Heading into the 2010 season, the quarterback position was one in question for the Georgia Bulldogs.Aaron Murray had won the job, beating out Logan Gray following the dismissal of Zach Mettenberger. With his play last fall, Murray proved that the job should have been his all along.Named as a freshman All-American by a number of publications, Murray had the finest first season at quarterback in Georgia history.As a matter of fact, if he had not struggled in the bowl game, he may have broken the single season records for both touchdowns and passer rating.For the year, he completed 209 of 342 passes for 3,049 yards and 24 touchdowns.He had only 8 interceptions and also rushed 87 times for 167 yards and 4 scores.So what can we expect from Murray in 2011?
First and foremost, expect Murray to continue to display smart decision making in the pocket.With the exception of one bad game against Florida, Murray averaged less than a half of a turnover per game.Very impressive for a freshman.I would also expect Murray to run a little bit less than he did last season.While his legs are a great weapon, he will now be counted on to lead the offense and I see him more willing to throw the ball away than try to dance for a three yard carry.
Overall production wise, Murray’s completion percentage and touchdown to interception ratio should remain unchanged.I expect less pass attempts this fall, especially if Isaiah Crowell can be the back everyone expects.
The 2010 regular season has come to a close. Here is my first look back at the season, as I present the 2010 Georgia football superlatives. These are my opinions, but I would love to hear your opinions as well. Please leave your picks in the comments section.
Best Surprise – Kris Durham After missing the entire 2009 season with injury, Durham returned for his senior year and became the second leading receiver for the Dawgs. During the suspension of AJ Green, Durham was Aaron Murray’s favorite target. He made some amazing catches in traffic and also showed his speed on a 67 yard touchdown to open the scoring in the Tech game. For the season, he registered career highs in receptions (29), yards (612) and touchdowns (3).
Biggest Disappointment – Bacarri Rambo/ Cornelius Washington While some would say that the entire 2010 squad was a disappointment, two players in my mind stick out. The first is Bacarri Rambo, personally one of my favorite players coming into the season who has one of the best names for a safety in the history of football. Unfortunately, the promise he showed as a backup in 2009 disappeared this fall. Rambo often looked lost in coverage and while he tied for the team lead in interceptions, he really has a lot to work on before next season. My other major disappointment was Cornelius Washington. While Justin Houston shined in his position moving from DE to linebacker in the 3-4, Washington was basically invisible. He recorded only 23 total tackles on just one sack. With Houston most likely headed to the pros, Washington will need to become that great pass rush linebacker we expected to see.
Most Overrated – The offensive line Heaped praise for its experience prior to the season, the offensive line played horribly this year. Even with a quarterback who has the ability to make people miss and run, the line gave up nearly three times as many sacks this year as it did in 2009. The inability to get any kind of push in the middle also limited the run game. And with the Dawgs twice driving for potential game winning field goal attempts (against Arkansas and Colorado) they let a defender go into the backfield and kill drives. Ben Jones is still a hell of a center so there is hope for next season.
Most Underrated – Akeem Dent After tackling machine Rennie Curran left early, there was a question about who would step into the role as the consistent tackler on the team. Dent took the mantle and ran with. He lead the Dawgs with 122 total tackles and finished second on the team with 2.5 sacks. He also had two forced fumbles and 6.5 tackles for a loss.
Offensive MVP – Aaron Murray While I was pretty confident that Aaron Murray would be successful under center for Georgia, many fans questioned whether he was the right man for the job. A rough outing during G-Day fueled the fire, but after throwing for 4 touchdowns and running for another during the season opener against Lafayette, people began to see the light. What was supposed to be a position of question in 2010 turned into the most solid on the field. He currently sits one touchdown away from tying the Georgia all-time record for touchdown passes, he has thrown for nearly 3,000 yards, while only throwing 6 interceptions. The only game all season where he actually looked like a freshman was Florida, but it should also be noted he threw for over 300 yards and 3 scores in that game. AJ Green may be the best offensive player at Georgia, but there is no doubt who the most valuable was this fall.
Defensive MVP – Justin Houston Houston was expected to flourish as he moved from defensive end to outside linebacker in Todd Grantham’s 3-4 defense. Boy did he ever. 57 tackles, 10 sacks, 18.5 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, and 1 defensive touchdown. That was a hell of a year. If he leaves early, I wouldn’t blame him, but it would sure be nice to have his skills for one for fall.
Play of the Year – AJ Green touchdown against Colorado After being suspended for the first four games, Georgia fans eagerly anticipated the return of AJ Green in the Colorado game. After not touching the ball in the first quarter, Green finally got going on a long reverse run. A few minutes later, AJ turned in the most amazing catch I have ever seen in person:
While the game turned out bad, I will never forget this play. Some other memorable plays from the season include Aaron Murray’s 35 yard scamper for a touchdown against Tennessee, Brandon Boykin’s 4th career kickoff return for a touchdown against Kentucky, WashaunEaley’s 5 rushing touchdowns against Kentucky, the long Kris Durham catch and run against Tech, and Justin Houston’s fumble recovery and game clinching interception against Tech.
