one of college football’s all time great punters in Drew Butler as well as return ace Brandon Boykin. A couple of incoming freshmen figure to inherit the kicking and punting jobs. That’s big time pressure. But in general, in all areas, becoming sound again in the kicking game is a huge question mark.

As is the offensive line.

There seems to be a good corps coming out of the spring. Kolton Houston and junior college transfer Mark Beard gave the Dogs a lift in the Spring. John Theus, a five star left tackle should do the same in August. But it would be nice if he’s a luxury, not a necessity.

Georgia has been down this road before and still had strong seasons.

Can the Dogs do that again, like in ’03 and ’07, but with even greater success?

Bottom Line

This is an “all-in” year for the Dogs.

With the talent returning and this schedule, there is no reason to be anything but optimistic and strive for the highest of aspirations, the wildest of dreams. As I wrote a couple of months ago, it’s daring to be great.

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Bishop continues to enjoy athletic board role

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Bob Bishop admits that he wasn’t much of an athlete. But because he was so adept in the field of banking and finance, Bishop has gotten to remain close to the athletic program at his beloved University of Georgia for the past three decades.

“I’ve been on the UGA athletic board pretty close to 30 years, either 28, 29 or 30, I’ll have to look it up in a minute,” said Bishop, speaking from behind his desk at SunTrust Bank in Athens where he’s actually retired from the active banking business but still fills a chair on the firm’s board of directors.

“But I’ve been on the athletic board longer than anybody I guess,” said Bishop. “When we first decided to add on to the (Sanford) stadium Kid, Coach and Bish - John Terrell, Bill Hartman, back in 1980 and build Butts-Mehre, nobody on Bob Bishop at the "Athens Tailgate" now known as the board I guess was familiar with all the outer "Kid's Tailgate" banks and banks around the state. Fred Davison school in 1961 and has other relatives with UGA (UGA president) was a good friend of mine and ties.

Allan Barber, the treasurer, was a good friend of “At the time of graduation, I was in San Anmine so they asked me would you help get the tonio, Texas lying on a concrete floor in back of financial gifts and in those days all I had to do the mess hall with my head on a helmet, sound was go over there and ask my friends to partici- asleep,” he related. “And I said, ‘Damn, I just pate and they did. That’s gone now, though. But graduated from college.’ I was out there in boot that’s why I got involved and they put me on the camp. That’s when things were starting to heat board. I guess it was 1982 so that’s 30 years now.” up in Vietnam. I got in the Georgia Air National Bishop, now 73 and also a member of the Guard and Dean Tate told me, ‘you’ve accomuniversity Foundation, pointed out with pride plished what you need to accomplish (at UGA) that he’s been in the banking business 50 years and you go and work for the country now.’ And this year. they mailed me my diploma.”

“I started in January of 1962 and I’ve been Bishop had an older sister, Martha Jo, who’s in it since then,” he said. “I’m on the board, I now 83, attend UGA, as did one of his three don’t work now. No question about it, my ex- brothers, Elder. “My wife (Janet) went to Auburn perience in the banking business led me into and her father was the blocking back in the sinbeing requested to come on the athletic associa- gle wing when Shug Jordan (late Auburn coach) tion board of directors. In those days we changed was the center,” he said. “Our daughter Allison the by-laws two or three times. When I went on graduated from the Georgia business school and there then it was two years for four terms for a then got her master’s degree in teaching. total of eight years, then it’s been changed again “And our youngest daughter, Jennings, to where now you’ve got three years for three graduated from Wake Forest and then came terms for nine years and I’ve been on it 30 years. down here to Georgia and got her master’s degree So I got caught between and some years they in social work.” Bishop continued. “And then got asked me to stay on because of some things that her LCSW (licensed clinical social worker) and were going on.” she hung up her shingle and practiced for a couBishop always knew athletics held a pre- ple of years but then decided to go to nursing dominant place in the university’s storied history school and now she’s a nurse at St. Marys Hosbut after these 30 years with the athletic board, pital (in Athens).” he realizes that fact even more so today.

Bishop points out that UGA’s athletic pro“Serving on the board this long, I think I’ve grams and coaching staffs rank with the best in learned more than anything how important ath- America. letics is to the University of Georgia,” Bishop said.

“Overall, I think our athletic program is in “We can raise money a whole lot quicker as good a shape financially as any I know about,” through football and basketball and there isn’t he said. “I’m sure there are some just as good. any question about it. It’s just a great thrill and But financially, our athletic program is strong. honor to serve on the board, No. 1, to know Management-wise, it’s strong. On our athletic what’s going on, how it goes on and why it goes board David Shipley, who used to be dean of the on,” he said. “And getting to know so many peo- law school and is professor at the law school now, ple, I get calls all the time from people I didn’t he’s our secretary and that job is technically called even know I knew. Course, I’m out of the ticket faculty representative. You’re representing the business now,” Bishop joked. "But I made a lot of faculty on the board. And Tim Burgess is our friends, I got to travel with the team to the foot- treasurer and is also very strong. And then you’ve ball games. It’s just a great honor to be on that got president (Michael) Adams who I think is and also a pretty good responsibility, too. We are the best. a corporation, a 501C3 corporation that is tax“And I think Coach Richt is one of the finest free. But we are a board and we legally have to people we could have in the job. As you and I pass the budget next month. We’ll meet on that know, football goes in cycles,” declared Bishop. about two hours. Our board meeting is May 25, “Coach Richt came in here with a bang and won I believe.” two SEC championships and then started off bad Bishop pointed out the addition to Sanford the year after that and people got to moaning. I Stadium, the building of the Butts-Mehre ath- told them ‘just hang in there because it goes in letic complex and all other athletic facilities on cycles.’ And then last year we won those 10 campus were financed strictly through athletic straight games and of course lost to that team revenues and the student fees. “We build it and (Michigan State) in three overtimes in the bowl then we deed it over to the board of regents. game. So he’s back in everybody’s good graces Then we turn around and lease it back from now. The baseball program, I think (Dave) them. So they own it but we lease it back from Perno’s a great coach ... I’m in the business side, them after we pay for it. It’s kind of a funny I don’t know much about the technical aspects arrangement but it’s worked very well,” Bishop of athletics. I wasn’t a good athlete myself but I alsaid. “And we do a lot for the university. We do- ways loved athletics. And I think we’ve got a dognate money to the academic side most every gone good women’s basketball coach in Andy year.”

