2008 will be remembered as a season with lofty expectations and a pre-season #1 ranking, but a brutal schedule, combined with key injuries along the offensive and defensive lines, felled Georgia’s expectations and the Dawgs ended the season at 10-3 with a uninspiring Capital One Bowl win over a lesser Michigan State team. Mark Richt managed to net another double digit win season, something commonplace in the Richt era, but after the 41-10 thrashing of overmatched Hawaii in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, more had been expected of the Dawgs.
The 2009 season sees key players gone to the NFL (among them the #1 overall pick, QB Matthew Stafford, star RB Knowshon Moreno, WR Mohammed Massaqoui, and cornerback Asher Allen), but also sees key players returning from injuries including one of the best offensive lineman in the country, Trinton Sturdivant, and defensive star Jeff Owens. The expectations are more muted this year, but this could be a classic unheralded Richt team that sneaks up to beat higher ranked teams. Richt also replenished the roster with another top 5 recruiting class including freshman wide receiver sensation Marlon Brown, who may see immediate playing time. The most glaring issue is that once again, Georgia faces the toughest schedule in the country starting at Oklahoma State with 7 BCS teams in row.
Offense
Losing three of the best offensive players in the country with the departures of Stafford (1st overall to Detroit), Moreno (14th overall to Denver) and Massaquoi (2nd round to Cleveland), definitely is a challenge, but not a killer by any means with an offensive line expected to be one of the best in the nation, led by left tackle beast Sturdivant.
The key to the smooth transition for Georgia is the steady hand of 5th year senior Joe Cox. Cox, once a star recruit out of Independence High School in Charlotte (along with H.S. teammate, Massaqoui) lost his chance to become the man for the Georgia team once Stafford arrived even more heralded from Dallas. Now, Cox finally gets his chance, and unlike Joe Tereshinski III (but like DJ Shockley in 2005), Cox can play, he’s extremely accurate, and most importantly, Mark Richt, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, and the rest of the team have complete confidence in Joe.
Behind Joe, the Bulldogs are loaded with a Quarterback depth chart that includes super sophomore, Logan Gray, who’s so fast he’s been used on special teams, but also has great skills in the pocket and a cannon arm. But arguably the most talented Quarterback on Georgia’s roster is one of their two heralded incoming freshmen, Aaron Murray, who teamed at Tampa’s Plant High School with star tight end recruit Orson Charles. Murray is the guy most fans see as the next Stafford for this program.
One of the reasons Georgia can have such confidence is the return of super Sophomore AJ Green, who along with Alabama’s super sophomore Julio Jones gives the Southeastern Conference arguably two of the best wideouts in the country. Green is expected to have a huge year and should start it off with a bang in Stillwater against Oklahoma State, as the Cowboys don’t return any players from last year’s secondary.
Green’s help will arrive in the form of 5th year senior Mikey Moore, who was a pleasant surprise in 2008 catching several key touchdowns, and a couple of stud freshmen, in particular Marlon Brown, whom the Dawgs stole out of Memphis and from the evil grasp of Lane Kiffin. Also watch out for another freshman, Rontavious Wooten, a star in the making to get some early playing time, at least until senior Kris Durham returns from injury to help depth.
Georgia managed to bring in one of the top freshmen tight ends in the country with Tampa’s Orson Charles, a key addition to the 2009 Dawgs, especially considering Urban Meyer had been chasing Charles for months to come to Florida. The starting tight end will be solid Junior Bruce Figgins, a solid performer who isn’t as prone to drops as previous starter Tripp Chandler.
At running back, there are big shoes to fill with Knowshon Moreno’s early departure to the NFL and the Denver Broncos. However, Georgia has one fantastic “committee” with a number of players who can step in and be a star. The starter in that group will be Richard Samuel, whom most of the coaches watching him this Summer say he’s arguably the fastest running back Richt has had since arriving in Athens. Samuel is big and strong and most Georgia fans expect him to make a big name for himself this year.
The guy who was the expected starter and the big name coming out of High School is Caleb King, who was a RB legend in Atlanta on his way to Georgia. King is hurt and likely won’t play in the first game, but expectations are extremely high. Among the guys behind Samuel and King, Sophomore Carlton Thomas is small, but a total burner, reminding Dawg fans of Tyson Browning, while incoming freshman Washaun Ealey could also start right away with the speed and agility he’s shown. Depth and talent won’t be a problem and though it won’t be just one guy replacing Knowshon, it didn’t exactly hurt the 08 Alabama team to have multiple great RBs.
