Georgia Pro-Day 2010: A Defensive Minded Affair?

Spring practice has begun and while the current Georgia Bulldogs are using these next few weeks as their first official work for the 2010 season, a number of now former Bulldogs are using this time as their last chance to work out on the Georgia practice field. In a few weeks, Georgia will host its annual Pro Day, a chance for those players who are eligible for this year's NFL draft to showcase their talents in a familiar environment. Last year, Georgia's Pro Day was a show case on the offensive side of the football. Future first rounders Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno along with Mohammed Massaquoi (2nd round) were the stars on display. Dannell Ellerbe, Corvey Irvin, Jarrius Wynn, and Asher Allen would also go onto pro careers, but the defense was definitely outshone by the offense.

The 2010 Pro Day will be a much different story for the Georgia Bulldogs. There will no first rounders in this class and the majority of those looking to further their careers will be on the defensive side of the ball. Michael Moore and Vince Vance has nice careers at Georgia, but I do not expect to hear their names called on draft day. Here is a quick look at the players who are looking to make a name for themselves at Georgia's Pro Day:

- Rennie Curran, LB - The undersized linebacker was a tackling machine at Georgia. There has been concern about his size, but the numbers speak for themselves.
- Reshad Jones, S - Jones has all the tools to be a great NFL player. He improved his tackling in 2009 and should make for a nice mid to late round pick up.
- Jeff Owens, DT - One of Georgia's three outstanding defensive tackles, Owens returned from an ACL injury to put together a decent senior year.
- Geno Atkins, DT - Undersized for DT, Atkins can play some at defensive end as well. An impressive workout could push him into the second round of the draft.

Good luck to all of these former Bulldogs at the next level. We look forward to you continuing the proud Bulldog tradition on Sundays.

GO DAWGS!!!

Reshad Jones will now throw punches in the NFL

As expected, redshirt junior safety Reshad Jones is leaving Athens early for the green pastures of the NFL. Since Jones almost left after the 2008 season, this comes as a surprise to exactly no one within the Bulldog Nation. After redshirting in 2006, the Dawg Nation was introduced to Jones during the season opener against Oklahoma State in 2007. Jones famously drew a fifteen yard personal foul penalty for punching an Oklahoma State player in the chest. The player (I can't remember who it was) went down like he had just been shot with a shotgun. The next three years were filled with ups (game securing interception in the victory over South Carolina in 2008) and downs (numerous missed tackles in the 2008 loss to Georgia Tech).

Jones coverage skills were decent and he tallied a fair share of interceptions, including this one handed pick in the victory over Georgia Tech this year:


Jones was known as a heavy hitter, a reputation that caused him to be a target of officials. This hit in the Oklahoma State game this season gave Jones the label of a head hunter (even though the hit was legal) and led to a number of bad calls against Georgia this year:


Jones leaves Athens after a successful career, though he never quite lived up to the 5 star talent he was evaluated as out of high school. We wish the best of luck to Reshad at the next level and hope to see him laying more hits like this one in the years to come:


GO DAWGS!!!

This is still football, right?

Remember when football used to be about bone-crushing hits? I guess not anymore.

This hit by Reshad Jones was called for a penalty because of the NCAA's new rules to protect players. I would be okay with the call if Reshad had done the main thing which warrants this penalty, leading with your head. But in this case, you can clearly see him lower his shoulder to make the hit.

Players like Thomas Davis and Greg Blue made a living off these types of hits. I guess the days of tough football are over.

The Countdown 2009: 76 Days to Go

76

Tackles by safety Reshad Jones in 2008. Jones returns for his junior season along side senior Bryan Evans.

Reshad chooses Georgia...

...over the NFL. Hopefully he can put all of his natural talent to use and have a better season in 2009. Here is the AJC article for more details.