Landers. I don’t know Mark Fox (men’s coach) But, mind you, Bob Bishop’s role on the as well. I see him every now and then. I know university’s athletic board hasn’t been confined he’s from Salina, Kansas, near where the movie In to simply offering advice on financial matters.

Cold Blood took place. But everybody I’ve talked “When we hired Ray Goff as head football to about him says, technically, he’s very good. Of coach, I was chairman of the search committee,” course, Jack Bauerle is our swimming coach and he recalled. “That thing got all messed up. I told is a diamond in the rough. Every time I introhim when we were walking down the hall at duce him to somebody, I say, “this guy has never 6:30 in the morning, and Chuck Knapp was the lost a meet as a student or as a coach to Georgia president then, ‘Ray, I hope we’re doing you a Tech.’ He’s won national championships and he’s favor.’ But we had a bunch of directors on there never lost to Tech and that makes you really then and we got along pretty good but the search proud of him. got entangled a little. When you’re searching for “I just feel real good about our programs in a football coach to replace Coach Dooley the the sense that we’ve got people who, if we have world closes in on you, wanting to know what’s a mistake made, they correct the mistake,” said going on. But I thought Ray was a good football Bishop. “Unfortunately, we’ve had some football coach then and I still think Ray was a good players who did incorrect things but I think coach. Course, we got a great coach now (in Coach Richt has handled it very well. He’s a stern Mark Richt).” disciplinarian and you’ve got to stay with that.

Bishop graduated from Georgia’s business You’ll lose the whole team if you don’t.”

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Inaugural Circle of Honor Gala Honorees Kristy Kowal, Jack Baurele and Courtney Shealy Hart

George Patton and Don Leebern

Honoree Billy Payne and Vince Dooley

Sue Bush and Jane Rauch

Erica, Keith, Kristy, Donna and Ed Kowal

Bill and Andrea Archer with LaVerne and Alan Barber

Mark and Kathryn Richt

Suzanne Yoculan, Marisa Kempy Goodman and Courtney Kupets

Greg McGarity and Taylor Smith

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Scott and Marianne Woerner and Kathy and Mark Slonaker

Mark and Cindy Fox with Pam and Andy Landers

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1955 Senior Bulldogs - Matthew Arthur, Jimmy Harper, Len Spadfino, Walter White, Bobby Garrard, Don Shea and Bill Saye

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Governor Nathan Deal and Michael Adams

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Dawn of a New Day

More Than A Ribbon Cutting It’s the start of a new day for Jekyll Island.

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Five questions for Mark Richt Georgia head coach Mark Richt sat down with Bulldog Illustrated writer Murray Poole during spring practice and gave the following answers to five questions concerning the Bulldogs’ 2012 outlook:

1.

How do you see the offense going this season? I know you always preach balance, but is there a chance the Bulldogs will lean on the running game if it's proving to be successful? And would that help the young offensive line as it matures on the fly?

“The balance for me is being able to run the ball well enough when they play two-deep coverage and then being able to throw the ball good enough if they put too many guys in the box and they outnumber you in the run game. And that’s really where you’ve got to be able to counteract that type of defensive scheme. If you say, hey, we’re gonna run the ball because that’s gonna be helpful to the offensive line, well the offensive line might block everybody, the fullback might block his man and the tight end might as well but you still might have an unblocked safety two yards from the line of scrimmage, so if they do that you got one-on-one coverage so you better be able to throw and catch good enough. So you can’t just sit there and say, ‘you know, we’re gonna run that ball no matter what!’ On the other hand, if you can’t run it well against two-deep coverage, they can double your receivers and play zone and make it tough to throw and still hold up against the running game, then you’ve really got a problem there, too. So unless you’ve got a quarterback who’s truly a runner you’ve got to be able to have that kind of balance, I think. Of course, when you’ve got good runners you’ve got to get them the ball, and I think we have that. We’ve got some on campus already and we’re certainly waiting on Todd Gurley. And with Keith (Marshall) already being here, we’ve got some good backs on campus right now that are doing a good job. I tell you one guy who’s been a pleasant surprise to me has been Ken Malcome. Ken’s growing up, he’s so much more mature than he was a year ago … just going about his business academically, going about his business at practice, his approach to life right now has really changed in a real positive way and I’m happy for him.”

2.

How excited are you about the progress of the Georgia defense under the leadership of Todd Grantham?

“It’s been very good. It’s been a gradual progression of, trying to think of the word here … just getting things done. We’re producing in a really good way. I think we’ve got a lot of guys that know what they’re doing, got a lot of guys that are more mature football players than they were a couple of years ago. Everybody knows the system better. They’re bigger, stronger and there’s a bunch of seniors in that bunch. It’s a heavy senior and veteran group.”

3.

What are the three things that Aaron Murray needs to improve on this season?