Worst Play of the Year – Third down sack against Arkansas At home against Arkansas, the Dawgs mounted a huge fourth quarter comeback to tie the game at 31. With the ball and about two minutes left, the Dawgs drove near the 50, within one first down of a Blair Walsh field goal attempt. On third down, Aaron Murray dropped back to pass and WashaunEaley missed a block. Murray was sacked and the Dawgs had to punt. A few plays later, Ryan Mallett hit Greg Childs for a long touchdown and Georgia fell, 38-31.
Best Win – Tennessee This is a hard one to pick. Georgia did not have a victory this season over a team that finished with more than 6 wins. The Dawgs were close to wins in a number of games (Arkansas, Colorado, Florida) but came up short in each try. So my pick for game of the year is the Victory over Tennessee at home. Coming in with a 1-4 record and having just lost to lowly Colorado, the Dawgs desperately needed to show up and win big. They did just that, beating the Vols 41-14. Aaron Murray passed for two scores and added two more on the ground, racking up 325 yards of total offense. The defense shut down the Tennessee running game, holding them to a total of just 9 yards. It was revenge for the beat down the Dawgs took in 2009 and helped get the Dawgs back on track to finish with wins in 5 of their last 7 contests.
Worst Loss – Colorado Colorado is a horrible football team. There is no excuse for Georgia losing that game. We had tons of fans, including myself, he flew thousands of miles to watch the game. AJ Green was back and dominated when playing. But an injury caused him to miss much of the second half and the Dawgs squandered a lead. A Caleb King fumble inside the Colorado 30 killed the Dawgs final drive, which could have ended with a Blair Walsh game winning field goal. But he never got the chance and the Dawgs fell, 29-27.
Biggest “Stock Down” – Rantavious Wooten What happened to Wooten? So much a part of the game plan in 2009 on screen passes and reverses, he was mostly absent for the entire season. I had high expectations for him after he caught two TD passes against Kentucky last year. With AJ out, I thought he, along with Marlon Brown, would begin to show the potential that earned them high rankings in high school. But it just didn’t happen. How absent was he this season? He only caught seven passes for 41 yards and one TD. He had 6 carries for 28 yards. In other words, he had almost as many carries on offense as he did catches, and neither were significant. His touchdown catch came against Tennessee and it was a great route. I just expected more from him. Hopefully I am wrong, but right now, I just see him falling farther on the depth chart next fall.
Biggest “Stock Up” – Alec Ogletree By far the most talented freshman coming into the season, Ogletree lived up to the hype by earning a starting job by the end of the season. He started out on special teams and was occasionally seen as a blocker on runs plays. But as the season went on and the secondary struggled, you began to see him more often on the field. The much maligned pass defense seemed to get better towards the end of the season and Alec is one of the reasons why. He was only a freshman and did make his share of mistakes (the blown coverage on the TD pass to the TE against Auburn) but his upside definitely outweighs his faults. Now, if we could only get Rambo to play better, we would have one awesome safety tandem.
Once again, leave your thoughts below. GO DAWGS!!!
Going into this season, I had my doubts on what I would see at this point in the year. From all the projections, prognosticators and predictions, Alabama would still be #1 and undefeated in the SEC West and LSU would be challenging Bama for the title. Auburn would be managing a respectable season with a new quarterback and questionable defense and the SEC East would be a three-way race with Florida, UGA and SUC, while the rest of the division made due on scraps. At the beginning of August, it looked like it would be another typical season in the SEC with the same players fighting their way to the top.
WRONG
Through the end of week 10, Auburn sits atop the the conference and SEC West, with Bama having lost to LSU, while the rest of the West now all bowl eligible. In the East however, things are a wreck. SUC is top dog with a 4-3/6-3 record tied with Florida, UGA is 3-4/5-5, and Vandy 1-5/2-7. Only SUC & Florida are bowl eligible with their showdown next week to determine the SEC East winner. Despite the East's dismal record, they've proven they're able to make an upset when the opportunity presents itself: SUC upset Bama, UK upset SUC, and Tennessee technically should have upset LSU. With all the talk of the Iron Bowl and a possible National Title run, the game that worries me most at the moment is coming in two weeks. With UGA's 3 game win streak ended in Jacksonville, and this weekend's win putting the team at .500, the likelihood of missing a bowl game becoming more real in Athens, the Dawgs are a cornered and wounded animal, and there is nothing more dangerous in the wild.
