We’re almost back around to the time of year we all look forward to. It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 months since we watched that amazing Peach Bowl comeback. It’s also hard to believe we’re just over a week from watching football in Sanford again. For those of you familiar with my diatribes, take this for what it’s worth, one fan’s perspective on the team. I don’t pretend to know everything. This is merely for fun and hopefully it will be an enjoyable read to get you more ready for the season (as if you needed help on that).
The State of the Program
It’s really hard to fathom that this will be Richt’s 7th season
between the hedges. He’s developed nicely from an un-trained, oft-questioned
first-year head coach into a man widely regarded as one of the top coaches in
the country, much less the SEC. His greatest strength might very well be that
he’s willing to acknowledge his weaknesses (recall that he got some offseason
coaching after 2001 because he felt he had some in-game clock management issues),
and this year marked perhaps the largest step Richt has taken towards improving
a perceived flaw as he handed off Playcalling and Offensive Coordinator status
to QB coach Mike Bobo. While fans had clamored for Richt to step aside from
these duties off and on for the entirety of his tenure, there are still some
questions as to how exactly this whole thing will play out.
Bobo
coordinated two games last season, both wins, with one being a solid, if unspectacular,
win over a good GT defense (with a brilliant final drive) and the other a veritable
offensive explosion against another good defense in VT. It’s widely accepted
that the players love what Bobo is doing with the offense and we can expect
to see more motion, more formations, etc., but I don’t expect a wholesale
departure from the offense that has been extremely successful in most all statistical
categories since Richt’s arrival. While we never really saw the offense
many thought he’d bring from FSU that some assumed would set the SEC on
its ear, that can be attributed to a couple of things…one, the better
defenses in the SEC and two, the rule modifications made by the SEC to curtail
the use of the no-huddle (rules that specifically referenced Richt on their
arrival).
While the defensive staff underwent no changes (stability has largely been
a hallmark of the Richt staff), the offense saw a significant change in addition
to the announcement of Bobo as OC with the departure of Neil Callaway and the
addition of Stacy Searles. Searles comes to Athens from LSU where he managed
to put together a string of amazing offensive lines. He is a young, fiery coach
that has already left his mark on the OL by abandoning the Split-Tight designations
favored by Callaway to the more traditional Left-Right designation. Early returns
are that the players love him. If you were going to change OL coaches, now would
be the time as we brought in a ton of OLs in the recruiting class and return
only two upperclassmen. Before you get completely freaked out, we returned absolutely
ZERO upperclassmen OLs in 2003 and managed to win the East (while setting a
record for sacks allowed along the way).
Don’t ask me what the season holds this year, there are plenty of questions,
and I don’t think anyone has any idea what the answers will be until the
whistle blows, but if nothing else, Richt has earned my trust that he’ll
trot out a team that we can be proud of and one that won’t give up no
matter what. It would’ve certainly been easy for UGA to roll over last
year after the UK loss, but they rallied to beat 3 straight ranked opponents,
leaving us all with a much sweeter taste in our mouths this offseason. I’m
not so blindly optimistic as to think we’re going to win every game, we’ve
simply got too many question marks along the OL and at various places in the
defense to expect that, but every team has questions and it’s certainly
possible that we could pull off a miraculous run. Certainly not probable, but
possible.
Quick Position Rundown…I’ll try to keep it quick…
QB
– Stafford certainly has all the things you look for in a QB…massive
arm, mobile enough to stay upright (that might come in more handy this year),
smart, charismatic, etc. He made big strides late in the year last year and
from all accounts he’s continued that progression through the offseason.
He managed to pull these stats together in the most recent scrimmage against
our #2 D…14-17, 218 yards and 4 TDs to 4 different receivers. Now that’s
exciting. Behind him, Joe Cox has been so good that Richt has announced Cox
will get in for a series in the opener. Cox is the steady, confident backup
every team wants. He’s a team favorite and he’s got a great approach
to being the backup. We’re in a great spot at QB this year
· Top Question: Will Stafford make the next step towards
fulfilling his promise?
· Future Star: You still have to go with Stafford.
RB – loaded again. Lumpkin returns for his senior season
and Thomas Brown amazingly appears recovered from his ACL tear to be pushing
for the start. They both are good, steady backs, with neither being a pure breakaway
threat we’ve lacked for a few years. The buzz around redshirt freshman
Knowshon Moreno is as loud as any in recent years. True-freshman Caleb King
is as talented a 4th string back as you’ll find and could be the homerun
threat we’ve appeared to lack in recent years although camp hamstring
injuries have kept him off the field and possibly heading for a redshirt.
· Top Question: Will Moreno live up to the hype?
· Future Star: Knowshon Moreno appears to have it all
FB – Southerland is beyond solid. He returns and brings
two touted redshirts with him in Munzenmaier and Chapas. We’ve been blessed
with excellent FB play under Richt, but Southerland is more than just a blocker,
as evidenced by his lengthy reception in the G-Day game and his constant inclusion
on short-yardage rushes.
· Top question: Who wins out the #2 spot behind Southerland?
· Future Star: Fred Munzenmaier has the size you want
plus a great football name.
WR – This is a strength in numbers position. We’ve
got 13 guys (literally) that are vying for time and hopefully out of that bunch
we can pull enough solid contributors to avoid the inconsistencies that dogged
the position last season. MoMass struggled at times but closed the year with
a series of clutch catches in the win over GT. Kenneth Harris has the measurables
but disappeared often last season. The return of Sean Bailey and Demiko Goodman
from injury should help to stretch the field. Youngsters Mike Moore and Tony
Wilson will add a physical presence. AJ Bryant has always been on the cusp of
a breakout. There’s a ton of talent in this unit, we just need for it
to start showing.
· Top question: Who steps up to become the go-to guy
and can we catch the ball consistently?
· Future Star: True Frosh Walter Hill has been generating
some buzz but will likely redshirt
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