“Well, I still want him to be very protective of the football. I still want him to make the plays he needs to make and all but he still needs to make sure he respects that ball, just like he has. You know the older you get, the more you think sometimes you can do things but you’ve still got to understand how crucial that ball is, how crucial it is to maintain possession whether you’re throwing or running the ball, and you’ve got to have good ball security. We don’t need turnovers – we don’t need to give the game away. So I want him to always be mindful of that. I want him to just continue to get us in the right plays like he does. I think he is an accurate quarterback. He’ll get it to the receivers in a pretty good fashion but I’d like to see him become even more of a pinpoint passer where the guys can really get the yards after the catch, hitting them on stride, don’t make a guy jump, put the ball in their body rather than making them reach for a ball in the middle, just put it on ‘em. And with Aaron, there will be some QB run elements to the game but I don’t see him gaining 50 to 100 yards a game rushing, anything like that.”

photo by Rob Saye

4.

How hard is it to deal with player suspensions when you as coaches are doing everything you can do to encourage the kids to make good decisions?

“It’s definitely discouraging. It’s the one thing I hate about this job, having to deal with that kind of thing. It hurts your momentum as a team, it hurts the player and his family. It hurts the coaching staff, it hurts the fan base and it hurts everybody. It’s not enjoyable but again, when those things do happen we just have to make sure we’re disciplining properly and we’re learning from it. These guys have got to be able to learn from it. I’ve seen so many cases of guys that have. It happens all the time. People tend to forget … I don’t want to even name names because you’ll bring up some stuff but there’s certain guys that have gotten in trouble and have turned it around and finished so wonderfully and everybody loves those guys. And they don’t even think of the times they were in trouble, they think about the great times and so unfortunately you have those things happen but that’s kind of part of the growing up process; you make mistakes and you hopefully learn from them as you go and become better for it.”

5.

With so many scholarships available (Georgia’s at a total of 73 or so now), what is your strategy for this year and next for adding more?

“Well, you’re allowed to bring in young men, if they do well academically enough to come in at mid-year, you can actually count some scholarships back if you have room, which we will. So, hopefully, there will be a healthy number of mid-year enrollees along with being able to move forward with that number as well. But some of the young men can count backward toward last year’s class and some can count forward. You know, we’ll see (about UGA possibly signing around 30 players next February). That would not be impossible at all. We’ll be working toward a good number of guys to replace but again, to have a high number, you’ve got to have a good many mid-year guys.”

- Compiled by Murray Poole

Spring depth chart movers Competition at all positions is just what the doctor ordered for a team seeking championships

Connor Norman

Jay Rome

By Murray Poole

veryone in Bulldog Nation is aware of the Georgia players who made major contributions to last season’s 10-4 SEC runners-up and are expected to be the ringleaders for the Bulldogs again in the upcoming 2012 campaign.

Indeed, such names as Jarvis Jones and Bacarri Rambo – both first-team All-Americas – Aaron Murray, John Jenkins, Kwame Geathers, Kenarious Gates, Tavarres King, Malcolm Mitchell, Shawn Williams, Alec Ogletree, Michael Gilliard, Christian Robinson, Branden Smith, Isaiah Crowell, Marlon Brown, Michael Bennett, Chris Burnette, Cornelius Washington, Richard Samuel, Amarlo Herrera, Abry Jones, Dallas Lee, Mike Thornton, Garrison Smith and Sanders Commings will be bringing the needed experience and leadership roles to a team that is expected to crash the Top 10 of several preseason rankings.

But, that said, Mark Richt and his assistant staff will also be relying heavily on rising young players, guys who have yet to see starting action for the Bulldogs but are going to be counted on this fall to answer the opening whistle in some positions as well as provide the needed depth that every good team must have.

And if you listen to the Georgia coaches, there was a number of rising Bulldogs who tossed their playing hat into the ring during the recently-completed spring practice and made some noise on the team depth chart.

Just three young guys catching the eye of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham were sophomore safety Corey Moore, redshirt sophomore strong safety Connor Norman and redshirt freshman defensive end Sterling Bailey.

“Those guys are doing a good job,” said Grantham. “Corey, his second year through, is definitely showing some progress. He’s a physical guy and is working hard to try and be a good player so I’m encouraged by him.” In the Bulldogs’ second scrimmage this spring, Moore recorded nine tackles and also managed a pass interception. “He’s coming,” offered head coach Richt. “Corey’s a very aggressive football player when it comes to coming up to make a tackle. He’s a good athlete. He’s learning a lot. He’s getting a lot better. He’s going to have to play for us. He’s going have to be able to function for us.”

Grantham had equal praise for Norman, a walk-on who continues to impress the Georgia defensive staff.

“Connor has shown his value back there,” Grantham said. “He knows where to be and knows how to make the adjustments we need. He’s a guy with the process we’re going through right now, where we give guys a chance to play and we’ve put him in some spots where we’re going to challenge him. He showed up this time last year. We had some injuries back there last year, and I think he played 100 plays in the scrimmage for us, the one (G-Day) we have coming up. Based on what he did there, he showed that he has the ability to help us and we’ve put him in some spots where he could be functional for us.” Likewise, the Georgia defensive coordinator has been pleased with the progress of the 6-3, 259-pound Bailey.

“Sterling's going to be an inside guy, too,” said Grantham. “He's a guy who has really grown since he’s been here. He’s got really good flexibility, shows initial quickness. He’s got some size to him and he continues just to get big. He’s going to continue to get bigger,” Grantham said. “The more he lifts, grows and eats, he’s going to be a pretty big man one day and those kinds of guys create mismatches

E

inside, and that’s what you want to try and do.”

With the talented Orson Charles moving on to the NFL and steady senior Aron White having picked up his diploma, the Bulldogs are going to be seeking major production at tight end this season from rising junior Arthur Lynch and highly-touted redshirt freshman Jay Rome. The 6-5, 272pound Lynch has bided his time the past three years behind Charles and White and is now on the verge of carving out his own niche at the position. And Rome, the 6-6, 254-pound product out of footballcrazy Valdosta, opened eyebrows in the spring drills with several sparkling receptions.