As previously mentioned, the talented and experienced Offensive Line will finally be anchored again by Junior Trinton Sturdivant. When Trinton tore his ACL in August of 2008, it was an ominous sign for the Dawgs season and many thought his career might be over. But Trinton will be back anchoring the line again in a few days. He’ll be joined by a group of experienced and talented lineman including Junior Clint Boling, Junior Chris Davis, and Sophomore Center Ben Jones.
Defense
Last year’s defense went in with rather high expectations after a great year in 2007, but thanks to a season ending injury to star (then Junior) Jeff Owens, plus, a serious of miscues and mental gaffes in big spots that brought seriously into question the level of preparedness being given from Defensive Coordinator Willie Martinez, the defense well under performed and against Georgia’s two most hated opponents, Florida and Georgia Tech, the defense performed miserably at the worst possible times.
Though the Dawgs lost several key players to the NFL including Cornerback Asher Allen, who left a year early and went in the third round to the Vikings, as well as DT Cory Irvin, DE Jarius Wynn, and star middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbee, the Dawgs get Jeff Owens back to anchor, and also back is arguably two of the best “hitters” in College Football, weakside linebacker Rennie Curran (a first team all SEC candidate) and free safety Reshad Jones.
Along with Owens, Curran and Jones, the Dawgs also have talented seniors Geno Atkins and Roderick Battle and senior Cornerback Prince Miller, and Junior Middle linebacker Darryl Gamble made a name for himself in 2008, when he picked off LSU Quarterback Jarrett Lee on the first pass of the game for a return touchdown in Baton Rouge, and later picked off a 2nd pass for a touchdown.
Also, watch out for Freshman Cornerback, Branden Smith. He’s a big time stud, was arguably one of the the highest rated recruits (along with Murray, Marlon Brown, and Charles), and could start and succeed now. Georgia has a lot of experienced talent so Smith may redshirt, but a kid to keep an eye on.
The biggest key to the defense however is actually the coaching and game planning of much maligned defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. This is a make or break year for Willie. If the defense plays great football all year long and cuts way down on the mental errors and turnovers, Willie will restore the luster and pride to the defense. But if the defense, despite all this talent, underperforms again, there will likely be a new D.C. in Athens in 2010.
Special Teams
K Blair Walsh looked great early on and then got sloppier down the stretch. He has a very strong leg and should be due for a great year. One thing the coaches have commented on over the Summer is that with Georgia bringing in a big time kicking recruit (from San Diego) in Brandon Bogotay, this is pushing Walsh and he’s been terrific in what they’re seeing.
The starting punting duties will be handled by a legacy for Georgia, as famed Kicker Kevin Butler’s son Drew will be the punter for the team. While not a lot has been seen yet by the younger Butler, his dad was a legendary performer who went onto to a great career with the Chicago Bears.
Last year, Georgia mixed an array of players on punt and kick returns, after the graduation the year before of the awesome Mikey Henderson. One of the players who really shined for the Dawgs was back-up Quarterback Logan Gray, who this year is listed as the #2 signal caller behind Cox, but the Sophomore may also see time in an array of duties, including some punt returns. One of the other guys widely talked about for return duties is RB Carlton Thomas.
Schedule
For the 2nd straight year, Georgia has amassed arguably the toughest schedule in the country. The Dawgs start off this Saturday with one of the two biggest games to open the 2009 season as they travel to top 10 ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater. If Georgia can escape Big 12 country with a big road win, the Dawgs follow that up with 6 more BCS opponents with division rival South Carolina between the hedges, a tough road game at Arkansas, home dates with Pac Ten opponent Arizona State and (scarier) the next week when LSU arrives. Then the Dawgs have road games in Knoxville and Nashville to play Tennessee and Vandy, before finally getting a week off to prepare for the #1 ranked Florida Gators.
Georgia’s only cupcake comes a week after Florida when we host Tennessee Tech, but end the year with three more big rivalry games with home dates against Auburn and Kentucky, and then the in-state “pure hatred” match up against the always annoying, evil nerds of Georgia Tech.
The hope is Georgia that Georgia can get through those 12 games 9-3, and then win their bowl game for another 10-3 schedule.
