Photo of the Year of the Week

Nick Chubb is coming to your citay.

Photo courtesy of Jim Hipple

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Parker to return to full basketball activities

Georgia's 2016-17 prospects looking up with this news. Parker's planned role will be as a two beside Frazier, but his ability to get open looks is better than Frazier's.

Juwan Parker could return to bball practice this June with 'zero limitations': https://t.co/oOCoWHBaFN

— Jason Butt (@JasonHButt) March 31, 2016

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Hoops update

First off, Dawgs kick off the season with their only exhibition game of the year tonight at 7pm against Georgia Southwestern. Admission is free.

Second, it looks like our history of not having a starter in the lineup for the first month will hold, as Kenny Gaines is sidelined with an undisclosed illness. Fox didn't say what it was, but he isn't expected back until at least the season opening game at Georgia Tech a week from Friday. It sounds like something will take some recover time from, though he was around the first couple of weeks of practice.

The rest of the starting lineup is going to be some combo of Cameron Forte/Kenny Paul Geno battle at small forward. I would have expected Forte to be the prohibitive starter their after the streaks of play we saw out of him, but apparently Geno is stepping up. Maten, Thornton, and Nemi will get the majority of minutes on the two low positions. Mann is the man at the other guard postion.

With the expected weakness of the SEC again, these early season OOC games are huge for improving our chances of making the NCAA tourney. Even if Tech isn't good, a loss to a projected RPI mid90's team is just a big hole to dig out of. A win on the road against them, and we get some bump due to the extra juice from road wins.

TD

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One upside of getting JSW and Mitchell back

I've been pretty vocal in my opinion that having Justin Scott-Wesley and Malcolm Mitchell back isn't a cure all pill for our passing offense. Having said that, there is one very important upside to them being back: Conley, Bennett, the TEs/RBs will no longer be isolated in coverage against our opponents' best pass defenders.

If that sounds like some sort of insult to those guys, that is on you, because it isn't. None of those guys are as quick off the ball and as slippery as either of the returning WRs. And none have the extra spurt when needed that JSW and Mitchell have.

I'm willing to give Mason the benefit of the doubt about his passing, particularly with the current party line that he's been holding back due to being afraid of making mistakes. In that way, he is the anti-Joe Cox. Give Joe Cox credit, he wasn't afraid to sling it all over the school yard. Good or bad. And he was good when teams decided that he was going to have to beat them playing toss and catch.

When you think about Conley and Bennett's best work, it is usually when they are on middle routes with coverage from a closing safety or LB trailing. There is a reason we haven't seen that yet. They haven't run those routes much. With them back in those routes, we'll find out just how much the Mason will 'let it rip' mindset works, because he'll have some underneath options that he's been either ignoring or missing.

One other thing about Joe Cox, he didn't have Todd Gurley to hand off to when teams dropped into nickle coverage. Get teams to back off of the line just a little bit and the passing offense has done it's job.

TD

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"We're running out of those dudes"

Coach Richt on Chubb and Gurley in green non-contact jerseys today. If you think about it, there is no real reason for either of them to get hit much in practice.

It also is an interesting contrast to where we were five weeks ago with our embarrassment of riches at RB.

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Theus injured?

Or a little cat and mouse with Spurrier?

Clearly, he was injured, but badly? Mark Beard was out with the ones on Wednesday, but I'd be pretty shocked if Theus is only missing when the Dawgs take the field a week from now in Columbia.
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Gurley is a pretty sucker

Aaron Murray, mancrushing:

"Beautiful as always," said Murray, asked after practice how Gurley looked. "I was looking at him and I was like, 'goodness, gracious that dude is huge.' I mean he's a pretty sucker to look at. He looked good. He did everything. Y'all see us when we do run polish. He did every rep with me and he looked good. I asked him how he felt and he said he feels good. We've got another two weeks so he'll be full go by Florida hopefully. It's definitely great to have him back."

Me, too Aaron. Me, too.
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Gurley "real close" to returning

Ok, but what about Tray Matthews? Yes, Gurley is a game changer, but right now, Matthews' absence is hurting the team overall more, right?

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Thank God we're out of Knoxville

With Marshall and Justin Scott-Wesley out for the season, Barber and Bennett out for some indeterminate amount of time, I'll just say that I'm fired up we got out of Knoxville with a win. I still haven't been able to see the second half, but chatting with The Wife and my father, I'm starting to believe these last second gut wrenchers is our lot.

We are the Cardiac Dawgs.

I don't like it. I wish we played better defense. I wish we never had to punt. I wish our offensive line didn't look like extras on Shutter Island. I wish our linebackers never allowed a drag route go with two guys chasing one receiver while another is alone in the seam. I wish we could enjoy a 4th quarter winning instead of for exciting football.