“Obviously,” related UGA tight ends coach John Lilly, “Arthur Lynch is a guy who’s been in the program for three years now and has gotten a chance to play and play in some big games but has never kind of been in the position to be the guy, to go out there and to know when he wakes up on Saturday morning he’s going to play 50 snaps or whatever it would be. He’s the kind of guy you certainly pull for because he’s been patient, he’s kind of waited his time and tried to improve and even after playing as a true freshman, took a redshirt the next year just to give himself a little bit of separation from some of the other guys,” said Lilly. “He’s had a couple of good spring games for us so he’s a guy who certainly has some ability and has some natural leadership to him and has had a good spring this time.

I’ve been pleased with the way he’s kind of embraced the role he’s in.

“And Jay Rome,” continued Lilly, “is a guy who’s in a position that while difficult, it’s one he knew he was going to be in because of trying to play two sports. And obviously, the conditioning is different from football to basketball and then it becomes again a totally different transition from basketball back to football, and he did miss some time through the off-season work, whether it be in the weight room or some of the conditioning things or individual work, things like that. So he’s still kind of getting back in football mode. You can see him as days go by picking up things a little bit better but I’d say he’s probably a little bit behind where he would have been if he had been in football the whole time. I think Jay’s at a good weight right now, what we’re asking him to do. I think him redshirting last year was probably a good move for him because the amount of snaps he would have played had he burned a year in there probably wouldn’t have been worth it from the experience he would have gotten. Jay is a young man who grasps concepts very well and I think will do everything he can to be ready to play a significant role in the fall.

“I’d also like to mention Hugh Williams, who’s been a walkon offensive lineman for us,” said Lilly. “He moved over (to tight end) about halfway through. He’s done a nice job for us, particularly in the running game. A guy who’s played all across the offensive line is going to be a pretty decent blocker and Hugh has kind of accepted the move pretty well.”

Georgia inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti has also no-

photos by Rob Saye

ticed several Bulldogs, young and veteran alike, who are making their push in his area.

“I’m blessed in my area,” Olivadotti said. “We have competition, real competition of guys that have played a lot of football for us and have won a lot of football games with them in there. We haven’t even talked about depth chart, really, this whole spring has been about just improving. Shoot, Christian Robinson has taken reps anywhere from first team to third team and that’s just because we have a lot of guys who have played football so it’s kind of hard for me to point out certain guys, just because we haven’t done it that way,” he said. “Now guys who have taken steps to improve, I think all of them have in areas. I think (Soph.) Ramik Wilson is a guy who has started to catch up with everybody else, which is a good thing because he’s probably the one guy who didn’t play as much on defense as the other guys that were in there. And we’re pleased with that. (Soph.) Kosta Vavlas has done some nice things for us and then you’ve got Alec (Ogletree) and Mike (Gilliard) and Amarlo (Herrera) and those guys are getting better at the things they were good at and at the things they weren’t good at.”

One of the most prominent young players mentioned on the offensive line this spring was redshirt sophomore Kolton Houston, the 6-5, 291-pounder from Buford who sat out the 2011 season due to an undisclosed NCAA issue. Houston started much of the spring at left guard before, in somewhat of a surprise move, being shifted to the starting right tackle slot in the week leading up to the G-Day game.

“I love having Kolton playing next to me,” junior right guard Chris Burnett said. “I feel like he plays with great effort, a very athletic guy. I feel like us playing together is going to be great if that’s the way it shapes up in the end.”

Of course, the above are just a few of the young Bulldogs that made impressions on both their position coaches and fellow teammates in these spring practice sessions. Other names mentioned prominently were speedy freshman tailback Keith Marshall, who missed half of the spring with a hamstring injury, sophomore defensive end Ray Drew, redshirt freshman receiver Justin Scott-Wesley, sophomore center David Andrews, junior tackle Austin Long, sophomore cornerback Damian Swann, and of course Malcolm Mitchell, the Bulldogs’ ace freshman receiver last year who showed signs this spring that he’s also developing into a shutdown corner for Grantham’s defense.

All of these up-and-coming Dogs could evolve into household names before autumn turns into winter in 2012.

Paige Grantham, Lainie Bobo, Amanda Lakatos, Mikki Hynes, Avita Settles, Vanessa Eson, Kathryn Richt

UGA Football Coaches Wives’ G-Day Tailgate

Garrett Bennett, Brooks Carter and Bruno and Carrie Scarborough Melissa and Wick, Riley and Mitchell Armstrong

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FAN OF THE WEEK Meet Davis Powell Richmond, Virginia University of Georgia B.A. 2009 (pictured left-right) Andrew Powell and Davis Powell

SPONSOR

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701 pounds

Other than Herschel, who is your favorite Bulldog and why?

DJ Shockley. My freshman year was 2005 and he waited so long to be a starter. He took us to the SEC Championship; he’s just a damn good dawg.

Winner Jeremy Lackman

Who is your favorite player on the current UGA roster and why?

It’s tough to pick; we have a lot of good players. But I think Shawn >PSSPHTZ /L WSH`Z ^P[O OPZ OHPY VU ÄYL HUK OL Q\Z[ WSH`Z OHYK /L WSH`Z with a lot of emotion and passion and he really cares about Georgia.

What makes you a true Bulldog?

My Georgia fanhood isn’t any more so than anyone else. But my dad is from Athens and both my parents went to Georgia. I grew up in the tough years of being a Georgia fan and learned how to keep cheering. No matter what, you gotta support them. Nowadays I just cant stop being so serious about the dawgs. I just really love the dawgs.

What is the most memorable play you have experienced in person?

In 2005, Georgia vs. Tennessee in Knoxville. Thomas Flowers took a punt back to the house. Since it was an away game, I was crowded into one small section with all these Georgia fans and we all went nuts when that happened. I thought the house was going to go down. It was awesome.

Which one of our rivals do you enjoy beating the most?

