Tavarres King's Time to Shine

Tavarres King came to Georgia as a member of the 2008 recruiting class, in which he was raned as the #22 receiver in the country. For most teams, getting a top 25 player at wide receiver is a big deal. But the 2008 class also included uber-recruit AJ Green and King has spent his first three seasons in Athens in the shadow of #8.

Before I go any further, let me state for the record that Tavarres King will be a redshirt junior this fall. I have seen a number of places call him a senior, but anyone who follows Georgia closely knows that King is only a junior. He played in 4 games in 2008 and made a spectacular 41 yard catch against Arizona State. But his season ended early and he was granted a medical redshirt. For that reason, King is only a junior this fall.

King has spent the last two years starting opposite AJ Green at the splint end position for the Bulldogs. In 2009, he caught 18 passes for 377 yards and one touchdown, a 50 yard grab in the shootout victory over Arkansas. Last fall, his production increased once again, as hauled in 27 passes for 507 yards and three touchdowns. His most impressive highlight was a 63 yard touchdown against Florida.

With the graduation of Kris Durham and the departure of Green, the Dawgs will be without their top 2 receiving threats from last year. While the tight end position is deep in experience, the wide receiving corp is not. TK will move to the vacated flanker position this fall and will need to become the go-to receiver for Aaron Murray. Success for King should open up the other side of the field for the likes of Marlon Brown, Michael Bennett, and maybe Malcolm Mitchell.

If King continues to show the progression he has during his first three years, a 50 reception, 850 yard season with 7-9 touchdowns is a perfectly reasonable expectation.

Signing Day - Why I am not worried about losing Da'Rick Rogers

As everyone knows by now, five star recruit Da'Rick Rogers from Calhoun switched his commitment from Georgia to Tennessee this morning. Rogers had been committed to Georgia for nearly a year and, according to Claude Felton, this is the first time a five star recruit has switched away from Georgia on Signing Day. While losing Rogers may make Georgia's 2010 recruiting class suffer in the rankings, is the loss of Rogers really that big of a deal?

While losing a 5 star receiver always sucks, wideout is one position where Georgia has enough young talent to make up for the loss. In case you have a short memory, Georgia picked up a commitment from Marlon Brown on signing day last year. Brown, who like Rogers was rated a 5 star recruit, appeared poised to sign with the Vols. (Maybe it is Karma?) While Brown did not make a huge impact in 2009, he did appear in a number of games and appeared to be solid in the run block department.

Rontavious Wooten enjoyed a successful first year in Athens, catching 10 passes, and scoring twice in the Kentucky game. His speed makes him a scoring threat every time he touches the ball. And many people forget that Tavarres King will only be a sophomore in 2010. He caught two passes in the '08 season, but received a medical redshirt from the NCAA.

With Wooten, King, and Brown all around for the next seasons and the addition of Michael Bennett, I think the Dawgs still have a bright future in Athens. Just as I did with Kirby Smart, I wish Da'Rick Rogers the best of luck at UT. I just hope he remembers that he could have been playing in red and black when Alec Ogletree lays him out over the next few years.

GO DAWGS!!!