I am glad we have the QB we have. I am glad we have the coach we have. I am glad for the work they put in this season. I am glad I am a Georgia Bulldog.
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Thornton likely headed for medical redshirt

Marcus is likely done for the season, but will be eligible for a medical red shirt. Hopefully, his knees heal and he'll get two more good seasons.

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Chase Vasser to have surgery

Another Damn Good Dawg down. Shoulder surgery. Looks like he'll make a full recovery.

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Who's gonna wear their shoes?

Well, the offensive line just went to nano-wafer thin.  Freshman David Andrews might start...start...at center against Mississippi.  Last time he started at center was in the State Semifinals against Savannah Christian, a week after Georgia last won a game against a DI opponent. 

I'm not a prepare for next year kind of guy, but all of these young guys getting reps on the offensive line will bode well, if we continue to recruit like we did this year and avoid any more injuries and/or quitters. 

If not, moving Artie Lynch over might be among our better options for adding depth.

TD

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Mid Week Thoughts

We find ourselves at the beginning of a four game SEC binge that will end with the open date on October 22nd, the week before the Georgia-Florida game.  Three of the games are on the road, including this weekend's tilt at Ole Miss.  Fortunately, there are only snippets of stuff to talk about.  Unfortunately, there are only snippets of things to talk about.

• Injuries...or not.  Who cares?  Someone is unavailable, someone is unavailable.  I didn't get the bruhaha about Rambo in the Boise State game.  I don't get the bruhaha about Tyson against Coastal.  If I am Coach Richt, I call Bill Belichick for pointers on how to handle this, if for no other reason than to gig the mainstream media a bit more.
• SEC Expansion...or not.  Hahaha, guys.  You got me. So it isn't Mizzu or WVU.  Oklahoma isn't going to the Pac-1X. Hey, wait a minu...nah.  Not buying it.
• Mason to get playing time...or not.  Ok, now it is getting serious.  Hey, if Mason is a better option than Murray, then fine.  Play the kid. If Murray is the better option, there is plenty of stuff for Murray to work on that only playing will help.  Ask South Carolina how the 'you're my guy, wait this other guy might be more my guy' thing is going.
• Nutt will get fired after this week...or not.  If Georgia administers a Vandy style beating on them (did I just type that?), it could happen.  I still say it comes during their off week after they go to Fresno.
• Vandy is fo'real...or not.  This week at South Carolina will tell us a lot about that.  Of course, if Garcia throws five ints against them, not only will Spurrier pull Garcia's arm off and beat him with it, Vandy wins.
• LSU takes a big step forward this week...or not. Crazy haha vs. Just Crazy, in the coaching department.  You figure out which one is Holgorsen and which one is Lesticles. 

What did I miss?
TD

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Depth Chart Update

I noticed the Depth Chart changed this morning, reflecting the updated status as the team prepares for Boise.

Interesting points:

• Samuel starting over Crowell.  Just interesting, not surprising. 
• Geathers starting over Jenkins.  Ditto.  Jenkins has been injured and is getting up to speed.  Geathers has been leading since spring and never ceded the position.  Like I said, expect to see the two of them together.
• Rambo second string, but Sanders Commings is the backup CB on both sides. I haven't gotten into the 'he's suspended, he's on the way out' stuff because it would only be speculation, at best.  It is important to note there is no one after Rambo on the chart (the pdf chart has Sanders as backup on one side only, but still no third string FS).
• Figgins and Ogletree as co-starters at FB.  Probably too early to tell if Figgins can go.
• Watts Dantzler as the back up RT.  Kid had a good camp.
• Branden and Brandon as co-punt returners.  I guess the same could be said of kick returns, but this probably speaks to the continuing unease about Branden's foot.

Anything else jump off the page to you?
TD

See also:
-Weiszer's take (Athens Banner Herald)

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First Scrimmage Stats

The top two QBs threw for a combined 300+ yards and a three TDs.  The top three RBs got 150+ yards and 'ran really well'.  Alec Ogletree stood out on defense.

Sound familiar?

It should it is the stats from the first scrimmage of 2010.  In an ongoing effort to remind myself it has all been done, I looked at the first scrimmage stats from last year to see how they did.  To remind myself that this is a scrimmage.  We have a long way to go.  

But, no one got injured.  There is that.

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First scrimage stats, 2011 (from Georgiadogs.com)

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Offensive Line Woes

With Brent Benedict leaving the program, we have three (is that right?) O-line backups that were on campus in the spring.

Looks like Searles got out when the getting was good. You could say he left the cupboard bare, too.  We need Watts Danzler and Zack DeBell to show up ready to play, because they are going to get the chance to.