I really dislike Auburn and love beating them. A lot of my high school friends went there and beating them just feels so good.

What makes your tailgating scene so special?

I don’t get to tailgate as much as I wish I could, but when I get to go now it’s a big event. Living a couple states away, it feels so good to be back and be among my friends. It’s always my family and folks I went to school with, people I’ve been tailgating with since freshman year. The people really make the tailgate.

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10

Bulldawg Illustrated

G-Day game rewind

Justin Scott-Wesley

By Murray Poole

S

ixty-three total points were put on the Sanford Stadium scoreboard in Georgia’s annual spring G-Day game on April 14 with the Red team nipping the Black team 3231, but don’t let that offensive explosion fool you – the Bulldogs’ No. 1 defense is still expected to rank with the top units in the country in 2012.

But still, in what they couldn’t accomplish early on in this year’s spring practices, the No. 1 offense of coordinator Mike Bobo, which made up the Red team, still made its share of big plays against Todd Grantham’s Black team, which consisted of the Bulldogs’ starting defense.

And also, the Black team offense, which fielded mostly Georgia’s No. 2 unit on that side of the ball, made some plays, which means that, just like the team’s highly-touted defense, the members of the Bulldogs’ offensive team have reason to carry muchneeded confidence into the new season this fall.

“We’ve done some good things in all three scrimmages this spring and moved the ball,” said Bobo. “Today when you’re playing a bunch of guys, the defense got some turnovers and put us in good position but I’ve just been preaching to our guys and the other coaches all week just keep fighting. We’re going against a pretty good defense and if you’ll come out there and fight and work to get better every day, we’ll get better. And our guys have taken it a little bit personal they want to come out and try to play well every chance they get against our defense. It’s easy to lose confidence going against that defense every day in practice but I thought we showed some good leadership and guys fighting and coaches doing a good job of keeping encouraging our guys to go out there and keep fighting hard every day in practice and even in today’s last scrimmage.”

Both Bobo and head coach Mark Richt were pleased with the showing of the Bulldogs’ running back corps. Richard Samuel of the Black team led all rushers with 43 yards on eight carries – all in the second half – rising sophomore Isaiah Crowell dashed for 39 yards on 10 carries for the Reds and redshirt sophomore tailback Ken Malcome tacked on 32 yards on eight trips.

“I thought they did a nice job,” said Bobo. “You know it’s hard to get any running room in there when you’re in a 21 personnel group-based fullback, tight end but I thought they ran hard. There were some creases. We got to hold onto the ball – I don’t know who fumbled but it wasn’t one of our main guys. Turnovers weren’t good but I thought we broke tackles, made some guys miss in the secondary and when we did get them on the corner we saw some speed out of all the guys out there. Ken Malcome ran hard, ran through some tackles on both touchdown runs. Richard Samuel, he is what he is, he’s a bruiser and came in there and they were going to kind of pound him and he had some success. And Isaiah showed his versatility going in and out and then Brandon Harton and (Kyle) Karempelis out of the backfield made some nice catches.

What I’ve been saying all spring,” added Bobo, “is that it’s good to have depth at that position and we’ve got Keith Marshall who didn’t even get to play today and we’re real excited about him and the

growth of those young backs. Isaiah and Ken were both young backs last year and the growth and maturity of those guys have come a long way. We’ve still got a long way to go but if we stay together and work, we’ve got a chance to be pretty good.”

For the record, the Black team’s scoring came via a 46-yard field goal by Adam Erickson, a 7-yard pass from Hutson Mason to Rhett McGowan, a 2-yard run by Samuel, a Garrison Smith recovery of a Red fumble in the end zone and a 66-yard touchdown strike from Christian LeMay to redshirt freshman tight end Jay Rome, which came with just 59 seconds to play and just after a 68-yard fumble (forced by Reuben Faloughi) recovery run by big outside linebacker Ricky Lowe (6-7,258). Lowe’s improbable touchdown proved to be the Reds’ winning score after a two-point PAT pass for the win by LeMay was batted away. In addition to Lowe’s big defensive play, the Red team got Malcome touchdown runs of 6 and 10 yards, a 26-yard field goal by Jamie Lindley, and a 33-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Murray to Tavarres King. The Reds led 10-3 at the half before the offensive sparks began flying in the second.

Because of his long TD bomb to Rome, redshirt freshman LeMay led the quarterbacks with 7-of-10 completions for 154 yards with the one touchdown and one interception. Murray was 7-of17 for 112 yards including the 33-yard toss to King on a swing pass and Mason, who’s expected to be redshirted this fall barring an injury to Murray, played for both teams and hit a combined 9-of12 for 133 yards and also one touchdown. Little Harton led all receivers with six catches out of the backfield for 52 yards, Justin Scott-Wesley snared three balls for 46 yards and King, Marlon Brown, Michael Erdman and Rome all showed two receptions each.

“I think we did well, going against our No. 1 defense,” offered tailback Crowell. “I know they’re one of the top defenses in the country so I think we did very good and we’ll be ready for any other defense. I felt 100 percent today and I think that makes a difference in how you play.”

“I thought we had a great day offensively,” said Murray. “We’ve been getting better week after week and I know the guys on offense are excited about our far we’ve come this spring and we’ve just got to keep the momentum up, keep working hard this summer and in camp and offensively, we can be pretty special next year. The running backs are definitely coming along and I think the biggest improvement is in the offensive line. Those guys have done a tremendous job of getting better every single week – those guys are 10 times better and you’ve got to give them credit for how hard they’ve worked this spring.”

“We’re a pretty good defense, we know that,” said All-America outside linebacker Jarvis Jones. “We can dominate them a whole lot but at the same time, you’ve got to give the offense credit for be-

Aaron Murray

photos by Rob Saye

lieving in themselves. I think they’re very competitive, they’re young but they’re smart and understand the game. It just will take them some time to jell. The spring gives you time to get better and I definitely think we took a big step on our offensive line this spring.”