Let's take a look at what's at stake next weekend now the Tigers and Dawgs have beat their respective FCS opponents. For Georgia, the biggest piece of the pie is the 'W' making the team bowl eligible for a possible berth in the Birmingham Bowl or the Music City Bowl. With the season the way it has been, Streit is right, its a 'Lose, lose' situation overall. Winning at Auburn and becoming bowl eligible will help ease the sting of a mediocre season for the Dawgs knowing they have a New Year's game on the horizon heading into the game with Tech. The added bonus will be beating a top-ranked Auburn team for a 5th consecutive year, and giving the team a signature win. A loss on the Plains will all but seal the fate of the Dawgs for the season, and send Georgia home to Athens to face Buzz in a last-ditch effort to become bowl eligible and finish what would be arguably be the worst season under Richt. UGA has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
Auburn will come into this meeting ranked #2 in the country, 10-0 and 1st in the SEC overall. The Tigers lead this series all time 53-52-8. However, we have lost the past 4 meetings to the Dawgs, and a 5th will even the win column for UGA. But the bigger issue is what the loss will do to the Tiger's hopes of a shot at the SEC Championship and a potential National Title game appearance. Should the Tigers lose, we will have one week to recover, not just in preparation for the Iron Bowl with a two-loss Bama, but also in the polls. The voters are already overlooking this game, and losing to UGA would be viewed as a loss to a much weaker opponent, which would most likely send Auburn out of the top 5 or even top 10. Even if Auburn were to beat a ranked Bama at that point, we'd still lose out on reaching the title game to a Oregon, Boise or TCU who would leap frog us during our bye week.
I'm not looking past UGA. Despite the play of the Dawgs so far this season, they've shown absolute flashes of brilliance. AJ Green's first game back showed their is potential for the offense as long as the play makers are given the chance to work their magic, something forgotten in the Florida game. AJ is 3rd on the team for receiving yards, but 1st for receiving touchdowns. Simply put, if he is in the end zone, toss the ball up and let AJ climb the ladder to score. Aaron Murray has shown his freshman inexperience several times, however, he has demonstrated an athletic ability to escape a bad situation by using his legs, even scoring touchdowns in the process. He has over 2000 yards of passing with 15 TDs to show, not to mention 4 rushing TDs. Aaron has 3 receivers with over 1200 receiving yards combined to use against a very weak secondary. Georgia has to be creative in this game offensively get the ball to the play makers in order to have a shot at putting up points to counter the #2 ranked offense.
Auburn has to look for ways to protect Cam Newton, Ontario McCalebb, and Mike Dyer from UGA's improving defense. Averaging 200 passing and 300 yards rushing per game, Auburn's Gus Malzahn has consistently found ways to counter defenses and rushes to keep Auburn in the fight with a balanced attack. The offensive line is fast and physical, allowing only 12 sacks. They key to this game for Auburn, as it has been all season, is play count. In Gus Malzahn's offensive scheme, the team must execute at least 86 plays for a win. I'm not going to put it past Georgia to pull an upset, especially with the history behind the meetings of these two teams. So long as Cam can keep the ball moving down field, and continue to make plays while using his weapons in Michael Dyer, Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachary, Auburn may walk away from this dangerous fight.
This annual grudge match is slated to kick-off at 3:30 eastern and air on CBS. UGA should prepare for this game as thought it will be their bowl game, because the atmosphere at Jordan-Hare will the most intense they've faced all season. It might also be the closest thing they get to a bowl game atmosphere should they lose. Auburn fans will be amped up to see if their Heisman contending QB, Cam Newton, will be able to keep the dream alive and send Auburn into the Iron Bowl as the undefeated leader of the SEC in addition to being the SEC West champion. This game holds everything for both teams; a bowl eligible win for UGA and saving grace for Richt, and for the Tigers a chance at continued perfection keeping the dream season alive in hopes of an SEC championship and National Title. This is my favorite game of the season every year. Whichever way the game goes, I plan to be there to see it all.
I will be back later this week to recap the BnE Pick 'Em after my bye week from reporting.
Coming into the 2010 season, many of the “experts” ranked Florida quarterback John Brantley as the third best quarterback in the SEC despite the fact that he had never started a game in his collegiate career. Ryan Mallett has once again had a fine season for Arkansas and we all know what Cam Newton is doing on the Plains. So at this point in the season, who is the third best quarterback in the SEC?
The answer is certainly not Brantley. Not a true fit for the Urban Meyer offense and without many of the key weapons Tim Tebow had to work with last year, Brantley has struggled to the tune of a passer rating of only 117. How bad is that? Only Jordan Jefferson and Larry Smith, two quarterbacks who are more dangerous running the ball than they are throwing, are worse in the SEC. Florida’s best offensive game this season came against Kentucky, when back up Trey Burton scored six touchdowns. Many have wondered if Brantley may lose his job to Burton if the Gators offense continues to struggle.
The real answer to the question is Georgia freshman Aaron Murray. For all of us who have followed the roller coaster 2010 season, we know the one bright spot has been the play of the kid from Tampa. His 157 rating is fourth in the SEC, while throwing for 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions (tied for least amongst starters in the SEC). His running ability has also provided the Georgia offense with a spark and he has contributed fours scores on the ground.
