Where's the beef?

By all accounts, Georgia had a very successful 2012 recruiting class. We brought in some amazing talents who may contribute as soon as this fall. But one area that was lacking was offensive linemen. Georgia appears to be the leader for Maryland transfer Max Garcia, who would be eligible to play beginning in 2013, and that would be a good start. The 2013 class already has 9 commitments, filled with four and five star recruits near the top of their class. But so far, Georgia does not have an offensive lineman committed.

Yes, I know it is still way early. But as we found out when Avery Young decided to commit to Auburn after appearing to be headed for Georgia and Davlin Tomlinson went to Bama, we can't sit around and wait on everyone. Why does it appear we are having no trouble getting great athletes at skill positions, but not having the same luck with linemen?

One reason could be the change in coaching. Whether you like Stacy Searels or not, his name was recognized as a good offensive line coach. You don't coach at LSU, Georgia, and Texas without a decent reputation. We replaced Searels with Will Friend, who has done a nice job. But coming from UAB, Friend did not have the name recognition of Searels. While he is building that reputation now, it still may have set us back in that area.

I hope that Georgia pulls in a strong line class to complement all the talent we are finding in the backfields. Here are a few of the names to pay attention to in the coming months:

• Brandon Kublanow, Center, Marietta - rated the #2 center in the class of 2013
• DeVondre Seymour - Offensive Tackle, Suwannee - Yes, that name sound familiar. Seymour is the adopted son of former Georgia lineman Richard Seymour (Devondre is actually his nephew)
• Josh Outlaw - Guard, Lithonia - 3 star recruit rated #20 guard in the 2013 class
• Jeremi Hall - Guard, East Point - 4 Star rated, 6'4'', 335 monster who is rated the #6 guard in the 2013 class
• Shamire Devine - Tackle, East Point - another 4 star rated tackle who stands at 6'7''
  

Go Vote for Herschel

to be on the cover of NCAA Football 13 with RG3. The only person left to beat is Barry Sanders.

https://t.co/1LwCYRMp



Just do it! It only takes a few seconds.

Carlton is gone...

Carlton Thomas has decided to transfer. Let's be honest, the little running back who could against Auburn was not going to be the main man in back field with Isaiah Crowell, Keith Marshall, and Todd Gurley. We wish Carlton the best as he concludes his senior year in a uniform other than the red and black of Georgia. And as Carlton Thomas leaves, we say good bye to the Carlton Thomas touchdown dance!

The Bubba N Earl March Madness 2012

I have set up a new tournament challenge for this year. If you participated last year, we were over at CBS but I have set us up at ESPN this year. I'll try to update the standings as best I can, but I'll be at the lake with no internet this weekend.

I've got Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, and Syracuse in the Final Four, with Kentucky winning the whole thing. Who ya got?

Group: BnE Challenge 2012

http://games.espn.go.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/en/group?groupID=137974

Help put Herscel on thel cover of NCAA 13

http://www.facebook.com/easportsncaafootball?sk=app_308086065920467

EA Sports has a poll up that is letting the fans pick the NCAA football legend to appear on the cover of NCAA Football 13 with RG3. One of the potentials is the immortal Herschel Walker. Spread the word, vote, and let's make Herschel the first Dawg to appear on the cover of a video game.

Tourny Time!

The brackets are out and the tournament kicks off with the opening round games tomorrow. And while it sucked to watch the Dawgs get knocked out in the first round last year, not being in the tournament sucks even more. I watched the selection show last night, but it is definitely more fun when you have a dog in the fight (no pun intended). Here are my thoughts on this year's tournament:

• I'm picking Kentucky to win the whole thing. They are too good. Losing in the SEC Tournament championship game may actually help them play better. Coach Cal has never won the national championship, that ends this year.
• My other Final Four teams: Syracuse, Kansas, and Missouri. That's right, I am predicting future SEC rival Missouri to take down #1 seed Michigan State.
  
• Watch out for West Virginia. Huggy Bear always seems to have his team playing well in March. I've got them knocking out Ohio State.
• Florida deserved better than a 7 seed. Losing to Georgia near the end of the season may have had something to do with it.
  
• You lose to Georgia twice, you're not making the tourney. Sorry Miss State.
• Washington got screwed. I know the Pac 12 sucked, but if you win the regular season championship, you should be in the tournament. Who cares about Iona. And they definitely deserved it more than Texas.
• Its weird not seeing Butler there to pull upsets all over the place.
• Murray State...watch out.
• Who's smarter? Vandy or Harvard?

Let the madness begin!

Missouri: Looking for an Angle

As we all know, Georgia will have a new rival in the SEC East this fall. Missouri joins league after exiting the Big XII and will play its first SEC game the second week of the season when the Dawgs travel to Columbia. One of the best parts of the SEC is the intense rivalries that exist between its schools. Even if the teams don't play every year and are no geographically close, there is enough history to make every game special. But when Georgia goes to play the Tigers (yes, another team with a tiger mascot) this fall, we'll need to find a reason to kick off this rivalry with the kind of fire you expect in the SEC.

Looking back at history won't help. Georgia and Missouri have only met once on the football field. Georgia faced Missouri in the 1960 Orange Bowl, defeating the tigers 14 -0. Fran Tarkenton threw for two touchdowns as the Dawgs blanked future Notre Dame Coach Dan Devine's Tigers. But that is it. Instead, I went looking for a different angle. I asked myself, "When has Missouri done something in the past that ending up making me mad?" And then, something came to me.

2007. Knowshon. Stafford. Killing Tebow. The Blackout. In my top 3 of favorite Georgia seasons since I began a fan. On the final day of the college football season (before bowl season), Georgia entered the day at #4 in the BCS. Because they had lost to Tennessee, the Dawgs were shut out of the SEC Championship and forced to watch LSU take the SEC crown. Ahead of the Dawgs in the BCS that day were Ohio State (3), West Virginia (2), and undefeated Missouri at #1. Ohio State was done with its season and simply needed Missouri to fall to Oklahoma in the Big XII Championship to guarantee them a shot in the National Championship. But before that could happen, something unexpected occurred.

Pittsburgh decided to play its best game of the year and shocked #2 West Virginia. Suddenly, Ohio State already had its spot in the title game and a Missouri loss could mean chaos. As a Georgia fan, the thought of playing for a national championship suddenly became a possibility. We switched our televisions to the Big XII Championship and watched as Sam Bradford's Sooners destroyed Missouri, 38-17. With Missouri and WVU down, it looked like the Dawgs could be headed to New Orleans to take on the Buckeyes for the National Championship.

But it wasn't meant to be. The voters jumped LSU 5 spots and into the title game and the Dawgs ended up going to the Sugar Bowl. While it was great to beat Hawaii, it sucks we never got a chance to win the national title. But for a few hours on the December 1 and 2, 2007, we had hope.

And for that, I blame the Missouri Tigers!

Damn you Chase Daniel. damn you Jeremy Maclin. And damn you Gary Pinkel. If you're 12-0 teamd have just taken car of business against a 9-3 Sooners team, none of this would have happened. But you lost, giving Dawg fans a glimmer of hope.

DAMN YOU, MISSOURI!

So, that's my angle. Am I stretching? Just a little bit. But it is the best I can do. Anyone else have any bright ideas?

Even if the intent was good, the message was bad

Back in December, I wrote this post where I voiced my disgust with fans booing Isaiah Crowell during the second half of the SEC Championship game. Many people, both here on this blog and on another, were quick to respond saying they were booing at Ken Malcome. While that was definitely not the case in my section, I could accept this as an excuse. But then I read this quote from Arthur Lynch about that incident:

But when you play against LSU, let’s face it, they played in the national championship game, and in the SEC championship game they boo him? I thought that was, one, disrespectful, and two, I don’t think anybody understood the pain he was going through.

Whether your intent was good or not, clearly the players on the field though Crowell was being booed. I have said it before and I'll say it again, you should never boo a player under any circumstance.

I hope Crowell uses it as motivation this fall. From everything I have been reading, he has been tearing it up in offseason workouts. A backfield with a healthy Crowell paired with Keith Marshall could take a lot of pressure off the shoulder of Aaron Murray.

Ten Things I'm Thinking

1. Ray Drew moving back to DE is a great decision. It's Garrison Smith's job for now, buck look out for the Pastor of Disaster.

2. Adding JUCOs in the secondary is a good idea, but if Chris Sanders does get his stuff together, I'd rather bring him back.

3. Every recruit is going to Alabama. Just accept it. They offer everyone, they get tons of commits, and people still keep picking them.

4. I would love to see Orson Charles continue to wear red and black this fall. If he is available to the Falcons in the 2nd, they should take him no doubt. Tony Gonzalez is awesome, but he is done after this year.

5. Well, the NCAA has officially taken the fun out of kickoffs. Touchback city, here we come. This also officially eliminates the possibility of another DB or WR from ever winning the Heisman since the only way they could in the past was if they also returned kicks.

6. The Georgia basketball team is horrible. You don't lose to LSU, Auburn, and South Carolina in the same season. That's like losing to Vandy, Kentucky, and Miss. State in football.

7. The QB competitions are always fun to watch, but the Crowell vs. Marshall battle could be one of the best position battles ever. Two #1 overall backs in the country competing for a starting position as underclassmen. That's insane.

8. Get the contract extensions done!

9. When are we going to offer Mario Alford? We need depth for this fall.

10. 7 Weeks until G Day!

In Theory It Looks Like a Great Idea, But...

With Sanders Commings suspended for two games and Nick Marshall and Chris Sanders now playing JUCO football, depth in the secondary has suddenly become an issue for Georgia. One idea that has been floated around and now commented on by Coach Richt is letting rising sophomore Malcolm Mitchell spend time at corner. And while this sounds like an idea that may work (I have no doubt Mitchell could be a very good CB in the SEC), I would rather not see our rising star at receiver playing both ways. Here are the reasons why.

#1 - His greatest potential is at the receiver position. Malcolm had a fantastic freshman season, catching 45 passes for 665 yards and four touchdowns. And he did it while missing three full games to injury. While those numbers are not quite AJ Green level, they are comparable to Mohammed Massaquoi (38 for 505, 2), Fred Gibson (33 for 772, 6) and Terrence Edwards (53 for 772). Mitchell has the potential to be one of the best receivers in Georgia history, why divert his attention?

#2 - Speaking of those three games he missed, is it worth it to risk an injury. He got hurt running a simple deep route and it took a month to recover. AJ Green ended up missing a lot of time due to injury and I don't want that to happen to Malcolm.

#3 - Playing Mitchell at corner this year will not help us prepare for 2013. The entire second will graduate after this year. We need to get some experience in those young players like Bowman, Swann, and Dawson. Let them fill in Commings role against Buffalo and Missouri. In case anyone else gets hurt, at least these guys will have some real experience.

#4 - We may need him to return kicks. This is the one place where missing out on Patterson really hurt. While Branden Smith will get first crack, I am still concerned about his tendency to fumble.

#5 - He's not Champ Bailey. Malcolm Mitchell is a phenomenal player, but to put any kind of expectation that he could perform like Bailey is asinine.