“When you go up against a defense like we have, Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree, that defensive front, Bacarri Rambo, Shawn Williams, all those defensive guys, when you go up against guys that are great like that,” declared wide receiver King, “you get better ultimately and we did.”

“Like T.K. said,” interjected fellow wideout Michael Bennett, “we started off a little shaky offensively this spring but we kept playing against those guys and it kept getting us better and better and we’re going to build off that into the fall and really become an elite offense.”

But don’t think it was all offense on this sun-kissed afternoon with more than 44,000 of the Dog Nation showing up to watch.

Georgia defenders on both sides made their presence felt, illustrating once again that Todd Grantham will have plenty of talent to work with this coming season.

Linebacker Ramik Wilson paced the Red team with seven tackles, including a sack, and he returned an interception 19 yards.

Linebackers Kosta Vavlas and Amarlo Herrera each added six tackles. Safety Austin Herod added an interception for the Red team.

For the Black team, linebacker Chase Vasser led the way with five tackles and a pass breakup. Linebacker Alec Ogletree, outside linebacker Cornelius Washington, safety Bacarri Rambo and cornerback Devin Bowman all added four tackles. Ogletree had a 28yard interception return.

After lauding his running backs, quarterbacks, offensive line and receivers, head man Richt said this about the UGA defense: “First of all, you have to start playing the games and decide who’s dominant and who’s not but we’ve got a chance to be really good up front. We have a chance to be really good on defense, period, in my opinion. I’ve seen enough of us when we’re all healthy and rocking and rolling, we’re gonna be a tough defense to deal with.

So everybody just has to get in the best condition they possibly can, everybody has got to stay focused and everybody has to get to the gate and once everybody is up and running, I think we’ll be very stout.”

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11

Bulldogs' nose guards are quite the load indeed

By Murray Poole

I

magine the plight of an opposing center facing the Georgia defense this season.

That offensive lineman continually attempts to block a 6-3, 351-pound senior nose guard named John Jenkins but is getting his helmet handed to him on almost every down. “This guy’s a load,” thinks the center, “and I just can’t keep him out of our backfield but sooner or later, as huge as this guy is, they (the Bulldogs) are going to have to substitute for him.”

And, yes, as the game moves along, Georgia defensive line coach Rodney Garner does opt to give big Jenkins a rest and that opposing center breathes a huge sigh of relief as he notices Jenkins remaining on the Bulldog sideline for the next series.

But then, as the center looks up and across the line of scrimmage, to his proverbial horror there is another mountain of a man glaring back at him. It’s a 6-6, 350-pound junior nose guard named Kwame Geathers. And, thus, the punishment of the opposing offensive lineman continues unabated.

Pick your poison. Georgia opponents! In the persons of Jenkins and Geathers, the Bulldogs boast arguably the best 1-2 nose guard punch in the country for the upcoming 2012 football season.

After transferring to Georgia from Gulf Coast (Miss.) Community College, Jenkins appeared in all 14 of the Bulldogs’ games last fall while making seven starts. He recorded 28 total tackles including 6.0 tackles-for-loss, 3.0 sacks, 10 quarterback pressures and an interception, which came in the Outback Bowl against Michigan State. Jenkins, who hails from Meriden, Conn., was one of the Bulldogs’ Newcomer of the Year Award recipients. And at the end of this year’s spring practice, Jenkins was named as Co-MVP for the defense along with All-America outside linebacker Jarvis Jones.

In Georgia’s 2010 season, Geathers was named to the SEC Coaches All-SEC Freshman Team. Then, last year, the Georgetown, S.C. native, who is the younger brother of former Bulldog and present Cincinnati Bengals player Robert Geathers, appeared in 12 of Georgia’s games and made three starts. Geathers recorded 14 tackles including a career-high four tackles against arch-rival Georgia Tech. Prior to the season, Geathers was named preseason All-SEC Second Team by Lindy’s.

Garner and head coach Mark Richt’s words all but echo when they talk about their prize nose guards.

This, from Garner when asked during the recent spring drills about the progress of another up-andcoming player at the position, redshirt sophomore Mike Thornton: “Mike Thornton’s getting better, he has a role here on this team and has a future here,” offered Garner. “He’s a compact, quick, powerful guy who has natural leverage. He just has the misfortune of playing behind Jenkins and Geathers, two of the biggest men in college football and probably two of the most athletic men in college football. John and Kwame both are really, really coming on. My thing is,” added Garner, “I just have to stay on them about fundamentals, just being hard on them about steps, pad level, hand placement, just little things. Even if they make a big TFL (tackle for loss), I don’t care, I’ve got to coach what you did wrong. I don’t want them to get a false sense of ‘we’re here,’ when you may not be quite here. But I’ve been very pleased with both kids. John is having a great spring and Kwame is also having a good spring and I think the light’s starting to come on. The way he’s going, I expect a big year out of him.”

And, said Richt: “You’ve got two of the biggest nose guards around and maybe two of the better ones around, too. They’re making it tough on our centers. Even when our centers do everything right, they’re still just big strong guys that know what they’re doing and are just penetrating into the backfield quite often.”

One of the happiest guys to have both Jenkins and Geathers on his side of the ball is Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

“I think those guys have really improved, they’re big and they’re physical,” said Grantham. “I think they’ve taken the approach they’re going to try and make themselves better and by making themselves better, they take a team attitude and our team is better, so I’m pleased with those guys.”

Grantham said, even in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, it’s doubtful if he ever had a better 1-2 punch at one position than he has with Jenkins and Geathers.