These two quarterbacks appear to be at very different junctions in their career. Brantley may be playing for his job on Saturday while Murray could be writing one of the first chapters in a historic Bulldog career. Considering how bad Florida wanted Murray out of high school, a victory on Saturday could be that much tougher for the Florida staff to swallow. Earlier this year, I quoted an interview Murray did with David Hale about his decision to choose Georgia over Florida. Here is again:
"It was huge just because the perception is that if you're in Florida, you're going to go to one of those three schools Miami, Florida or Florida State. It wasn't tough for me because I knew where I wanted to go, but for the people down there, everyone's a Florida fan, so they were all like, 'You need to go to Florida, blah, blah, blah, this and that.' In the end, I was going to go where I felt more comfortable. I fell in love with Georgia."
"So I went to Georgia, and the next week I went to Florida. I left there and I called my mom and I'm like, 'I'm ready to commit.' She was like, 'Oh, so you're ready to commit to Florida?' I was like, 'No, I'm ready to commit to Georgia.' Right then, when I left Florida with Georgia on my mind, I knew that it was the place for me. "
For the second week in a row, the Georgia Bulldogs did what a good team is supposed to do when they play inferior competition. The 43-0 shutout of the Vanderbilt Commodores, may have been the most complete Georgia effort in the last few years. The offense racked up close to 600 yards of offense and the defense did not allow the Commodores to reach the red zone the entire game.
The only negatives of the entire game were the slow start for Aaron Murray (he started the game 1 for 4 passing, missing Kris Durham wide open at the 3 during the first drive), a drop in the end zone by AJ (yes, he’s human), and a missed 31 yard field goal by Blair Walsh. In the first quarter, the defense got burned once again by the wheel route, but that was the only mistake they made all game. The worst performance of the day goes to the coaching staff in the first 5 minutes of the game, blowing all three timeouts. This can’t happen when you are playing a team that actually has a pulse.
The positive were many, but I’ll highlight two that will be important next week against Kentucky. First, Aaron Murray was not relied upon to create the Georgia running game. Ealey put forth his best effort since Tech last year, including a great 50 yard plus run when it appeared the defense had him bottled up. Carlton Thomas added the first two touchdowns of his career and with that we get the first appearance of the Cartlon Dance:
The other thing that the Dawgs did really well was contain All-SEC player Warren Norman. For those of you who don’t know, Norman broke Herschel Walker’s SEC freshman record for all-purpose yards last season. Norman had 33 yards of total offense and was basically a non-factor. If the Dawgs hope to win in Lexington on Saturday, they are going to have to do the same thing to Randall Cobb.
Speaking of Randall Cobb, how the heck does Carolina leave him wide open with the game on the line? With Kentucky’s upset of South Carolina and Florida’s loss to Mississippi State, the East is a complete mess. (The Georgia loss to Mississippi State doesn’t look so bad now that the west Dawgs are 5-2.) If Georgia somehow found a way to win its remaining 3 SEC games (which looks impossible the way Auburn is scoring points) and Florida defeated South Carolina, the Dawgs would end up in Atlanta on the first weekend of December. It is a complete long shot, but stranger things have happened.
The road back to respectability begins Saturday in Lexington. The Wildcats are playing well and will have a lot of confidence heading into the game. If Georgia shows up like they have the last two weeks, winning should not be a problem. Otherwise, we’ll head to Florida with a 3-5 record and pretty much all hopes of making a bowl game gone.
Through the first five games of the 2009 season, the Georgia Bulldogs compiled a 3-2 record. This included shootout victories over South Carolina and Arkansas where the Bulldogs put up big offensive numbers. However, the two losses early that season saw Georgia struggle to score points against Oklahoma State and LSU. Senior quarterback Joe Cox had shown flashes of brilliance, but often tried to do too much resulting in interceptions.
In 2010, freshman Aaron Murray has stepped into the starting role. As the only new starter in the preseason depth chart, many were concerned about an inexperienced player under center. While the Dawgs have struggled to a 1-4 start, Murray has actually been a bright spot for the Georgia offense. A quick comparison between Murray’s stats from the first five games of the 2010 season against Cox’s stats from the first five games of 2009 provide further proof that Aaron Murray has certainly not been the problem for the Georgia offense.
Aaron Murray has attempted 12 less passes than Cox had at this point in the season, but has completed a higher percentage for nearly the same yardage per pass attempt. While Cox clearly has an edge in touchdown passes (11 to 8), remember that he threw 5 of those in the shootout victory over Arkansas and also threw for twice as many interceptions during that period. When you factor in rushing statistics, Murray’s number look even better when compared to Cox.
Through 5 games, Murray has rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked 12 times. Through 5 games in 2009, Joe Cox had a negative total for rushing yards and had failed record a touchdown. While Murray has been sacked 12 times in 5 games, Cox was only sacked 11 times all season in 2009.
At this point in the season, Aaron Murray would be my pick for offensive MVP. Keep in mind he has compiled these statistics without the services of AJ Green for 4 games and Kris Durham for one game. Georgia certainly has a number of problems on offense, but Murray is not one of them.
Most of us Dawg fans are beginning to grasp at something, anything to restore meaning to the rest of the 2010 football season. I'm a little down after these first couple of games, but remember, all of us have been looking forward to football for 9 months. Let's try to embrace it and our Bulldogs as much as we can.
Or is it?