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Baseball Limps to Tally

The baseball team's strategy this year was going to reliant on strong pitching and manufacturing runs without the power bats we've enjoyed the last few years.  So far, that strategy has been working ... against Stetson and Presbyterian.  Against teams that you've heard of, the strategy isn't going as well.  The Dawgs have lost to Baylor, Duke and got popped by Bama Wednesday night, 13-2.  The road gets no smoother this weekend against No. 6 Florida State in Tallahassee.  Sunday's game is on Sun Sports, if you get that channel.

A major contributor to the uneven play has been injuries.  The infield lineup that we'll likely feature in SEC play hasn't even played together yet because of injuries and suspensions.  From georgiadogs.com:

"Georgia’s starting lineup consists of three freshmen and six sophomores, and the infield has yet to feature all four projected starters. Currently, the Bulldogs are without freshmen starting shortstop Kyle Farmer (out 3-6 weeks due to a broken hamate bone in left wrist) and sophomore second baseman Levi Hyams (sore back). Farmer, who is the team’s second leading hitter at .458, has missed the past three games while Hyams has yet to see action this season. Since Farmer’s injury, third baseman Colby May has moved to shortstop while redshirt freshman Kevin Ruiz and sophomore catcher Christian Glisson have split time at third base. Glisson had never played third base in his career while Ruiz saw some time there in the fall. Meanwhile at second base, freshman Todd Hankins has started all nine games this year. Ruiz along with freshman Robert Shipman filled in the first five games at first base while sophomore Chase Davidson was out with an elbow injury. Davidson has returned to first base the past three games. Hyams might see action in the field during the FSU series and could be back full-time by next week."

The young season does have a few sterling performances.  Zach Cone hit for the cycle in the season's second game.  He became the first Dawg to pull that off since Josh Smith in 2004.  Justin Grimm has pitched like the high draft pick he is expected to be.  He's got a 1.69 ERA in two games so far.  It's a small sample size, but Grimm's looked good.  Alex McRee has three saves in four appearances and eleven Ks, but he still walks too many batters.  Peter Verdin has at least one hit in every game this year.  

The team has some palpable talent, but the injuries will hamper us in the early going.  

Quinton

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Two Game Points

Rick Brooks accurately states that there's a great deal on the line for both Georgia and UK today.  The Wildcats and Dawgs share 6-4 records and both are trying to position themselves in the bowl pecking order.  Both teams are also trying to finish second in the SEC East, a rare result for the Cats.  The Dawgs need this game.  The potent bitterness of this season will quickly resurface with a loss, even though the Auburn game has taken the edge off the disappointment.  Despite Paul's confidence, I think if we lose today and against Tech, Shreveport is still on the table.  Win it and the Dawgs still have Tampa and Atlanta within reach.

Randall Cobb, the scatback/wideout/quarterback who sliced our defense up last year, has an injured shoulder and will be a game time decision.  I'd wager he plays.  Cobb is playing a little QB for the Cats because Mike Hartline, a more standard quarterback, is out after knee surgery.  When Cobb isn't under center running the "wild Cobb", true freshman Morgan Newton is expected to take conventional snaps.  (Can we stop calling every direct snap play a "wild" something? Is a quarterback draw that wild?  It's a little leauge play: get your best player the ball and let them outrun all the other kids.)

Quinton

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Get Well, Bacarri Rambo

When you say your prayers tonight, don't forget Bacarri Rambo.  He made the play of the game with that hit, but no game is worth a player's well being.  It appeared every precaution was taken, but any time a player has those spooky rigid arms after a hit, you're reminded of the violence of the game and what these guys are risking by playing the way they do.  Get well, Bacarri.

Although not as urgent, a prayer for A.J. is warranted, too.  The last I heard was a AC joint problem.  I'd imagine he's doubtful for next weekend, but that is speculative at best.

Quinton

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Herschel to Become MMA Fighter

Herschel Walker just inked a deal with the Strikeforce, a MMA league similar to (although less competitive than) UFC, to become a professional ultimate fighter.

On the one hand, Herschel is a sixth-degree blackbelt. On the other hand, he's 47 years old.

I will go in there and test myself against any 20 year old," Walker said. "I know there will be naysayers and I'm fine with that. I want to prove to people who sit on a couch and don't do anything but criticize other people that, if you're a true athlete or martial artist, you're not old until you can't get up and walk around anymore. MMA fighters are said to be some of the best athletes in the world, my plan at the age of 47 is to show the world I am still
one of the best athletes as well.

Herschel will immediately begin an 8-12 week training academy. His first fight will probably be in 2010.

There's no denying the guy is a force of nature and has kept himself in incredible shape. He's been studying martial arts for the better part of three decades, so it's not like he picked some random activity like, say, bobsledding. But he's 47! I guess if anybody can do it, he can. GATA.

If Herschel decides he wants to get into pro wrestling, he could form the GREATEST TAG TEAM IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE.

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