“Oh, yeah, no doubt,” Grantham responded. “We’ve even had some packages where we’ve played them at the same time because John’s an athletic guy that can move out and play end. And it’s just an-

Kwame Geathers

John Jenkins photos by Rob Saye

other example of trying to get the next best guy in the game and John’s done that for us a little bit, and we’ll continue to work that because Kwame has really shown up to be a physical guy and we’ll continue to move guys around and develop them and get the next best guy in the game.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has to see Jenkins and Geathers across the line of scrimmage each day in practice and knows full well how tough the duo makes things for his offensive linemen. “John Jenkins, he’s just about impossible to block,” said Bobo, who has the same sentiments about Geathers.

As for Jenkins and Geathers themselves, they are extremely close as teammates and believe their play in the very middle of the trenches feeds off each other.

“We help each other,” said Jenkins. “It’s just like this energy. If Kwame doesn’t do something right, we talk about it and if I don’t do something right, Kwame will give me encouragement. And I mean by encouragement, we feed off each other’s energy and everything. As a defense this year, we’re just going to try and be dominant,” said Jenkins, who pointed out he’d like to get his weight down between 330 and 335 this year after playing right at 350 pounds last season. “As nose guards, we just try to demand a double, if not triple, team. We don’t worry about how many tackles we make because the thing is, it’s a job. So maybe one play I have all these guys blocking me and the linebackers get in and then on the next play they’re gonna try and pick up on the linebacker so you do your job and you’re going to make plays within your job. That’s what I worry about, at least. Being in the system a second year, I feel a lot better. I know the plays and how to improvise in those plays and I just feel more comfortable in the system now. And I think our defense can be whatever we want to be this season.”

“I think we can be pretty good,” offered Geathers. “I think we can be one of the top defenses out there this year if we just keep working every day. John’s right, we’re both competitive, we just go out there and look at the mistakes we both make and try to fix it. We go out there and do what we can to be competitive and be good on that down and give it our all. Our goal is to be the best in college football and try to make it to the top. That’s our goal … to come out there and try to be dominant. Our job as nose guards is try to disrupt that offensive line and stick in there, take on those blocks and try to make a play.

You like to make tackles but setting it up for your linebackers is good, too,” Geathers added. “But you always want to go out there and try to make tackles yourself, too. My weight is about the same now, about 345, but I want to try to get down a little lower. I think I’m doing a better job this year at getting my pad level lower but it’s pretty tough (with his 6-6 height) trying to stay low – you think you’re low but you ain’t low. Coach Garner is a good coach … he’s tough and he pushes us but it’s all for the good because he just wants to get the best out of us.”

And, no question, Georgia’s 12 regular-season opponents in 2012, and then hopefully several in the post-season as well, are going to be seeing the best out of those huge Bulldog nose guards wearing No. 6 and No. 99, respectively.

Solid running attack could be key to Bulldogs' offense

By Murray Poole

I

t’s a given that the Georgia Bulldogs can move through the ball through the air. Last season, in his second season as Georgia’s starting quarterback, now junior Aaron Murray passed for 3,149 yards and a single-season school record 35 touchdowns.

But still, the offense was inconsistent at times, due primarily to a running game that never seemed to click on all cylinders. Starting tailback Isaiah Crowell was sidelined down the stretch with injuries and off-the-field problems and the offensive line, which featured three seniors in Cordy Glenn, Ben Jones and Justin Anderson, sometimes wasn’t productive against the top defenses Georgia encountered.

But that was 2011. Even though O-line coach Will Friend is having to rebuild that offensive front, there seems to be rising talent among the young offensive linemen who gained experience last season and, combined with an infusion of depth in the Bulldogs’ tailback corps, that running game seems to have everything in place to be able to adequately complement Mike Bobo’s passing attack this coming fall.

Murray is one who feels confident as to what the Georgia ground game will accomplish during the 2012 season.

“I think we’re definitely heading in the right direction right now,” said the Bulldog quarterback, speaking during the third week of the recently-completed spring practice. “In the run game, I think those guys are definitely ready to step up and have a great year. They are a year older and more mature. Guys like Isaiah (Crowell), I think he’s had an unbelievable off-season. He’s worked extremely hard and it’s paying off out there on the practice field so I think all facets of the game are going to be ready to go this season.

“The running game is going to open up everything else so it’s going to be great,” Murray added. “Keith Marshall (early tailback enrollee) looks great. He’s very smart. You don’t really have to continually teach him, teach him, teach him – he’s a kid who’s going to learn it the first time; if he doesn’t he’s going to continue working as a result and make sure he knows it. So he’s done a great job of learning the playbook and out there in practice, he’s done a great job.

“And the biggest improvement we’ve seen offensively is in the offensive line,” Murray said. “Those guys made humongous strides from week one to week two (in spring drills), opening up running lanes and giving me time to throw the ball so I think those guys will continue to get better and that’s what it all starts with. As long as those guys continue to get pushed and get better, we’ll be fine.”

And as one listens to running backs coach Bryan McClendon break down his tailback and fullback corps, you can’t help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation about the Bulldogs taking the fight to opposing defenses on the ground this autumn.

“Starting off with the guys in the backfield, at fullback we’re trying Richard (Samuel) there in certain situations and I think it’s going to help us,” said McClendon. “Richard does have a lot of toughness but it’s not like we’re moving him to fullback. We’ve just got him training in both places right now just to give us some options. But he’s definitely picking it up well and it’s easy for him to understand since

Isaiah Crowell

Ken Malcome

photos by Rob Saye

he’s been in the system so it’s not like he’s having to learn something brand spanking new to him. Another guy I’ve been very impressed with is Merritt Hall, a redshirt freshman from Wesleyan. He’s done a really, really good job at fullback. Also, Dustin Royston is a very good walk-on fullback for us. I’m been very impressed with those guys outside of Zander (Ogletree), Zander being that constant guy there, too.