It's hard to say that we're playing for pride when we came out flat and lost to an inferior (talent-wise) Mississippi State football club, especially when our Dawgs appear to have all but forgotten how to "Finish The Drill".
In an attempt to somehow overlook our 0-3 SEC start and our 1-3 record, here are 4 moral victories so far to takeaway for the season; while they obviously don't show up in the polls, maybe you can take a little bit of solace in them for our near future.
1) Aaron Murray - The preseason buzz was whether this newcomer to the returning 10 offensive starters would somehow slow down our attack; so far, Aaron is more than carrying his fair share of the offense. Aaron currently ranks 4th in the SEC in passing yards/game as well as in total offense; his passing efficiency is a solid 6th in the SEC, especially accounting for him being the only underclassmen on the list.
The excess play-action calls notwithstanding, Aaron could develop into an even deadlier quarterback over the rest of the season if the playbook is thrown open and more shotgun snaps are taken, giving Aaron a longer time to assess the coverage and routes. Then there's also that All-American wide receiver coming back from suspension...
2) Kris Durham/Blair Walsh - I think we could all agree that there have been several small positive surprises from our roster this year, among them Durham and Walsh.
Kris Durham is one of several remaining 2006 signees left on our roster; after battling through a shoulder injury and a resulting redshirt season last year, Kris currently ranks 3rd in the SEC in reception yards/game and 8th in receptions/game. All this while Durham is known as the go-to receiver for Georgia during AJ's suspension, with opponents focusing on him more; Durham has 17 out of the team's to-date 66 receptions for the season, having almost twice as the 2nd leading receiver on the team (Tavarres, with 9). With AJ returning, Durham and our passing attack could flourish further, with Kris fighting less double teams from our opponents' secondary.
Blair, a 2009 Lou Groza award finalist, has proven to be the only true consistency so far this year. Blair currently ranks 8th in overall scoring in the SEC with 31 points, and is a perfect 7-7 on FGs this year, with a long of 52 yards. While we have given up some bad kickoff returns so far this season, the statistics prove otherwise, with UGA ranking 12th in the nation in fewest yards per return given up (@17.47 yards/return), helped in part by 25% of our kickoffs (5/20) being downed for touchbacks. I hope that we can convert more of these FGs into touchdowns in the near-future, but it's always good to have almost guaranteed points at the end of a scoring drive.
3) Potential NFL lockout?- Beyond the above two, it becomes tough without listing obvious future moral victories (AJ returning!) or minuscule ones from this season. This is part 1 of my forward look to possible impacts on next year.
Out of the 29 listed juniors and 17 redshirt sophomores on our roster, the big names to circle for the spring's draft would be AJ, Justin Houston, and Ben Jones, with possibly Cornelius Washington and Brandon Boykin also in the mix. There always might be another surprise name popping up at some point due to the swirling uncertainty with the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.
As long as there's no CBA, any players who are taken in the 2011 Draft cannot sign with their drafting teams (especially since one of the major points in any CBA agreement will be instituting a rookie wage scale).
So, if you are a stud draft pick with remaining eligibility, do you:
1) Leave college for the draft in the hopes that the CBA might get signed, leaving your career at risk should some sort of fluke accident happen? Also, if there's no NFL season in 2011 (which is a real possibility, since the owners are reportedly collecting partial TV revenue for the season, whether it gets played or not; this of course is a lawsuit in the making), you would have to shake off some rust to fight 2011 and 2012 picks for a roster spot.
2) Stay in school, play football, get the regular NCAA injury insurance and maintain their draft stock for 2012. Or,
3) Avoid the 2011 draft, keep an eye on the CBA negotiations, and if an agreement is reached, screw up your eligibility to make yourself available for the summer NFL supplemental draft.
This option, which Paul Oliver took in 2007 after he was declared academically ineligible, is only realistic for the more elite, AJ/Justin Houston type prospects, especially since teams would be surrendering future draft picks. And this of course assumes that the players wanting to go in the supplemental draft could figure out a way to kill their fall eligibility (really tough not throwing in a joke here...).
While it would be a small miracle if AJ did return for a senior year, the possibility is definitely out there with the NFL CBA uncertainty.
4) New scheduling approach - While Damon Evans did wonders for the men's basketball program with the hiring of Mark Fox, his football scheduling approach was somewhat questioned, especially last year when we opened on the road against Oklahoma State during the inauguration/setup game of the newly refurbished Boone Pickens Stadium.
While I agree with BulldawgJosh that McGarity's proposed approach is a bit of a buzzkill and will hurt UGA's coast-to-coast public exposure, there is something to be said for Florida's results (3 MNCs) in the 18 years that they have not held an OOC game outside the state of Florida.
The alumni buzz for next weekend's Colorado has been more than palpable (I can only imagine a sold-out, 3,000 ticket UGA tailgate in Boulder with a waiting list), and I'm sure the buzz will be even more overwhelming for the 2013 Clemson game and especially the 2015 Oregon game in Eugene.
For the OOC games UGA does pursue in the future, hopefully it will target recruiting-rich areas for games, approaching schools in California and Texas, as well as large media markets that will further expose UGA nationally (ie Rutgers).
