Mark Richt seemed like a pretty content guy during his Spring game interview with CSS. He thinks his team is close to being a very good football team. With a recruiting class that was ranked No.5 by Rivals, he’s got some players coming in who can help. He signed some players who have been called the “Dream Team” out of Georgia. He signed five Star running back Isaiah Crowell out of Columbus (5’11”, 21o), tight end Jay Rome (6’5″, 255) out of national powerhouse Valdosta along with his teammate four star defensive back Malcolm Mitchell. Richt signed a ton of players out of Georgia who were highly rated. And he has some very good players coming back. The schedule is challenging as the ‘Dogs open with Boise State on Sept. 3 in Atlanta, then play host to South Carolina in an early SEC blockbuster. But I like this team after watching the G-Day game.
Redshirt sophomore Aaron Murray should have a stellar season at quarterback. He threw for 3,049 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight ints last year. He completed 61% of his passes. He had a rating of 154.4 which is outstanding. He is more comfortable in the pocket this year according to Richt and he’s got some excellent targets in Orson Charles, his teammate at Plant High School in Tampa where they teamed up to win a state championship, and Tavarres King. Charles at 6’3″, 241 will play kind of a hybrid tight end/wide receiver role and he’ll be a tough matchup for linebackers because he can outrun them and tough on dbs because of his size. He could have a huge year. King is a returning starter. He’s 6’1″, 192. Charles and King are juniors. Branden Smith is a defensive back starter, but he’s going to be a playmaker on offense. He’ll play some wildcat and he can really catch the ball. He had a 35-yard touchdown run in the game. He is a great athlete. Brandon Boykin is another db who’ll play on offense and give the offense more fire power. Marlon Brown is another wide out who will play a big role this year. Richt is also high on true freshman Chris Conley who came in early. He is expected to be a playmaker on offense. He dropped a deep ball in the Spring game, but he looks like he has the tools.
Aron White (6’4″, 239) and Arthur Lynch (6’5″ , 272) are big tight ends. Expect Rome to come in and make an immediate impact at tight end though those other two are pretty good.
Running back will be solid and could be exceptional if Crowell lives up to his hype. Caleb King will be back. He’s 5’11”, 224. He was highly recruited out of high school and has been OK at Georgia. He needs to step it up though. Washaun Ealey was suspended indefinitely in February for a violation of team rules. Is it me or does it seem like Ealey and King are always in trouble? Maybe Ealey can come back. He and King had some critical fumbles last year against South Carolina (Ealey) and against Colorado (King). So not sure if you can count on them in crunch time, but they’ve got talent. I guess Ealey will make it back on the team. They both could be behind Crowell come September. Ken Malcome, a redshirt frosh, looked good in the game, Carlton Thomas had some nice runs, but also had two fumbles. They need some development there. It could be a good position for them. We’ll see.
Murray has some good young ones behind him. Liked Hutson Mason, a 6’3″, 196 sophomore. Parker Welch, a 6’3″, 204 redshirt frosh, looked pretty good., And Richt is high on Christian LeMay, a highly regarded signee who is in school and played in the Spring game LeMay, a four star, is 6’2″, 200. If Murray was to go down, Georgia might be OK there.
Offensive line looks pretty good. Ben Jones is a 6’3″, 316 senior center. He’s solid. They lost tackle Trinton Sturdivant to a knee injury once again. He has NFL talent but has been besieged by injury. They’re counting on junior A.J. Harmon (6’5″, 345) to fill Sturdivant’s role. Kenarious Gates, a 6’5″, 328 guard and Cordy Glenn, a 6’5″, 348 tackle, will also be starters. Kolton Houston (6’5″, 291 RS frosh) and Chris Burnette (6’2″, 313, RS soph) will be some other key contributors. There are some good players on the line. Not sure there is a ton of depth there, but some good starters. They have six highly regarded freshmen linemen coming in, so that’ll help a lot if they can contribute.
Defense will be led by dominating nose guard/tackle Kwame Geathers (6’6″, 350). He’s got great size and he’s a great athlete. He will be a dominant player. Richt also expects big things from linebacker Jarvis Jones (6’3″, 241 RS soph), a Southern Cal transfer. He’s a great pass rusher and cover lb on the outside. They are really high on him. Alec Ogletree (6’3″, 236) will be excellent at inside linebacker. Chase Vasser (6’3″, 227 RS soph) is an excellent outside linebacker. And Boykin and Smith are excellent cornerbacks. There are some others. The defense looked pretty good in the game. They could be much improved this season.
Of course there was the loss of A.J. Green, a big loss. Green was the fourth pick in the NFL draft by Cincinnati. Still the wrs look pretty good overall. Green is a once every five years player. He was special. Kris Durham was a solid possession receiver and got drafted by the Seatlle Seahawks in the late rounds. They also lost a good fullback in Shaun Chappas, but they’ve got some pretty big guys there. Alexander Ogletree (5’10, 224), brother of the linebacker, and Bruce Figgins (6’4″, 272) look pretty solid there. Figgins, obviuosly, is a very impressive guy physically. They should be OK there. Probably need another guy to step up. Georgia likes to use its fullbacks in blocking and in the passing game. They like that pro style set.
Blair Walsh, a senior, is a fine kicker. Didn’t really notice their punter or their return game; wasn’t emphasized that much.
Team looks good.
Mark Richt is a solid, spiritual guy and a good football coach.But 7-6 (2009) and 6-7 (2010) don’t cut it at Georgia. He has had a lot of success in the past and that’s why he’s retained his job after two disappointing seasons. Plus, I think Georgia people like him a lot. He’s a good person. His offense has always seemed a little slow in developing on plays to me, but he usually has a solid running game and a good controlled passing game. He needs some playmakers to step up this year.
Richt needs to win nine games this year. He needs to get the ‘Dogs back in the SEC champ mix. I like him, so I hope he can.
The Sehedule:
Open with what should be a top 10 team in Boise State. Boise State has some NCAA problems right now, so not sure how that’ll affect them. Should be a fine team though. ‘Dogs need to win that one and then beat South Carolina the next week at home. The Boise State game is in Atlanta; Chick fil-A game on Sept. 3. Coastal Carolina is the third game–win–then Ole Miss in Oxford, State in Athens, UT in Knoxville and Vandy in Nashville. If they come out of that stretch at 6-1 or 5-2 they could be in good shape. They have Florida in Jacksonville, and their last four at home: New Mexico State, Auburn, Kentucky and Tech. A 9-3, 10-2 season is possible. This is a good football team. Murray needs to stay healthy. That will be a key though they have some pretty good players behind him, but no experience. The freshmen, particularly Crowell at running back, need to step in and make an immediate impact. Crowell needs to be like a Marcus Lattimore or Michael Dyer. Georgia could win the East and go to Atlanta. Predictions in the summer.
(Mark Richt will be counting heavily on Aaron Murray to get his team to Atlanta.)