“At tailback,” said McClendon, “it’s been probably one of the better springs since I’ve been here. We have a lot of talented guys back there and the biggest thing with that talent, those guys have been reliable. And I tell those guys all the time that of all the ability, the best thing is dependability. That’s the biggest thing they need to focus on because it’s not easy playing tailback in this league. You’ve got to have more than one guy and I think we have that right now but one thing not as many people understand as they should is that the tailback, they’re the one position those guys are getting hit every play. And if they’re running the ball the way they’re supposed to, they’re getting hit more than one time on that one particular play.

But whether they’re pass blocking, they’re getting hit, whether they’re play faking, they’re getting hit. And a body is not made to take all of that so that’s why you’ve got to make sure you have more than one guy, number one, to keep people healthy and, two, to keep people fresh. I’m not a big believer in just wearing guys down to a nub because that’s when an injury will happen, when guys are tired and fatigued.

“But I definitely think our tailbacks have been competing well.

Obviously, Keith Marshall coming in, it’s amazing how quickly he’s picking things up. And Ken Malcome has been working his butt off;

he’s progressed so much in pass protection that he’s really become a very good, reliable person with a lot of talent just like we mentioned.

Isaiah has had a very, very good spring. He’s come to work every day, knowing no matter how he feels he’s coming out there giving great effort. He’s had a very good off-season so far. And the thing both Isaiah and Ken understand, they know what it takes to be successful in this league. Both of them have played in this league and they know you can’t just walk in and do it.”

McClendon said there’s not much of a contrast in the running styles of Crowell and the speedy Marshall, who missed the last half of spring practice and the annual G-Day game with a lingering hamstring injury.

“Both are very similar,” he related. “I think both have that bigplay ability. Both run extremely tough between the tackles, very effective between the tackles. They do a good job of protecting the football as well. They have that open field ability, are able to get the tough yards, too. They’re a lot more similar than they are different.

Both are very elusive guys and have the speed to take it the distance, speed to get around guys on the corner but are physical enough and big enough to take it between the tackles. Keith’s whole senior season (at Millbrook High in Raleigh, N.C.), he ended up with nearly 1,900 yards and 1,400 to 1,500 were between the tackles. A lot of people fall into that because he’s such a fast guy and they want to label him an edge player but he’s not an edge player at all. I think right out, if Keith and Isaiah raced, I think Keith would beat him but then you could say that for the majority of kids playing college football right now. Keith is a fast guy, an extremely fast guy. He gets started very quickly, very good short-area quickness and initial quickness. Keith has legitimate fast track times and that’s what he’s done. So Malcolm’s (Mitchell) not the only guy on this team Keith can beat in a race.

“Now Ken Malcome’s not going to outrun many people in this league but that doesn’t mean he’s any less effective than those other guys. In this league, you’ve got to live by getting tough yards and that’s something I think he does very well. He’s a very hard guy to bring down, you never see just one guy bringing this guy down and making a tackle on him if he’s running the ball the way he’s supposed to do it,” said McClendon, who is also ultra-confident about the abilities of backup tailbacks Brandon Harton and Kyle Karempelis, who stepped up in Crowell’s absence last season.

And you must also know that the running backs coach is looking for the other recruit from North Carolina, Todd Gurley, to place his foot in the tailback picture when he arrives on campus in June.

“Todd Gurley, he’s that rare combination,” said McClendon.

“He’s a bigger guy that plays big, plays behind his pads very well. He breaks tackles and is a tough, tough football player who grinds out plays through pain very well and he’s a legitimate track guy, too. He ran in the Junior Olympics over there in Europe this past summer so he has that rare ability to both run you over and outrun you. Right now, I don’t count on Todd Gurley redshirting. I plan on him coming in and competing for playing time … a starting job.”

Dooley/Penley Book Signing Sea Island Dorgan and Adgate Cole and Merrill and David Edens

Bowie and Dennis Nunnally and Vince Dooley

Barbara Dooley and Margy Jones

Katie Varn and Beth Varn

John and Victoria Simm and Vince Dooley

Elizabeth Suddeth, Barbara Dooley and Mary Virginia Jones

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Vince Dooley and Lamar Ellis (Vince is pointing to a picture on page 12 in the history of Lamar's great-greatgrandfather Lipscomb

Greg Hall, John Charles Trotter, Audrey Hall, Turley Wall and Michele Wall

Becky and Dick Estes

Victoria Simms and Evelyn Murphy

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13

UGA Alumni Association Awards Luncheon Trey Paris, Deborah Dietzler and David Williams

David and Abbie Smith, Kathy Hutto and Bill Flatt (Faculty Service honoree)

Julie Cheney, Meredith Carr and Wanda Darden

Liz Mann and Shelby McLeod

Alumni Family of the Year - The Seiler family

Tom Wilfong, Judy Milton and Nancy McDuff

Ashley Hancock, Amanda Davis, Jayda Hazell, JR Releford, Michelle Blue, Emilee Mason and Kevin Brinson

Blane Marable and Mary Ann Parsons

Sandra Paris

Bob Cowsert, Amy Cowsert, Marty Kemp and Jeane and Bob Argo (Alumni Merit honoree)

Scott Hall, Line Hardie and Jo Ellen Oliver

SAE Magnolia & KA Old South Jack Spalding, Jack Lally, Sean Bell, Stuart Oglesby, Ryan Saliusbury, Paul Holmes and Michael Love

Kelly Taylor and Ford Neel

Virginia Hirschey and Meredith Eumont

Wil Campbell, Cole Fowble and Benji Stern

Betts Irvine, Hannah Ausloos, Pierce Persons and Grace Kimble

William Calloway, Camille Mercer, Lindsay Bannon and Carter Gunn

Denis Murrell, Sara Hollett, Will Jeremiah, Mallory Hardage, Mary Glen Galloway and David Trice

Jacob Kitchen and Raleigh Nyenhuis

Katherine Krause and Kayla Avant