--- It's tough trying to put lipstick on a pig. But I do think there are some things to continue to look forward to this year, especially the treat of seeing Murray blossom as a QB and the continued evolution of Todd Grantham's defense, which actually ranks 5th in the SEC in total defense.
For the rest of the season, I want to see the Dawgs playing with more fire and passion, living up to those words on the back of their off-season workout shirts. I want to see Grantham's energy on the sideline, which I suspect has been bottled up by some of the higher-ups. And as a suggestion to Mike Bobo, I think he needs to move back up to the box for play-calling, since he's definitely not seeing what everyone else is.
This article is a follow to a story I wrote last week concerning the doubts a number of people have had concerning the abilities of Aaron Murray to take over the starting quarterback position for the Georgia Bulldogs. This time, I will be focusing on two other items I have heard mentioned as reasons Murray may not be ready for the job: his mobility and toughness.
Mobility
In recent years, Georgia has seen a number of traditional drop back passers come through Athens. David Greene, Matt Stafford, and Joe Cox all fit perfectly into the traditional pro-style offense deployed by Mark Richt and Mike Bobo. But in 2005, DJ Shockley presented a combination of rushing and passing that allowed the offense to change to fit his skills. And while Aaron Murray may not be the same mobile weapon as DJ Shockley or even Logan Gray, his past record indicates that he can have a great deal of success using his feet.
Take a look at Murray’s stats from his junior season at Plant High School in Tampa. He put up impressive passing numbers (over 4,000 yards and 51 touchdowns) but that did not prevent him from also putting up gaudy rushing numbers. During the 2007 season, Murray rushed for 932 yards and 12 touchdowns on only 98 carries (an average of 9.5 yards per carry). And if numbers are not your thing, check out the first minute of this highlight reel from his junior year, where he makes three great plays (two complete passes and one run) with his feet:
Before breaking his fibula in the sixth game of the season of his senior year, Murray was once again putting up great numbers on the ground. On only 25 carries, he rushed for 258 yards (9.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. Without the injury, he would have most likely ended the season with about around 600 yards. Not too shabby for a record setting passer. Will Murray put up similar numbers at Georgia, most likely not. But these statistics do indicate that he has the ability to move around the pocket, find the open receiver, and take off when necessary.
Toughness
The fact that some people have questioned Murray’s toughness really baffles me. If you know anything about Murray’s senior season, you know he overcame a pretty serious injury to lead his team to a state championship. On October 16, Murray broke is fibula and dislocated his ankle in his team’s sixth game. The expected recovery time for an injury similar to Murray’s was typically six months. But there he was back on the field in the state semifinals. Murray helped lead Plant to a state title the following week, throwing for 358 yards and three touchdowns.
The other concern about Murray’s toughness arose when he was hampered by a sore shoulder last fall. While this may have cost him a chance to see playing time in 2009, he has already taken steps to strengthen his arm, following a strength program his brother used following Tommy John surgery. If you know anything about Tommy John surgery, you know that typically the arm is stronger when an athlete returns than it was originally. The reason is not the surgery, rather the workout routine required to strengthen the arm. If I was a betting man, I would place a very high bet that Murray never experiences any type of arm fatigue like Joe Cox did.
In conclusion, I am still baffled at the apparent lack of confidence there is in Murray going into summer practice. While he may not have playing experience, his past record suggests he has all the tools and ability to get the job done. How much experience did Greg McElroy have at Alabama before last fall? Not much, but look what he accomplished with a veteran team around him.
When Aaron Murray committed to play football at The University of Georgia back in 2008, it was seen as a major victory for the program. The highly touted quarterback from Tampa's Plant High School had chosen the Bulldogs over his home state Florida Gators. Despite heavy recruitment from Urban Meyer and pressure from friends and family, Murray chose the Dawgs and later helped recruit teammate Orson Charles to come to Athens as well. During his senior season at Plant, Murray came back from a broken foot to lead his team to a state championship.
Mark Richt had already declared Joe Cox the starter by the time Murray enrolled early at Georgia for the spring semester in 2009. He played well in spring practice and had an impressive debut at G-Day. During the fall, he developed a shoulder injury that caused him some pain when throwing. After the debacle against Tennessee, many (including myself) thought it was time to give Murray a shot. But the injury ultimately proved to be too much and Murray remained on the sideline for the remainder of the season.
During spring practice this year, Murray continued to impress the coaches and appeared to have a lead on the starting job heading into G-Day. And suddenly it seems everyone's opinion of Murray changed.
Murray had the worst day of the three Georgia quarterbacks, including a bad interception that killed a nice drive. Combined with a great performance by fellow freshman Zach Mettenberger, suddenly Murray was no longer the favorite to be the starter in the minds of many fans. A few weeks later, Mettenberger was kicked off the team and Coach Richt named Murray #1 on the depth chart. By the reaction of many fans, you would have thought Joe Cox was coming back for another season.