Call me a wild eyed optimist, but I think Georgia will do one better and end the year 11-2. I am predicting losses (unfortunately) to Florida (though it will be close this year with the week off and a hopefully healthy OL) and at home to LSU and boldly picking wins for Georgia in the other 10 games – which would put us at 10-2 heading into a Bowl game.
Of course, with some of the departures, this team could be as down as 8-4 and I wouldn’t be shocked. It’s hard to predict.
-Alex R.
A tough call this year because of so many unknowns, but the fact remains there’s still plenty of talent. We should know plenty about this bunch Saturday.
Cox is issue #1. Defense is a close second, with a particular spotlight on pass rush. No question, that’s gotta improve, especially in Week 1. As much as anything, that killed us last year in league games. The OL & DL would seem to be fine with the return of Sturdivant & Owens. Still, I gotta see it. (Strangely, Cox should benefit from something Stafford didn’t really have last year — a deeper, healthier, more experienced, more talented OL.)
Sorry, I gotta bring up another sore subject: The penalties, which were so demoralizing because they always seemed to come at the worst times. I’d heard that Georgia had brought in “referees” for their scrimmages. (If a player got called for anything, he ran until his tongue dropped.) It’s gotta stop, so it’s good to see the staff aggressively addressing a major discipline issue. As for the other one, it would seem that our guys are staying out of the Clarke County pokey, so we got that going for us.
Motivation is an odd element to college football and it’s been said by many that you take it where you find it. Well, there’s a different kind this year, but it’s there. Instead of national hype, there’s relative indifference. I’m pretty sure we won’t have another 19 season-ending injuries this time, so I’m quietly optimistic.
Another odd thought: UGA won 10 games last year & was disappointed; if UGA wins 10 games this year, it shouldn’t be.
Comment by ububba — September 3, 2009 @ 9:57 am |
ububba,
Sorry, I thought I had mentioned penalties but I wasn’t specific and just said “mental errors”, but YES, penalties were arguably the biggest factors in our 3 losses to Bama, Florida and Tech. (well, the Bama game, turnovers above all else…the Tide kept having a short field in the first half).
Actually, my expectations are high enough that if we end this season 10-3, I will break even in my mind. 10 wins is maybe the most accurate prediction, but I want to be optimistic and shoot for 11. Georgia has always done well under Richt when expectations are lowered. I think the year Shockley started in 05 was one of my favorite all around to witness.
(and like Shockley, I think Cox is also really good, just not getting any due because he has to follow a QB legend).
Comment by Alex R. — September 3, 2009 @ 10:53 am |
Yeah, I loved that ‘05 team, too. I can’t imagine Cox will be as good as Shockley was his senior season, but I agree with lotsa folks that, if he’s steady & minimizes mistakes, we can win. If this team’s backfield steps up like the ‘05 crew did, we should be alright.
Another big issue: We gotta find ways to get the ball to Green. Cox doesn’t have a the did-you-see-that-?/thread-the-needle kind of arm. There were some Stafford-to-Green connections (Auburn & Kentucky games come to mind) that were plain amazing.
But Stafford knew what kind of cannon he had & he took some bad chances that I can’t imagine Cox will take. Stafford also seemed to make at least one awful decision per game that had nothing to do with his arm. Hate to say it, but Cox has to be close to perfect in that department.
OSU: We’re going to have our hands full on the defensive side of the ball this weekend & Mr. Martinez has to find ways to pressure their QB. We’ll see how quick we are (or aren’t) in a hurry.
Hard to imagine this game being low scoring. I’m an optimistic guy, so I’ll go UGA 34, OSU 31.
Comment by ububba — September 3, 2009 @ 12:18 pm |
I told Alex last night that Georgia’s passing game might be a lot like Alabama’s last year in that it’s “Throw it to the big guy”. Green’s not as physical as Julio, but he’s still bigger and stronger than most DBs.
Comment by Mac Thomason — September 3, 2009 @ 12:56 pm |
The passing game could be interesting because, yeah, Green is the one proven guy. He’s a genuine talent, but I tend to doubt we’ll have such a punishing running game to work from. JPW had a lotta things working in his favor last year, for sure.
I think the running backs will be fine and Richard Samuel’s got lotsa potential, incl. blazing speed (and let’s hope he hangs onto the ball). But so far, I don’t see an Ingram here.
Like I said, there are a lotta unknowns, but sometimes that’s what makes it fun, especially in the early-season games where everyone’s battling for playing time.
Comment by ububba — September 3, 2009 @ 2:20 pm |