All summer long, I have continued to hear questions about Aaron Murray. Yes, he is a freshman who has not played a down, so some of those questions are warranted. But why do people suddenly think that a player considered one the five best quarterback prospects in the 2009 class is suddenly not up for the job. I have heard questions about his height, his throwing arm, and his ability to handle the offense.
Yes he is a freshman, but a redshirt freshman that enrolled early and will have been on campus for nearly 20 months by the time he makes his first start. Arm strength has never appeared to be a problem in either of the G-Day games I have seen him play in and his film from high school supports it as well. He will have a veteran offensive line, two great running backs, and the best receiver in the country to throw to.
So unlike former freshman starters David Greene (who started during the team's first year in a new system under Richt) or Matt Stafford (who started as a true freshman on a team that struggled much of the season), Murray will not be relied upon to carry the team on offense. Georgia fans need to remember the excitement we had when he committed as opposed to questioning everything about him before he even takes the field.
Well, it has been quite an interesting week for the Dawg nation and the college football landscape as a whole. From the Mettenberger situation to the NFL draft, there are a lot of interesting stories going on right now. Here are my thoughts as well as some links for your Friday:
- Coach Richt has released the post spring depth chart and the biggest story is Aaron Murray on top of the depth chart at quarterback. This was all a forgone conclusion after the Meetenberger dismissal, but I am glad that Richt stated that Murray would have been #1 even if Mett was still around. Here's the quote from Richt (courtesy of David Hale): “I’m not out to hurt anybody worse than they might have been hurt to this point, but Aaron would have been the No. 1 quarterback.”
- Check out the full post spring depth chart HERE.
- Christian Robinson at the top of the linebacking depth chart was a surprise. As Earl said to me this morning:
Good to see Robinson listed as a #1 (over Dowtin no less). Seems like he's using his smarts and work ethic to move up the depth charts. Dowtin will see plenty of playing time b/c he's athletically gifted, so I hope Robinson being ahead of him motivates him. But in no way do I expect Robinson to lose his job to Dowtin b/c I don't expect a guy like Robinson to lose his job to anyone once he's secured it.
We have so many LBs. It's great.
- The NFL Draft began last night with a new format of having the first round on Thursday night. As expected, there were no Georgia players taken in round 1.
- Tim Tebow went #25 overall to the Denver Broncos. There has been much debate about how his skills transfer to the NFL. I am not sure what to think at this point, but I certainly do not think he should have gone in round 1. I also can't fathom the idea of Tebow sharing a backfield with Knowshon. It just makes me a little queasy. Here is Smart Football's take on Tebow going to Denver
- Why did the Falcons pass on Dez Bryant?!? I know they needed a linebacker, but when a projected top 10 pick falls that far, I think sometimes you just have to take the best player available. I really wish Derrick Morgan had continued to fall as well. In the end, the Falcons appear to have gotten the player they wanted all along.
- I received a pretty big response to my SEC expansion post yesterday. It seems most of you think that the SEC would go after other high profile school like Florida State. When I wrote the post, I only considered schools not currently part of a BCS conference and Big East teams (because if the Big 10 pulls anyone from the Big East, it would most likely disband). Here's Michigan blogger MGoBlog's look at what the new Big Ten could look like.
- And lastly, here is an interesting readI found on Sports Illustrated's SI Vault, which allows you to view articles from any previous SI Issue. This is the article that appeared in Sports Illustrated following Georgia's victory over Notre Dame to win the 1980 National Championship.
Following G-Day, many people seemed quick to anoint Zach Mettenberger the starting quarterback based on his performance. I was cautious because while Mettenberger was impressive last Saturday, he was still facing a minimum 1 game suspension and needed to continue to improve other skills such as his footwork. After his dismissal from the team yesterday, I hope that all of the Georgia fans that seemed to give up on Aaron Murray are ready to get back on the bandwagon. While I never want to see a talented kid kicked off of Georgia's team, the actions taken by Coach Richt may ultimately be a blessing in disguise. Let me explain.
With Mettenberger gone, that means there will be one less quarterback splitting reps this summer. Mettenberger had a good chance of being named #1 on the depth chart following a strong spring, but because of his suspension someone else would need to take a large portion of snaps with the first team as well to prepare for the season opener. Now, the coaches will have a clear number 1 going into the season who can become the sole focus point.
This also means we avoid any type of quarterback controversy this fall. I think most of us have come to accept the fact that Logan Gray is not going to be a big time SEC quarterback. With Murray entrenched as the starter, all of the Bulldog nation can get behind him as opposed to people calling for his job the first time he makes a mistake. A freshman QB is going to inevitably make some mistakes and I am glad we won't have to hear the lunatic fringe calling for a QB change after an interception in the third quarter of a blowout against Louisiana Lafayette.
The final reason this is could be a blessing in disguise is that it already seems to have changed the media's mind about Coach Richt's discipline practices. Many people criticized Georgia for player arrests over the last few years, but this year we have removed both of the players from the team who have gotten themselves into trouble.
In the end, it sucks that Mettenberger had to go. He was a talented player who may have become a great quarterback. I wish him luck at whatever school he lands at (as long as it is not in the SEC).
Career touchdown passes for freshman quarterback Aaron Murray during high school. After returning from a broken leg to lead Plant High School to a Florida state championship in 2008, Murray enrolled early at Georgia in the spring of 2009. In the video below, Murray discusses why he chose Georgia over in state school Florida (who wanted him BAD.)
Of the top 100 rated recruits of the 2009 class, Georgia signed 7 to football scholarships. These include WR Marlon Brown, DB Branden Smith, TE Orson Charles, and QB Aaron Murray who were all rated as 5 star recruits.
BOOM! - John Madden has announced his retirement from broadcasting. I would suspect they will continue to make the Madden football games, but I assume this means no more John Madden ads for Vagisil:
Going big time - Matt Stafford makes his late night television debut tonight appearing as a guest on the Jimmy Fallon show. Also appearing tonight, the gorgeous Rachel Mc Adams and the guy who plays the best villain on television, Michael Emerson of "Lost". It would be nice if Stafford gave a shout out to the Dawg Nation, but I highly doubt it.
First place on the line - Georgia baseball hosts the Arkansas Razorbacks in a weekend series in Athens with the overall lead in the SEC on the line. Georgia is ranked #1 in the coaches poll, but they did fall to rival Georgia Tech on Tuesday night. This should be a great battle between the two best teams in the SEC.
Foley Field should see big crowds this weekend
A Family Thing - After being on campus for only a few months, Aaron Murray has already brought the enrollment of the University Georgia up by one. Murray's older brother, Josh, will come to Georgia in the fall and try to walk-on the football team. Josh has spent the past few years playing baseball in the minors for the Brewers. Welcome to the Dawg nation, Josh!
Welcome to the Highlight Factory - Not that I really care about the NBA, but the Hawks begin the 2009 NBA playoffs this weekend by hosting the Miami Heat. You heard that right, the Hawks are HOSTING a playoff series! With Braves off to a good start (until the last 2 nights anyways), the Thrashers playing well down the stretch, and the Falcons coming off a great season, professional sports in Atlanta are finally starting to look good again.
Now Ohio State Fans can hate him too - Former Duke point guard Greg Paulus will be given a shot to win the starting quarterback job at Michigan. Four years away from the gridiron is a long time, but I guess coming off a 3-9 season, Michigan has nothing to lose.
Those Buckeye linebackers are going to hit a little harder than Danny Green.
Georgia had three early enrollees attending their first practice as members of the Dawgs on Tuesday. According to reports, offensive lineman Dallas Lee got his first taste of offensive line coach Stacey Searels as he struggled through his first day. Quarterbacks Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenbergeralso saw their first action under center for the Dawgs. While senior Joe Cox and sophomore Logan Gray got high remarks for their work on Tuesday, the freshmen were said to have struggled. Would we have expected any better? No.
Here's a quick video of AJ Green running drills during his first practice last summer. The video is only about 30 seconds long and Green drops not 1 but 2 easy passes during a drill.
Struggling during your first days of practice at the collegiate level is expected. These three players already have a step up on the remaining 16 members of the Georgia signing class who won't begin their careers at Georgia until the summer. As past early enrollees Matt Stafford and Richard Samuel proved, getting to school early can help you earn playing time as a freshman. While I don't see any of these players having an impact this fall, I am proud to see their enthusiasm and hard work.
Today, I will leave you with another football practice scene, this time from the movie "Gridiron Gang" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Johnson was a solid player for the Miami Hurricanes in the 90's and is famous for going into the crowd to beat up an opposing team's mascot. I would love to see a conversation between him and Lou Holtz.
After reading these quotes from an interview Aaron Murray did with David Hale, about why he chose Georgia over schools in Florida, how can you not like this guy already? "It was huge just because the perception is that if you're in Florida, you're going to go to one of those three schools Miami, Florida or Florida State. It wasn't tough for me because I knew where I wanted to go, but for the people down there, everyone's a Florida fan, so they were all like, 'You need to go to Florida, blah, blah, blah, this and that.' In the end, I was going to go where I felt more comfortable. I fell in love with Georgia."
"So I went to Georgia, and the next week I went to Florida. I left there and I called my mom and I'm like, 'I'm ready to commit.' She was like, 'Oh, so you're ready to commit to Florida?' I was like, 'No, I'm ready to commit to Georgia.' Right then, when I left Florida with Georgia on my mind, I knew that it was the place for me. "
The game against Florida should be a lot of fun over the next few years. Do you think Florida fans will hate him as much as they love Tebow?
No matter what type of 2009 season Joe Cox has, he will be a redshirt senior and will be gone after the season. Along with Logan Gray and 2009 commit Zach Mettenberger, Plant High School's Aaron Murray will be in the mix for the job. Murray is one of the prized pieces of Georgia's 2009 recruiting class and was Florida high school player of the year as a junior. Murray broke his leg during the 2008 season, but returned during the playoffs to lead Plant to a state championship. This video (narrated by Pat Summerall) provides further insight about this future Bulldog:
