bulldawg illustrated 2015 season preview

To see Mike’s story visit AthensHealth.org/YourStory

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Like his father before him, Mike “Big Dawg” Woods has become a fi xture in the college football world, known for painting a bulldog on his head. But also like his father before him, Mike had a heart attack at a relatively young age. He was recently treated by the Athens Regional Cardiology team who performed a triple bypass. Today, Mike says he feels as good as he has in years and can’t wait to be with 92,000 of his closest friends in the stadium again this fall.

If you or someone you know has a history of heart disease, A-fi b or you’re experiencing symptoms such as shortness of breath, call 706.475.1700 to schedule an appointment today with the Athens Regional Cardiology Team.

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years and can’t wait to be with 92,000 of his closest friends in the stadium again this fall.

If you or someone you know has a history of heart disease, A-fi b or you’re experiencing symptoms such as shortness of breath, call 706.475.1700 to schedule an appointment

My doctors, nurses and technicians at Athens

Tick ... Tock ...

The Football ... The Fans ... The Fun ... 2015 Season Preview!

Greetings Bulldog fans, it’s great to be back under the hood (or really behind the laptop) for our 13th year of produc-ing the print issues of Bulldawg Illustrat-ed. Yes, we are aware of all the negative connotations of the number 13. However by now, surely you the reader can appre-ciate that we’ve never been your typical publication, so a magical 2015 season in our 13th year seems like the ideal fit to me.

Yes, you are right to sense a bit of confidence in my opening paragraph. The fact of the matter is UGA football is trending in the right direction on most fronts. Our coaching staff is killing it on the recruiting trail and our players have bought into their various new coaches that came on board since the beginning of the year.

Without question, the positive morale coming out of Athens is off the charts. Earlier this week, a friend of mine who occasionally caters food for the football department said, “man is there excitement around that place like never before.” Then to read Loran Smith’s col-umn on page 29, saying the same thing brought even more music to my ears.

However, I think we can all agree that lofty expectations are never lacking for Georgia football, particularly in the preseason. The question now is whether Mark Richt, his staff and his team are truly ready to take the championship step in 2015?

Obviously, the answer to that ques-tion will be decided on the field, but I’m happy to report that everyone at Bulld-awg Illustrated is in championship form with this 2015 Season Preview issue.

Rightly so, my great friend and BI extraordinaire from day one, Jeff Dant-zler starts our coverage off on page 4 de-tailing game by game the 2015 schedule. It’s a manageable slate, but Steve Spur-rier’s mastery of Georgia could derail things early, if our team isn’t ready.

Then on page 6, JD analyzes posi-tion by position, giving his thoughts on who will be seeing the most playingw

time when toe meets leather at the end of August. For the title of this article, I bor-rowed from JD the old coaching saying that he lives by, “It ain’t the Xs and Os, it’s the Jimmy and Joes.” Thankfully, I truly believe this current coaching staff under Mark Richt completely gets this. And it’s going to be a blast to watch our playmak-ers put in positions to shine this season.

The middle section of this issue is what our publication has and always will be about … fan photos and features. When we created BI 13 years ago, Cheri was agreeable to the concept and the hard work that it would entail, but under one stipulation. “By no means are we letting this just be a boring sports publication, we have to cover the fans and have Bulld-awg lifestyle content that appeals to both men and women,” she said.

I think after you enjoy the excellent content that she has put together in this issue, you will agree that she knew what she was talking about. And it would be remiss, not to give a shout out to the all the businesses that support our vision for BI. We are so thankful.

Wow, I’m closing in on all my allot-ted space and I’m barely halfway through talking about this issue. What can I say about the job Murray Poole did in writing nine articles for this issue? Out-standing work fits the bill. Murray didn’t flinch when I sent him my long list of things that needed to be covered this go-around. QB race, Tailback U, Big Uglies, The Schotty Era, Pruitt’s D – Year 2, the Georgia Way 2.0. I know you will find all of Murray’s articles informative and will appreciate the fix they will provide for the long, hot summer that we must now all

painstakingly survive. Tick, Tock … the football … the

fans … the fun is at least coming around the final stretch now. Until our next issue for the first game, please keep up with recruiting and UGA happenings on our website and social media.

In the words of Ben Crenshaw, “I have a good feeling” about the 2015 sea-son and our 13th year of Bulldawg Illus-trated.

Finally, I sincerely encourage you to mark your calendar for July 11 for the Countdown to Kickoff Fan Festival, which will again be held in Sanford Sta-dium. It’s such a great treat for all of us at Bulldawg Illustated to be included in this marvelous annual event put on by Matt and Jon Stinchcomb (pictured below with some of last year’s attendees) and David Greene to benefit Georgia Trans-plant Foundation and Children’s Health-care of Atlanta. Go to page 30 for infor-mation or http://ugakickoff.com/2015/fanday/. We look forward to seeing you there.

Go Dawgs!!!

FROM THE EDITOR: VANCE LEAVY

2015 Season PreviewCha Cha Cha Publishing Inc.

• Editor: Vance Leavy• Creative Director: Cheri Leavy• Multimedia Director: Greg Poole• Sports Guru: Jeff Dantzler• Layout/Design: Cheri Leavy, Vance Leavy• Sales: Caroline Kinney • Sports: Jeff Dantzler, Murray Poole• Sports Intern: Jacob Blount• Interns: Emory Kole, Hays Sligh• Sports Photography: Rob Saye• Columnists: Carlton DeVooght, Rob Sherrell, Loran Smith• Delivery: Jack Abernathy, Will Hayes, Bear Jordan, Tim Roberts, Cullen Sewell, Thompson Sewell, Champ Vance

2015 Season Preview - June 2, 2015

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Navigating the 2015 schedule ...

BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED J E F F D A N T Z L E R ’ S B R E A K D O W N

By Jeff DantzlerBulldawg Illustrated

September 5Louisiana-Monroe – Sanford Stadium2014 Record: 4-8 (3-5 Sun Belt)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 4 Clearly this is one that Georgia will win, or else it goes down as one of the most humiliating losses in school history. The Louisiana-Monroe team that beat Arkansas and nearly Auburn is gone, and this is a classic tune-up. The big question for Georgia is who the starting quarterback and center will be. While a victory should be a foregone conclusion, the play of the Bulldogs at quarterback and center is of vital importance to Georgia’s championship hopes of 2015. The Warhawks will be the first test and the Dogs certainly want to get off to a good start. For Georgia fans, getting to see several mem-bers of this highly touted recruiting class, most significantly on defense and at wide receiver, will be a good treat for a taste of what’s to come.

September 12Vanderbilt – Nashville Vanderbilt Stadium2014 Record: 3-9 (0-8 SEC)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 3

After going 9-4 in back to back seasons, including a 2013 campaign in which the Commo-dores pulled off a Haley’s Comet once in three generations and beat Georgia, Florida and Ten-nessee in the same season, James Franklin left for Penn State. The Commodores brought in Derek Mason and were far and away the worst team in the SEC. Vandy fell in the season opener to Tem-ple 37-7. That was not a good tone setter. Vanderbilt projects to have the worst offense and defense in the SEC, but will be eyeing the ear-ly season upset of the Bulldogs. On Georgia’s last trip to Nashville, the Bulldogs suffered an embar-rassing 31-27 loss to the Commodores in a game riddled with turnovers and special teams gaffes. Georgia rolled past the outmanned Commodores 44-17 a year ago in Athens. It should be another easy win for the Bulldogs this year. And this is the first of two straight “Burn the Boats” games for the Bulldogs. Because if the Dogs aren’t unde-feated heading into October, it’s wait ‘til next year.

September 19South Carolina – Sanford Stadium2014 Record: 7-6 (3-5 SEC)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 7

Steve Spurrier guided the Gamecocks to three straight 11-2 campaigns, unchartered territory in South Carolina’s morbid to mediocre history. Last year, the ‘Cocks fell to 7-6, but did beat Georgia – the team that Spurrier has beaten unlike any coach ever – for a signature moment of the cam-paign. To borrow from the great Spanish conquista-dor Hernan Cortes, It is a “burn the boats” game for Georgia, just like the week prior (the story is an all-time great motivator). It’s a must win if the Bulldogs are to have any championship aspira-tions. It’s also a must win to avoid losing to South Carolina for the fifth time in six years, once an unfathomable thought prior to the arrival of “The Head Ball Coach.” South Carolina opens with North Carolina in Charlotte at the Panthers stadium and then hosts Kentucky the week prior to the trip to Athens. Both the Bulldogs and Gamecocks have major question marks at quarterback, but the Bulldogs are in better shape at running back and on de-fense. The difference this year could be made by defensive improvement. South Carolina’s offen-sive line pushed the Bulldogs around in Columbia and 35 points wasn’t enough to win. The boys in the striped shirts owe the Bulldogs one for the hold that wasn’t, which cost Georgia a long touchdown run by Todd Gurley and the lead. The Bulldogs also came up with two turnovers deep in Gamecock territory and managed only three points. To beat Spurrier, capitalizing is key. As he nears the end of a remarkable career, you know he would love another piece of the hedge to add to his Georgia hit list.

September 26Southern University – Sanford Stadium 2014 Record: 9-4 (8-1 SWAC)

This will be the first trip to Athens for the Jag-uars out of Baton Rouge, La. Southern has been a longtime Southwestern Athletic Conference powerhouse, and has claimed nine Black College National Championships in its history.

Last season, the Jaguars started 2-3, then ripped off a seven game winning streak that cul-minated with a 52-45 victory over Grambling in the Superdome’s Bayou Classic. The streak came to an end in the SWAC Championship Game to Alcorn State. Arguably more famous than the football pro-gram is the Southern University Marching Band. You won’t want to miss the halftime show for what may well be the best ever band to visit San-ford Stadium. Georgia should chalk up a “W” here and head into the monster showdown with Alabama and a grueling October slate with a full head of steam. If the Bulldogs are 4-0, things are in place for Georgia to make a run.

October 3Alabama – Sanford Stadium2014 Record: 12-2 (7-1 SEC)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 9.5

The last time these two met, Georgia came painfully close to the SEC championship and a crack at the national title. But Alabama prevailed. The last time the Crimson Tide visited Sanford Stadium, the Bulldogs “blacked it out” and were losing 31-0 at the half. The hype for this game will be incredible, as both have a good shot at being undefeated. This is the start of a difficult four-game stretch for Alabama and a rugged month for the Bulldogs. Both will be coming off tune-ups, as the Dogs play Southern the week prior and Alabama hosts Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks and Georgia both beat Alabama in Nick Saban’s first year at the Crimson Tide helm. Bama has finished in the top ten every year since. As hyped as this one will be, the ones the next week are even bigger for both, as Georgia goes to Tennessee and Alabama hosts Arkansas. Those are division games, and if things break right, who knows, there could poten-tially be a rematch in December. Saban has recruited Georgia like no Crimson Tide coach ever, with the help of his longtime defensive coordinator, former Bulldog standout Kirby Smart. So a lot will be on the line from that front. If the winner of this one goes to 5-0, any-thing short of a berth in Atlanta with a shot at the playoff will be a disappointment.

October 10Tennessee – Knoxville Neyland Stadium 2014 Record: 7-6 (3-5 SEC) 2015 Over/Under Win Total: 7.5

On the win-ability meter this one could be last for the Bulldogs. Tennessee is flying high after winning three of its last four SEC games in 2014 and then defeating Iowa in the Gator Bowl. Last season, Georgia edged the Vols 35-32, marking a fifth straight win in the series. The last three have been won by Georgia by seven, three and three. With Georgia boasting the far superior talent ev-ery time out. That talent gap has closed. The Volunteers, like Georgia, are stacked at running back. The Vols have big time juice at wide receiver, and are settled at quarterback and both lines of scrimmage. As important, Georgia will be coming off the Titanic tilt with Alabama in Athens. Can Geor-gia get up emotionally again – and then again the next week vs. Missouri between the hedges. Tennessee figures to also be coming off a physical test with Arkansas in Knoxville. The week prior, Tennessee is at Florida. The Vols can let it all hang out emotionally and physically, as an open date follows prior to the annual October tangle with Alabama – this year in Tuscaloosa. Tennessee has long losing streaks to Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The Vols have come so close to picking off the Bulldogs, especially the last two years. Florida came back to win 10-9 in Knoxville last year, but the Vols will at least be an even mon-ey pick September 26 in Gainesville. Without a doubt Tennessee has a legitimate shot at winning the SEC East. The schedule is tough, as always, and it may not let the Vols run to a great record. If the Volunteers don’t make it to Atlanta, it is still a good bet that there will be a couple of more signature wins to come for a proud program on the uptick – and the Georgia game is circled on the Tennessee schedule.

October 17Missouri – Sanford Stadium2014 Record: 11-3 (7-1 SEC)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 7.5

For a second straight season, Missouri made it to the SEC Championship Game. Nobody saw that coming. Nobody. Not even the staunch-

est of Missouri football supporters. Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Spurrier-era Gamecock fans have figuratively challenged Vince Lombar-di’s “What the Hell’s Going on Here?!” Since joining the SEC in 2012, the Tigers have won in Athens, Gainesville, Knoxville and the oth-er Columbia. This will be season number four for the Tigers in the SEC, and Georgia is hoping to record the first home team victory in this series. Georgia won the 1960 Orange Bowl 14-0 over the Tigers in the only meeting prior to the Midwestern school’s arrival in the Southeastern Conference. In Mizzou’s first SEC game in 2012, the Bulldogs dominated the fourth quarter and won in Colum-bia 41-20. In Athens the following season, the Tigers jumped to a 28-10 lead and pulled away to a 41-26 win. It was all Bulldogs last year at Miz-zou, as the Dogs cashed in on five turnovers and cruised to a 34-0 win. But Missouri wouldn’t lose again until the SEC Championship Game. Maty Mauck is back at quarterback and the Tigers have been able to overcome the loss of elite defensive linemen the last couple of years. Though Shane Ray leaves big shoes to fill. Clearly this is a game that Georgia needs. Falling again at home to Missouri and perhaps giving the Tigers the inside track to another re-turn to Atlanta. This will be a fourth straight SEC game for Mizzou, and the Tigers will be coming off a home date with the Gators. So both teams will be in the midst of a tough stretch of games. If the Bulldogs come out of this one at 6-1 – or better – the hope for a dream season is still alive.

October 31Florida – Jacksonville EverBank Field2014 Record: 7-5 (4-4 SEC)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 7.5

A year ago, downtrodden Florida blistered high-flying Georgia 38-20 in what goes down as one of the worst and most head-scratching losses of the Mark Richt era. Big dreams were dashed. It would be Will Muschamp’s lone win in the Georgia-Florida series and the signature moment of the Gators season. Georgia’s dreams were dashed in mind-boggling fashion. Florida has turned to Jim McElwain, who had outstanding success at Colorado State following a stint as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. The Gators, as always, have talent, led by star corner-back Vernon Hargraves III. The defense should again be very good, the question is whether a lot of offensive positions will be solidified when the cocktail party comes around. Virtually every offensive spot for the Gators has question marks, but that doesn’t mean talent is not there. Georgia missed out on a golden opportuni-ty to make It four straight in a series that had painfully gone 18-3 in Florida’s favor from 1990-2010. Here’s the deal too, Georgia needs to start another Florida coach with a losing record in the series. A vast majority of Florida’s wins over Georgia in the 21-year stretch came under the watch of all-time great coaches Spurrier and Meyer. The two that sting extra bad were the two to Ron Zook in 2002 and 2003 when Geor-gia clearly had the better team, talent and coach. But those losses cost Georgia shots at national championships. And last year’s destroyed those dreams as well. If Georgia is in position, i.e. 6-1 or 7-0, avoid-ing a repeat of last season and giving Florida another winning streak in the series is a must on the path to championship dreams.

photo by Rob Saye

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November 7Kentucky – Sanford Stadium2014 Record: 5-7 (2-6 SEC)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 6

Mark Stoops seems to have the Wildcats moving in the right direction. Kentucky has pulled in a cou-ple of front-line recruits and quarterback Patrick Towels is one of the league’s top returning starters. This game will simply be a case of hunger for the Bulldogs. Last season after the embarrassment in Jacksonville, the Bulldogs thrashed the Wildcats 63-31. Isaiah McKenzie set the tone, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Georgia could have won by an even wider margin, but struggled on the field of short “lob wedge style” kickoffs. That problem reared its ugly head a few weeks later in one of the most horrific losses in school history. It will help the Bulldogs that the Wildcats have a big game the week before as well. With confer-ence expansion and Kentucky moving the Louisville game to the end of the season, the Wildcats won’t close the season with Tennessee, they will host the Volunteers the week before the trip to Athens. Kentucky started last year 5-1, losing a 36-30 triple overtime heart-breaker at Florida. But the Wildcats lost their final six games of the season.

November 14Auburn – Jordan Hare Stadium 2014 Record: 8-5 (4-4 SEC)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 8.5

What a roller coaster it has been for Auburn over the past five seasons, highlighted by a pair of trips to the BCS Championship Game and lowlight-ed by a historically bad 3-9 campaign in 2012. Gus Malzone is in his third year at the Auburn helm, and his fast paced offense is fully installed. “The Gus Bus” took Auburn to the brink of the national title in 2013 – with some serious magic under the tires that season. Last year, the magic was there until November, when the Tigers got their hearts bro-ken by Texas A&M, got smoked at Georgia and lost a shootout to Alabama. In Tampa, the Tigers fell to Wisconsin. The Badgers and Aggies both lost games 59-0 last season. There is no rivalry like Georgia-Auburn, the deep south’s oldest and often most entertaining. Here is a twist for longtime Georgia fans that give Bulldog fans yet another reason to look at the heaven’s and ask why us? Georgia has won seven of the last nine meetings with the Tigers, with the last three Bulldogs wins coming by 38, 38 and 27 points. So which team has twice played for the national title? Auburn of course. Shake fist and head. Jeremy Johnson takes over at quarterback for the Tigers, Duke Williams is back at receiver and Auburn has newcomer impact coming on the perimeter and at running back. The big question will be the kind of impact Muschamp has on the de-

fense? There is a lot of talent there, but the defense wasn’t good last year, especially down the stretch when the Aggies, Bulldogs, Bama and Badgers lit up the scoreboard. Both teams will be in a difficult stretch of games and both are hoping that a victory will keep them in the hunt for Atlanta and the playoff. Auburn plays A&M the week prior at Kyle Field.

November 21Georgia Southern – Sanford Stadium2014 Record: 9-3 (8-0 Sun Belt)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 7.5

Georgia Southern is gunning for Georgia. Make no mistake the Eagles see this as a golden op-portunity to pick up THE monumental win for the program. In its first year in Division 1-A, the Eagles were undefeated in Sun Belt play and went 9-3, with a 24-23 loss at N.C. State and controversial 42-38 setback at Tech. Georgia has won the previous five meetings, with the closest margin being 20 points. But there have been moments to sweat. At the top of the list, with Georgia having clinched a berth in the SEC Championship game and sporting a 9-1 record, the Bulldogs were clinging to a 10-7 lead late in the first half with the Eagles on the move. A costly penalty led to a missed field goal, and the Bulldogs scored on an Aaron Murray to Malcolm Mitchell TD on the last play of the half. Georgia pulled away to win 45-14.

The following year, the Eagles beat Florida in Gainesville, and last year had the aforementioned close calls in Raleigh and on the flats. In a typically utterly ridiculous NCAA rule and upholding, the Eagles were denied a bowl berth because for some absurd reason, first year 1-A (now the Football Bowl Subdivision) schools can’t go to bowls. I guess 6-6 big boys who are ready for the season to be over are preferred. This longtime Division 1-AA powerhouse now has better depth with the move to Division 1-A. There is a lot of talent back for the Eagles, and they frighteningly catch the Bulldogs between trips to Auburn and Tech. While there are a lot of fans that support both schools, there is a large segment in Statesboro, which is a great Bulldog town, that doesn’t like Georgia at all. The Eagles will pull it all out in what figures to be the last regular season meeting between the two for a long, long time.

November 28Tech – Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field2014 Record: 11-3 (6-2 ACC)2015 Over/Under Win Total: 7.5

Tech had one of its greatest seasons since the Bobby Dodd Golden Tornado days of the 1950s, as the Yellow Jackets beat Georgia and won the Orange Bowl. In between, Tech nearly tripped up Florida State in the ACC Championship Game. Georgia’s horrid self-inflicted wounds, some ter-rible decision-making and a powerful Tech running attack led to arguably the most ghastly late-game, heartbreaking loss in Bulldog annals. Shock, de-spair and “what the hell did we just do” were the themes of the Georgia people walking out that dreary Saturday. Georgia is 12-2 against Tech since 2001, one of the most impressive accomplishments of the Mark Richt era, but the theme is “two is too many!” The other loss was in 2008, when the Bulldogs had a 28-12 lead get away in a 45-42 loss that would have been Georgia’s eighth straight win in the series, matching the infamous drought of 1949-56. Dating back to 1991, Georgia is 11-1 at Grant Field, with the lone loss coming in 1999 when Al Ford and his crew simply cheated the Bulldogs out of victory with one of the worst calls in college football histo-ry. What set Tech apart last season was true star power in Justin Thomas. The sprinter/quarterback is a tremendous talent and the first five star threat for the Yellow Jackets since Giff Smith recruited in Johnathan Dwyer, Josh Nesbitt and Demaryus Thomas back in 2007-2009. There are high hopes for Georgia in 2015, but what is most important is winning the last two games and reclaiming the state crown. Anything less than 2-0 vs. the Eagles and Tech means a mis-erable off-season traveling throughout the state for the Georgia faithful.

photo by Rob Saye


BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED J E F F D A N T Z L E R ’ S B R E A K D O W N

By Jeff DantzlerBulldawg Illustrated

Quarterback

It is the biggest question mark – though not the most important one for the Bulldogs – heading into preseason camp. Will it be R-Jr. Faton Bauta, R-Soph. Brice Ramsey or RFr. Jacob Park starting at quarterback? There is the verbal commitment from prep phenom Jacob Eason, regarded as the country’s top high school signal caller, who plans on being at Georgia as a collegiate freshman for the 2016 campaign. Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said there was no starter after the spring and the competition would continue into preseason camp. It is a good bet that at least two, with Bauta and Ramsey being the front-runners, of the QB’s will play in the open-er against Louisiana-Monroe, and possibly the following week in the Southeastern Conference opener at Vanderbilt. Ramsey played some last year, including a majority of the Belk Bowl after a battlefield promotion due to Hutson Mason’s injury. He looked solid, but did not overwhelm. Bauta is an outstanding runner who impressed during the spring. The ability to take care of the football could be the key to whom gets the nod. Park has talent, but is third in the derby heading into presea-son camp, and needs to make up ground early to contend for the starting job. For the Bulldog faithful looking at this season as a stop-gap, assuming that Eason will win the job as a true freshman in 2016, this should be kept in mind – this is a third starter in three years and next year would be a fourth in four if that were to happen.

Running Back

Georgia lost the best player in the country to the National Football League. But, despite Todd Gurley’s departure to the pros, the Bulldogs could have the best collection of running backs in all of college football. It speaks volumes for the job Tailback U. has done recruiting. Nick Chubb had one of the best freshman seasons in school history a year ago, and fellow classmate Sony Michel, who missed much of the 2014 campaign due to injury, is also an elite talent. No one can boast a better one-two punch than these five-star phenoms who were electric as freshmen. Chubb runs with tremendous power and tenacity. Though he is not the top-end burner as Gurley, he has superb speed. Michel has lateral juice, standout speed, and despite not being quite as big as Chubb, he too finishes the run. The only downer for these two were one-yard line fum-bles in the heart-breaking regular season finale that should certainly serve as great motivation for even better things in 2015. Keith Marshall, riddled by injuries the previous two seasons, is back and excited to be back in the mix. He has excellent hands, and if the knee is healthy, breakaway speed. Marshall could be utilized in packages to add another weapon to the outstanding arsenal of backfield talent. With pow-er runner Brendan Douglas, a big, tough, physical back, and now-healthy spring standout A.J. Tur-man, the Bulldogs have the depth and elite talent to form the very best corps in the land. This will be the centerpiece of the offense. The injuries of the last two seasons mean one of two things, you can’t have enough depth at this spot, or Georgia should be in store for a healthy campaign at the position that more than any other, has made the Dogs famous.

Clearing the holes will be crowd-favorite Quayvon Hicks, a strong straight-ahead runner and excellent lead-blocker who also has good hands. First year offensive coordinator Brian Schotten-heimer will certainly be tempted to utilize various formations to get multiple game breakers simulta-neously on the field.

Wide Receiver and Tight End

Malcolm Mitchell’s health is the key to Georgia’s success at wide receiver. He has missed much of the last two years due to knee injuries, but when Mitchell is okay, Georgia has one of the top big play makers and game breakers in the league. His Jacksonville touchdown in 2012 and performance in Knoxville the year prior are prime examples of what he can do. Mitchell is anxious to return to the field and lead this group. Who will line up opposite him is a big question. Before a knee-injury brought his 2013 season to an end, sprinter Justin Scott-Wesley caught game-winning or swinging touchdowns in memo-rable victories over South Carolina and LSU. But he never got healthy last year. This is a position where Georgia did not recruit well for a couple of years, and it shows, especially having to replace Chris Conley, Michael Bennett and Johnathan Rumph. Recruiting elite talent was a top priority in this class, and Terry Godwin and Michael Chigbu in par-ticular will be looked on to have an early impact. And then there is return ace Isaiah McKenzie. Will he make more of an impact on offense? With-out a doubt, he is one of the SEC’s top big play threats. At tight end, the Bulldogs should be amongst the most well-stocked teams in the SEC and possi-bly, the entire country. Sophomore Jeb Blazevich was one of several Bulldogs who starred as one of the league’s elite freshmen. With a healthy Jay Rome, back for his fifth season, the one-two punch should be at the top of the SEC’s heap. Throw in highly touted true freshman Jackson Harris, who enrolled early and took part in spring practice, and Jordan Davis, and tight end and tailback are the positions where the Bulldogs are as good as anyone.

Offensive Line

The impact of new offensive line coach Rob Sale has immediately been felt in recruiting. He re-secured the commitment and signing of Pat Allen and helped land Sam Madden. Already this spring, Sale has spearheaded a crop of offensive line prospects verbal commitments that is regard-ed as one of the best in college football. What a welcome change. For far too many years, the of-fensive line was the position of most concern when it came to depth and talent. In Mark Richt’s tenure, this position has caused more headaches for the Bulldogs than any. This is changing. As for this year, the biggest question mark is replacing stalwart center David Andrews, a Riming-ton Award finalist and All-Southeastern Conference selection. Juniors Greg Pyke and Brandon Kubla-now are back at guard, while seniors Kolton Hous-ton and John Theus return at tackle. There are still big questions for the unit. When Andrews went down against Florida, the Bulldogs offense went into stagnant and reverse. And against Tech, the Bulldogs couldn’t line up and punch it in on gwoal to go for the one yard line in the first and second halves. Can Georgia get that push when the other

guy knows the Bulldogs are going to run? That an-swer will be yes, will it be this year, and specifically will it be ready by October? At center, it could be sophomore Isaiah Wynn or fifth-year senior Hunter Long. Wynn and Dyshon Sims got their feet wet as freshmen a year ago and have promising futures. There figures to be new-comer impact from at least two of Madden, Allen, Devondre Seymour and Sage Hardin. Also, redshirt freshmen Lamont Gaillard, who moved over from defense at the end of spring, Kendall Baker and Jake Edwards will fight for playing time. After years of angst, this is a position that is trending upwards in a big time manner.

Defensive Line

It is the second year for this defensive staff, and the impact and improvement a year ago was no-ticeable improvement. The big question is whether the defense – which could be great in 2016 – can make a similar leap in 2015? Georgia’s biggest problem last year was painfully evident in the three losses. Florida ran for over 400 yards, Tech for 399 and South Carolina ran out the clock. The Bull-dogs made massive improvements, created a lot more turnovers (plus-nine combined in the wins at Missouri and Arkansas), had outstanding success at times going lateral (highlighted by a 34-7 thrashing of Auburn) and were organized. It was nice not having players frantically gesturing to the sideline, running in and out, giving up third or fourth and in the 20-plus yard range and just looking downright disorganized. Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and line coach Tracy Rocker are outstanding, at the top of their field. Rocker, a native of Atlanta, and one of the great defensive linemen in SEC history at Au-burn, is one of the all-time elite Peach State talents that got away for the Bulldogs. As a coach, he and Pruitt helped put together a defensive line class that goes down as one of the best in school history the most highly touted of the 21st century. The problems of last year were addressed. Now that is no guarantee that the Bulldogs of 2015 will be the Purple People Eaters, Fearsome Foursome or Steel Curtain, but it the refreshing category it was certainly nice, despite the significant improvement, that the new look Bulldogs defense staff further addressed areas of concern. Just check out all the Peach State natives that got drafted the last two years and shake your head over how few went to Georgia. Like with the offensive line, things are getting much, much bet-ter. That certainly showed last year with defensive end/outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter, a potential All-American, and this year’s defensive line class, which includes the state’s top prospect Trenton Thompson, who has been compared to Warren Sapp. Chris Mayes, John Atkins, Sterling Bailey, Josh Dawson and James Deloach are veterans return-ing on the defensive line. It is fairly evident that at some point over the next year or two, the Bulldogs strive to go to much more of a base four man front, getting more beef. Mayes and Atkins fit that bill, and the newcomer help is there. Johna-than Ledbetter is a blue chip elite recruit who stood out in the spring game, as did fellow fresh-man early enrollee Natrez Patrick, who moved to inside linebacker. End Michael Barnett missed the spring with an injury, but is another true fresh-man who could help right away. Chauncey Rives, Justin Young and DaQuan Hawkins will all join the fold, along with Thompson, Ledbetter and Bar-nett. Though the true freshmen aren’t necessarily being looked at as starters this season, they will be needed to play a lot of snaps, and could certainly form the nucleus, along with a potentially second straight stellar D-Line class in 2016, and foundation of the kind of defense Georgia fans have been so thirsty and hungry for.

photo by Rob Saye

photo by Rob Saye

The Jimmy and Joes on the field

www.bulldawgillustrated.com • 7

Linebacker Carter, in particular in an incredible performance at Kentucky, showed that he has the potential to be an all-timer. Leonard Floyd, a potential first rounder, and Jordan Jenkins, one of the league’s top returning seniors, combine with Carter to give Georgia an elite trio of “edge” defenders. This is a new term that doesn’t float every boat. Are you a good defensive end or outside linebacker? Can you play the run and the pass? Are you a first, sec-ond and third down player? Are you a cornerstone or satellite player? These three are the primary reason that the hopes are high for Georgia’s defense and it’s a good bet that the defensive staff, including line-backers coaches Kevin Sherrer and Mike Ekeler, will find a way to get these three on the field together as much as possible. The addition of Patrick, UAB transfer Jake Ganus and Junior College product Chuks Amechi should go a long way towards filling the shoes of Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson, veterans who played a lot of snaps ad made a lot of tackles. There are other players in the program who will have a chance to step forward like Reg-gie Carter and Tim Kimbrough. But with the likes of DeAndre Walker and Roquan Smith coming in, there is more punch coming when preseason camp arrives. This Georgia front seven recruiting class was tremendous. And the future is very bright at a spot where teams flat out have to have the juice to com-pete for the SEC title and a shot at the playoff.

Secondary

Pruitt is assembling his type of talent, and sev-eral players who were in the news a lot more for off field transgressions than on field success are gone. Starring for the Bulldogs as a freshman was Dom-inick Sanders, and he leads the returning talent. Pruitt doesn’t like to specify cornerback and safety as much as most coaches. He prefers they all be able to cover and tackle. What a novel concept. Sanders can do it all, and his performance against Louisville in the Belk Bowl has Georgia fans hope-ful that the Bulldogs have another great defensive back. Quincy Mauger has displayed a nose for the football and figures to start as a safety, along with Sanders. The other two spots, the traditional cornerback slots, could go to Malkom Parrish, who came on late last season and junior college trans-

fer and redshirt Shattle Fenteg. Help could come from newcomers. Georgia signed a lot of defensive backs, including five-star safety Rashard Roundtree and Rico McGraw. Tramel Terry, a highly touted recruit who has shifted positions, appears healthy and ready to challenge for significant playing time. Aaron Davis played a lot as a redshirt freshman walk-on last season and is still in the mix. The depth and overall talent level may be a year away from what Pruitt is searching for, but the potential of the front seven certainly lends to great expec-tations for entirety of the defense, and sound and solid secondary play.

Special Teams For all of the improvement of the defense, the kicking game made even greater strides forward. But….. Just like the Bulldogs inability to stop the run with the chips down, as much as the kicking game came around, in the three losses there were still major breakdowns that had everyone in red and black burying their hands in faces with painful cas-es of déjà vu.

Against South Carolina, Marshall Morgan set the SEC record by hitting a 20th consecutive field goal. Then he missed his next two in a three-point loss. In Jacksonville, the Bulldogs were for some reason rushing in a stadium where poor kicking has cost Georgia so much glory, as the first quar-ter came to an end. The kick was ruled no good. Florida then “pantsed” Georgia on a fake field goal for a touchdown. Then against Tech, there was the once again awful misplay of a short kickoff that led to a Tech recovery. There was a field goal that got blocked. There was the decision not to kick deep. And there was the timeout with Tech scrambling on what turned out to be the game-tier. These are the moments that separate 9-3 teams from 11-1/12-0 championship ones. Morgan is back at kicker. He has shown a great leg and improved tremendously since an up and down freshman season. Morgan is striving for a big more consistency, while the Bulldogs are hoping to not be too reliant on them. The point totals of both Billy Bennett and Blair Walsh are both points of pride and a reason the Bulldogs don’t have a national championship or two and another couple of SEC titles. Rodrigo Blankenship is a preferred walk-on, who had a stellar senior year at Sprayberry High, and is the heir apparent. Of his 60 kickoffs, 57 went for touchbacks. Punter is an area where Georgia needs better performance and consistency. In the second half of his freshman year, Collin Barber was outstanding, but has had a lot of ups and downs the last two years. This is his time and the Bulldogs need him to be consistent and good. The Bulldogs will miss Adam Erickson, who was excellent downing punts deep in enemy territory. Georgia should be in good shape at snapper with Nathan Theus and Trent Frix, who follows in the outstanding family line. McKenzie was the biggest difference maker, having the best year on kickoff and punt returns of any Bulldog in the 21st century. The Bulldogs were hopeful that he would have the kind of impact Brandon James had for Florida on the Gators runs to the 2006 and 2008 national titles. He is well on his way. Despite the breakdowns that marred the three losses of 2014, the improvements from the F-minus special teams campaign of 2013, were tremendous. Continued strives forward could be the key to get-

photo by Rob Saye

8 • www.bulldawgillustrated.com 22 • www.bulldawgillustrated.com

It was a big day for the Southeastern Conference with a couple of marquee games. Alabama and Mississippi State are the teams of the week. Oklahoma did a great job avoiding the upset. There aren’t a ton of big games on the docket for this week. The conferences are bigger. There are more games. But there aren’t as many good games as there used to be.

TOP 25J E F F D A N T Z L E R

<AP> FBC SEC LOGOS 081303: Football helmets for the Southeastern Conference; with related stories; ML; ETA 4 p.m. </AP>

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1. Alabama – It was big plays in the passing game that made the difference in Alabama’s win over Florida. Amari Cooper is the top receiver in the coun-try, and combines with one of the best stables of backs in all the land to give Alabama some big time punch.

2. Texas A&M – The Aggies offense continues to be incredibly explosive. Kenny Hill has picked up right where Johnny Football left off. Kevin Sumlin’s stock is sky high and the Aggies are right there in the rugged SEC West.

3. Oklahoma – Bob Stoops has may-be his best team since 2008, when the Sooners fell to Florida in the BCS Cham-pionship Game. It was upset alert in couch burning Morgantown, but Oklaho-ma was too much for the Mountaineers. 4. Auburn – The Tigers edged Kansas State 20-14. It took some guts to sched-ule a Thursday nighter on the road in the little apple. Both teams had some mis-cues, and Auburn was able to hang on. The Tigers host Louisiana Tech and then the gauntlet begins.

5. Oregon – At times this season the Ducks have looked unbeatable. But it took everything they had to hold off Washington State in Pullman. Marcus Mariota is a special quarterback. The Ducks have loads of speed on the pe-rimeter.

6. Florida State – Jameis Winston led the Seminoles to the national champion-ship and won the Heisman Trophy. But what a headache he has been off the field. Led by the country’s best tight end Nick O’Leary, the ‘Noles pulled out a thriller over Clemson, which blew too many red zone opportunities.

7. Mississippi State – Starkville is ab-solutely on fire. The Maroons victory over LSU was a long time coming and means the world to the MSU faithful. Dak Prescott is a special quarterback who gives State a shot every time out.

8. Baylor – The Bears have kept it rolling and have one of the country’s most prolific offenses once again. Are they the best team in the Big XII? It looks like Baylor and Oklahoma right now. Art Briles has done great work in Waco.

9. Ole Miss – this is rare air indeed for both Ole Miss and Mississippi State to have these kinds of years. If Bo Wal-lace can avoid the major turnovers, the Rebels can compete with anyone. That sophomore class has a lot of talent.

10. Brigham Young – The Cougars are off to an impressive undefeated start. Bronco Mendenhall has done great work with this tradition rich program. And they are not the high powered passing attack of Lavell Edwards glory days. These Cougars can play physical football.

11. UCLA – The Bruins had this past Saturday off to get ready for that big Thursday night affair with Arizona State. Brett Hundley has some health questions. The Bruins are a perfect 3-0 but they have won them all eight or less against not exactly the strongest of slates.

12. Arizona State – The Sun Devils are also 3-0 with UCLA coming to town, and they have injury issues of their own at quarterback. The winner of this one gets a big leg up in the race for the PAC-12 South.

13. Notre Dame – Brian Kelly has an-other outstanding team in South Bend. In 2012, the Fighting Irish had an un-defeated regular season and played for the national title. Getting Everett Golston back from a year long suspen-sion has been a huge boost.

14. LSU – The Bayou Bengals were undone at Tiger Stadium by Mississip-pi State, and then came storming back before a hail mary miss. LSU had won 21 of the previous 22 in the series. The Fightin’ Tigers have to grind back to stay in the SEC West race.

15. South Carolina – Steve Spurri-er was worried about a letdown after the win over Georgia with Missouri on deck. South Carolina didn’t look great, falling behind Vanderbilt, but pulled it together to win by two touchdowns. There will be a lot of points this week with the Gamecocks and the Tigers.

16. Michigan State – Ole Sparty has recovered nicely from that loss to Or-egon. Mark Dantonio is an excellent coach and Michigan State is right there amongst the best teams in the Big Ten. They again have a strong defense and running game.

17. Wisconsin – Melvin Gordon, one of the best tailbacks in the country, had an awesome performance against Bowling Green, going for over 200 yards and chalking up five touch-downs. The Badgers are the best team in the Big Ten.

18. Georgia – The Bulldogs did what was expected in a 66-0 rout of Troy. Now Tennessee comes to town for a major showdown. Georgia’s season is on the line. The Volunteers nearly pulled off the upset in each of the last two years. They are gunning for the upset.

19. East Carolina – The Pirates have had two spectacular weeks, upsetting Virginia Tech a week after the Hokies took down Ohio State. Then this past Saturday, they absolutely mauled North Carolina, a sweet win for their alumni.

20. Tech – The Yellow Jackets are 4-0 and have a stellar quarterback in Justin Thomas. He is very fast and a good passer. Tech is one of the best teams in the ACC and that win over Virginia Tech was a huge boost.

21. Florida – The Gators were right there with Alabama for most of the game until the Crimson Tide pulled away. Florida is a factor in the SEC East, a much improved team. Dexter Fowler is a tremendous disrupter up front and Vernon Hargreaves a dynamite corner.

22. Kansas State – The Wildcats missed out on a bunch of opportunities – like missing three field goals and having a dropped TD turn into an interception – while falling to Auburn this past Thurs-day. They are a factor in the Big XII.

23. Utah – The Utes put the final nail in Brady Hoke’s head coaching coffin with a 26-10 pounding of the Wolverines be-fore an emptied Big House. Utah is 3-0 and is favored to make it four straight against Washington State.

24. Arkansas – This might be the most improved team in the country. The Ra-zorbacks blew out Northern Illinois to make it 3-1. The lone loss is the season opener to Auburn. The Hogs have one of the country’s best running attacks.

25. Tennessee – The Volunteers are a much improved team and they have their sights set on Georgia for what would be a huge program win. A.J. Johnson is amongst the very best line-backers in the country.


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<AP> FBC PAC-10 LOGOS 081401: Football helmets for the Pacific-10 conference; with related stories; DH; ETA 8 p.m. </AP>

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<AP> FBC BIG 10 HELMETS LOGOS 081904: Football helmets for the Big 10 conference; with related stories; Staff; ETA 8 p.m. </AP>

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By Murray Poole Bulldawg Illustrated

A rash broke out around the University of Georgia athletic complex this spring.In fact, the buzz, excitement and anticipation that Bulldogs’ new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and his new assistant staff brought to the UGA program has turned into a full-blown epidemic. Putting his defensive charges through an accelerated, rapid-fire pace on the practice field and giving every single player − from the most seasoned senior to the unknown freshman walk-on − the same number of reps and an equal opportunity to win a starting job, Pruitt has indeed invigorated a Georgia defense that struggled mightily at times over the past two seasons. “Coach Pruitt has won a championship (national title last year at Florida State), he’s coached some of the best and that’s the kind of guy you want to play for,” related Georgia senior safety Damian Swann. “And I was very excited to know he was going to be coaching my position. The competition level,” said Swann, “has made it so great for us to get out here and compete and put an impression on these coaches that guys can play. That’s what it’s all about, competing and earning a job.” Swann said the coaching changes on defense has made for an entirely different practice scenario. “The practice schedule is one of the first things we were able to change and do differently,” he said. “There’s just so much energy going on with running back and forth from drill to drill and everybody getting a lot of reps. And that’s what is going to make a lot of guys great, being able to get those reps and not just sitting back and watching the whole practice. Everybody’s doing something,” Swann said. Going at the fast pace from drill to drill also conditions the players better for Game Day, noted Swann. “Absolutely, and I think that’s going to help us in the long run, too,” he declared. We’re going to hit it running and we’re going to get the new guys coming in acclimated to what we’ve got going on and we’re just going to keep it moving.” And this, from two more members of Pruitt’s Bulldog secondary: “Coach Pruitt came in from day one and he meant what he said, that everybody would get their chance, even walk-ons,” said junior cornerback Kennar Johnson, speaking in the week prior to G-Day. “One walk-on (freshman cornerback Aaron Davis) was with the 1’s today so

Coach Pruitt is going to show everybody he’s a man of his word and he’s going to give everybody a shot.” “Coach Pruitt brings a new energy to the field, most definitely,” offered sophomore safety Quincy Mauger. “He talks about rallying up to the ball, there’s no one-man single tackle so he knows the game of football and I’m here to learn.” Mark Richt says the new defensive staff has brought good competition to the Bulldogs’ practices. “It’s always good to have competition, competition for jobs and competition offense vs. defense,” said UGA’s head coach. “It obviously makes each other better. Sometimes you can get into a scheming contest but I don’t see it happening. I see it more of, ‘Let’s hook it up and see who physically wins the day,’ which I think is really healthy for us.” Pruitt, when asked about the buzz he’s brought to the UGA defense, quickly threw all the credit to his new assistant staff. “You look at Coach Rock (Tracy Rocker), you look at Coach (Kevin) Sherrer, you look at Coach Ek (Mike Ekeler) and you watch those guys coach,” Pruitt said. “They’re flying around the field, they’re getting after their guys (and) they’re very demanding so it’s not me, it’s them.” As to the almost daily depth chart changes this past spring, Pruitt said it all hinges on the most recent practice. “We’re trying to give everybody an opportunity,” he said. “The guys that perform the day before are the guys that get to go with the ones the next day. We

have no starters; we have no depth chart, we’re going off of what kind of production you had the day before and this will continue until the freshmen get here. When they get here, they’ll have an opportunity to compete, just like these other guys. And two weeks into fall camp we’ll get them into spots,” Pruitt said. “Maybe there’ll be some guys this spring that kind of take that step, where you say, ‘Hey I know I can count on him.’ But right now we’re a work in progress and won’t have starters until after the last scrimmage of fall camp. The guys who perform the best get the next opportunity. I don’t think the fans of Georgia care who plays – they just want to win.” “Coach Pruitt is a football coach and loves to do what he does,” said new SAM linebacker and Star position coach Sherrer. “He goes out there and he’s passionate about it and I think the players feed off of that because he demands things be done in the right way and certain ways. Sometimes you can interpret that as being a tough coach but it’s actually an enthusiastic, hard-nosed type coach that wants to demand players do it the right way. So again, they feed off of that.” Pruitt said, with spring practice now in the rearview mirror and fall camp looming in August, he knows what he wants the Georgia fan base to see from his defensive unit. “Well, I hope they see us get lined up, I hope they see us play hard every snap and hope we tackle well,” he said. “I hope we play the ball in the deep part of the field. You know, just fundamental things … striking blockers, keeping the ball leveraged.”

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6 • Bulldawg Illustrated

Athens Watkinsville Auburn Lawrenceville

Athens Watkinsville Auburn Lawrenceville

BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED J E F F D A N T Z L E R

A View From ... KnoxvilleBob Kesling is one of the very best play-by-play an-

nouncers in the business. He followed the legendary John Ward and the Volunteers couldn’t have had a better succes-sor. A longtime “FoB.I.,” Bob was kind enough to once again give us his thoughts on Saturday and college football in general.

Talk about the optimism surrounding the program. Butch Jones came in with a plan to rebuild Tennessee

football to a championship level and the fans see that it is working. It is all about recruiting and Butch is restocking the roster with bigger, faster and better players. He has made a connection with the fans and the former players in a very positive way.

What would a win at Georgia mean for the program? It would be the next big step beating a ranked program

on the road.

How big was the win over South Carolina for Butch Jones a year ago?

It was very important. Beating a ranked team at home reinforced the belief that Butch Jones’ plan for Tennessee football was working.

What does Tennessee need to do to win? Protect the quarterback much better than it did against

Oklahoma and avoid turnovers, which were very costly against the Sooners. The constant against Georgia is to slow down its running game. Tennessee’s linebackers have been the strength of the defense so far and will be important in containing the Georgia tailbacks.

What is your take on Georgia?Great running game and very potent offense. Defense

has given up a lot of yards in the passing game. Tennessee will try and take advantage of the Bulldog secondary.

What are some past Georgia/Tennessee games that stand out to you?

Last year’s game was very exciting. It didn’t turn out in Tennessee’s favor, but could have with a bounce one way or

the other as Georgia held on to win 34-31 in overtime. The 2006 game in Athens was a shootout. Tennessee won 51-33, scoring 27 points in the 4th quarter. Arian Foster had a big day, scoring 3 touchdowns. It seems these games have been high scoring affairs in recent years and that will probably be the case on Saturday.

Who is your pick to play in the SEC Championship Game?

Too many trees in the forest right now to make that pick. There are about eight teams right now that have a legitimate chance.

Who are your four playoff teams? The SEC champion for sure. Oregon looks very good

to me right now. I was impressed with Oklahoma when we went to Norman last week and Michigan State. If the Spartans can run the table in the Big 10, I don’t think the committee will hold the loss at Oregon against them. Of course the way I pick’em, from that group only the SEC champ will get there.

<AP> FBC CUSA HELMETS LOGOS 081904: Football helmets for the Conference USA; with related stories; Staff; ETA 8 p.m. </AP>

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Ramsey, Bauta lead QB race, but2015 starter still to be determined


By Murray PooleBulldawg Illustrated

Who will be the University of Georgia’s starting quarterback when the Bulldogs tee it up on Sept. 5 for the 2015 season opener against Louisiana-Monroe?

That was the question that raged throughout Geor-gia’s spring practice this year and it’s one that apparently will rage on right up through fall camp and the first game against the Warhawks.

But one thing seems certain in this fight for the starting signal-caller job to succeed outgoing senior QB Hutson Mason ... it’s going to be a two-way battle between redshirt sophomore Brice Ramsey and junior Faton Bauta. After guiding the scout team last season, redshirt freshman Jacob Park still has a ways to go on the learning curb and is presently entrenched in the No. 3 spot entering the summer workouts.

But Georgia head coach Mark Richt has clearly emphasized, both after the conclusion of spring drills and also on his UGA Days tour around the state, that all three players are still in the running for the No. 1 assignment in 2015.

“Nobody in my opinion has nailed it down,” said Richt, speaking at the first UGA Days stop in Savannah. “All three guys have a legitimate chance to be the starter. It will depend on what they do between now and fall camp and then on what they do in the camp. But they all have the talent base to get the job done. And there will be a lot of things happening that will help our quarterback do his job,” said Richt, alluding to Nick Chubb’s explosive running and Georgia’s experienced offensive line.

And that’s the thing about this starting quarterback battle. With Heisman Trophy candidate Chubb in the backfield and a bevy of other talented tailbacks running behind an offensive front that returns four starters from last season’s 10-3 team, the Georgia coaches simply want their new quarterback to be sound fundamentally and not turn the football over while directing what should be one of the strongest ground attacks in the Southeastern Conference. Couple that fact with what is expected to be a tenacious defense under second-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and there wouldn’t seem to be a need for the Bull-dogs’ QB to throw for 300 yards a game.

Still, if you listened to Richt closely in his post-game remarks following the April 11 G-Day game, you got the feeling that it could be the guy with the strongest arm, Brice Ramsey, who will be taking the first snap against Louisiana-Monroe. Ramsey, the 6-3, 216-pound Camden County product, stretched the field with a 72-yard touch-down completion to Isaiah McKenzie and also a 60-yard strike to Reggie Davis.

“I thought (Ramsey) made some nice plays,” said Richt. “I think he overall in the spring, I can probably talk in more generalities, but he’s done a very good job of studying, getting us in the right protection, getting us in the right hot and side adjustment situations. He’s been really pretty accurate throughout these spring practice situations, to be honest with you.”

And when the final wrap was put on spring practice,

Richt said it was imperative that the eventual starting quarterback have the arm to throw the ball downfield.

“It’s very important,” he said. “We’ve got guys who can run, really. Malcolm (Mitchell) is fast. Reg-gie (Davis) is fast. Isaiah (McKenzie) is fast. Justin Scott-Wesley can really run. We’ll see how these other kids run who come in. We’ve got guys who have enough speed. All three (quarter-backs) have the arm to throw it deep. There’s no doubt in my mind on that. I think we miss too many balls by throwing it too far, actually — just all spring long. You

didn’t have to tell (Aaron) Murray to back-shoulder a guy.

Murray was going to keep it in play and put it where we could get w. Very few times did Murray lay it out and have them go get it,” Richt said. “It would have to be very evident that our guy got ahead and really stacked the guy for him to lay it out. If it was two guys side-by-side, he was going to rip it on the backside of that guy and complete it. He completed a bunch of balls because he kept them in play. We’ve got young guys who want to throw that perfect, long bomb but when you throw it too flat and too far, you’ll never complete a ball that’s thrown too far. You’ve got to throw the ball, usually, a little shorter but outside. You’ll com-plete more balls that are short and outside than balls that are too far down the field.”

In the Bulldogs’ two spring scrimmages plus G-Day, Ramsey totaled 38 completions on 69 attempts for 625 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. Bauta, the 6-3, 218-pound junior from West Palm Beach, Fla. and likely the best runner of the three candidates, had a total of 50 completions on 83 attempts, for 578 yards

and five touchdowns, with also two picks. And Park, the 6-4, 202-pound product of Goose Creek, S.C. who would seem to be the Bulldogs’ best dual-threat option, showed 16 completions on 30 attempts for 315 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.

Richt also liked the way Bauta − said to be by far the hardest worker on the team − and Park handled themselves on G-Day and throughout the spring.

“Faton has also been a guy who has worked extremely hard to get a comfort level with what Coach Schotty (new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer) is trying to teach them and I think he got better and better as the spring went along,” said Richt. “I think Jacob ran more reps with the two and three units but you can see his arm talent, you can see his ability and I think this summer is going to be crucial and important for him, all of them re-

ally. But the more he gets comfortable with the system, the better he will compete. I think it’s still a race, I

don’t think there’s any question it’s going through summer and fall before we get ready to make a

decision regarding who that guy is.”In their only spring meeting with the

media, each of the three quarterbacks simply said they’re learning every day in Schotten-heimer’s new system, working as diligently as they can in improving on their playbook knowledge and passing technique, and that the eventual pecking order lies in the coaches’

hands.“We’re all starting from zero,” said Bauta.

“It’s not like one of us knows the playbook more than the other.”

“I have playing experience,” said Ramsey, who threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns while back-

ing up Mason last fall, “but that means nothing now. I’m back to square one. I had just felt comfortable, right when

(Mike) Bobo left, with the playbook. I was like, `Yes, I got it,’ and sure enough (now) I’m into a new system. … It just produces new challenges.”

“I created a lot of bad habits last year,” Park offered. “I’d just chuck-and-duck. I didn’t have good protection last year on scout team, I didn’t really trust my protections, so I tended to scramble out of the pocket a lot. I knew I was redshirting last year,” he said. “Now, I’ve actually got to sit and make reads, sit in the pocket, pick up the blitzes, not run

around and chuck the ball all the time, make good de-cisions and throw completions. Now I’m playing actual

fundamental football and not backyard football.”Whether it’s Ramsey, Bauta, or even Park, who is

eventually named Georgia’s starting field general, their teammates say anyone of the three is capable of guiding the Bulldogs to lofty heights this coming season.

“They’re all great quarterbacks,” said sophomore cor-nerback Malkom Parrish. “They deliver the ball on time and know what they’re doing so the competition is there between the quarterbacks and the team is working hard and they’re working hard. Whatever the coaches decide who’s going to play this year, that’s on the coaches … I don’t know anything about that.”

“All the quarterbacks are great to me,” declared junior free safety Quincy Mauger. “ Jacob Park has a great arm and is a great kid and student. Faton is a hard worker and he knows the game. Brice is the same. All are great students of the game and they’re all hard workers.”

“The (fall camp) scrimmages will be big,” Richt concluded. “We’ll have two scrimmages. We usually have three prior to the first game but that third scrimmage is usually like a practice game. I’m hoping by then we’ll at least say who’s starting the first game. We’ll just have to see.”

photos by Rob Saye

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1 Kabbage, Inc. Atlanta, GA2 Onward Reserve Atlanta, GA3 Kevin Aycock Homes Atlanta, GA4 The Ansley Group Atlanta, GA5 Agora Athens, GA6 Palmer & Cay, LLC Atlanta, GA7 EvoShield Athens, GA8 One Love Organics, Inc. St. Simons Island, GA9 Social Empowerment Center Lawrenceville, GA10 Networked Insights Chicago, IL11 TurnKey IT Solutions, LLC Marietta, GA12 The Spotted Trotter, LLC Atlanta, GA13 Vino Venue/Atlanta Wine School Dunwoody, GA14 DWG Alpharetta, GA15 RazorInsights Kennesaw, GA16 Smyrna Truck & Cargo Smyrna, GA17 Adaptive Medical Partners Irving, TX18 Mather Economics Sandy Springs, GA19 Police & Sheriff’s Press, Inc. Vidalia, GA20 Professional Technology Integration, Inc. Norcross, GA21 Two Maids & A Mop Mountain Brook, AL22 6 Degrees Group Alpharetta, GA23 PharmD on Demand, Inc. Athens, GA24 Mullins Management and Entertainment Augusta, GA25 Inspect-All Services Conyers, GA26 CollegeTown Properties Athens, GA27 Early Trucking Company Arlington, GA28 Suggs Johnson, LLC Anderson, SC29 Expert Technical Solutions Atlanta, GA30 Robert Bowden, Inc. Marietta, GA31 Zone Home Solutions Buford, GA32 Starnes Publishing Mountain Brook, AL33 FirstAtlantic Bank Jacksonville, FL34 J&M Pool Services LLC Newnan, GA35 Scott Circle Washington, DC36 Needle Solutions Johns Creek, GA37 Catapult Creative Media Inc. Baton Rouge, LA38 One on One Matchmaking Atlanta, GA39 Greenbrier Family Dental Evans, GA40 Ironwood Insurance Services, LLC Atlanta, GA41 Universal Servo Group, LLC Dawsonville, GA42 Meridian Management Group Atlanta, GA43 SOAR Performance Group Atlanta, GA44 Terrapin Beer Company Athens, GA45 Stratus Property Group, LLC Atlanta, GA46 Association Management, LLC St. Simons Island, GA47 Full Media Gainesville, GA48 Sally Williamson and Associates, Inc. Atlanta, GA49 Imery Group Athens, GA50 Bitstream Consulting LLC Atlanta, GA

Michael and Stephanie Azzolin and Carmen and Andy Barrs

Bill and Melonie Thomas and Walter Lee (III) and Bernina Jones

Nick Schkabla and Kevin Aycock Marco and Marc Gorlin Ron and Rachel Holt

Tim Keadle and Alva and Jim Youngner Teddy, Russell and Airee Edwards Steve Jones and Anne Sweaney

Wade Woodall, Courtney Lawrence, Christian Taylor, Mallory Woodall, Chase Lawrence, Mignon Richard, Anna Carr, Jonathan Rogers, Jill Swope, Mike Swope.


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51 Jackrabbit Technologies Huntersville, NC52 Asa Carlton, Inc. Buford, GA53 O’Kelley & Sorohan, Attorneys at Law, LLC Duluth, GA54 Towersource, Inc. Roswell, GA55 Head Over Heels Boutique Macon, GA56 DPM Fragrance Starkville, MS57 Infinity Network Solutions, Inc. Macon, GA58 Bayou City Smiles Houston, TX59 Your Pie Franchising Athens, GA60 Southern Tradition Tailgating, LLC Starkville, MS61 Forsyth Exterminating Cumming, GA62 TracePoint Consulting Atlanta, GA63 Ultra Car Wash Atlanta, GA64 Williams Teusink, LLC Decatur, GA65 Dancefx, Inc. Athens, GA66 Cay Insurance Services, Inc.ocation: Savannah, GA67 SEA Atlanta Johns Creek, GA68 Louie’s Cafe Cartersville, GA69 Expert Computers, Inc. Griffin, GA70 BridalLive Marietta, GA171 Vert Atlanta, GA72 Bone & Joint Institute of South Georgia Jesup, GA73 Liberty Technology Griffin, GA74 White Oak Pastures Bluffton, GA75 Forisk Consulting Athens, GA76 Innovative Therapy Concepts, LLC Hawkinsville, GA77 Professional Benefits Consultants Woodstock, GA78 Breda Pest Management Loganville, GA79 Sovereign Systems Norcross, GA80 Mom Corps Atlanta, GA81 Estes Landscape Design, Inc. Sharpsburg, GA82 Sullivan & Schlieman Wealth Management, LLC Alpharetta, GA83 The HardCore Gym/Athens Fitness & MMA Athens, GA84 Pawtropolis, Inc. Bogart, GA85 Riverbend Environmental Inc. Watkinsville, GA86 EOC1 Bainbridge, GA87 SDA CPA Group, P.C. Dunwoody, GA88 Seacrest Partners Savannah, GA89 Capital Investment Advisors Atlanta, GA90 Wela Strategies Atlanta, GA91 Professional Land & Timber Services Brunswick, GA92 Prince Automotive Group Tifton, GA93 Jeffrey Martin, CPA, LLC St. Simons Island, GA94 Nuçi’s Space Athens, GA95 Insight Strategic Communications Roswell, GA96 jobTopia, LLC Roswell, GA97 SERVPRO of Henry and Spalding Counties McDonough, GA998 Boyce Design and Contracting Atlanta, GA99 Howell Orthodontics Jefferson, GA100 Fehrman Investment Group Augusta, GA

Lynn and Jeff MartinLeatha and Chris Camp, Brannon and Rachel Floyd, Kina and ScottHester and Sherr and Ben Harrison

Brad and Jennifer Vickers Allen French and Drew FrenchKevin Steele, Kitty Keadle and Teman Worku

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MeetOffensive TackleKolton HoustonHometown: BufordMajor: Graduate Financial PlanningParents: Tiffany and Shane HoustonSiblings: Kollin and Konnor

Who has been your big influence while being a player at Georgia and why?Ron Courson, he treated me like I was his own son and through my many struggles, he kept fighting and encouraging not me to lose hope.

Do you have a game that sticks out in your mind as being one of your very best? What made it special?LSU at home in 2013. It was my first season to play and it was one of those high energy games. As a kid, I dreamed of playing between the hedges and it was a surreal moment when we had a curtain call after the game.

Who is your greatest role model and why?Sir Thomas Carlyle is my greatest role model. His teachings and philosophies are non ending to the human race.

Do you have a funny story about a fellow offen-sive lineman you would like to share?Last May, a couple of us went to the water park at lake Lanier. We clearly did not read that the rides had a weight limit and through out the day we were flying out of the rides because we were too fat.

Your go to meal in Athens, why? Taqueria Del Sol, hands down the best tacos this side of the Mississippi.

Your favorite band or song to listen to before games?I’m not a big “pump up” guy before the game. I listen to soft or indie rock. Explosions In The Sky is probably my favorite to listen to.

What have you found to be the best way to stay grounded with all the hoopla that surrounds being a Division One football player? You can’t pay attention to the “noise.” I focus on the things we can control and the rest will take care of itself.

Besides being an NFL player, what is your dream job and why?I would be a pilot. I started taking flying lessons when I was 15 but I quit the process when I was over half way because of football. My dream was to go to school at Annapolis and fly a fighter jet then fly for delta just like my grandfather.

The Big Uglies look to be uglier in ’15By Murray PooleBulldawg Illustrated

In Mike Bobo’s final season as Georgia’s offensive coordinator and Will Friend’s final season as offensive line coach, the Bulldogs’ attack put up huge numbers with the 2014 offense in fact establishing several new school records.

Georgia tallied 537 points and averaged 41.3 points per game (8th nationally), both program records. And run the football well, the Bulldogs did that with both Todd Gurley and then sensational freshman Nick Chubb en-abling Georgia to rush for 257.8 yards a game. That mark led the SEC and ranked the Bulldogs 11th nationally in the rushing department and was the highest average since the 1987 team romped for 274.5 yards per game on the ground. Also, the Bulldogs set a school record pace by averaging 6.04 yards per rush.

Now, the big question on the Bulldawg Nation’s mind is, this: With four of five starters returning from that 2014 O-line that made all these offensive fireworks possible, can Georgia’s “Big Uglies” repeat their brilliant perfor-mance of last season while under the guidance of new offensive coordina-tor Brian Schotten-heimer and new offen-sive line coach Rob Sale?

Indeed, can those four returning stalwarts ... senior tackles John Theus and Kolton Houston and junior guards Greg Pyke and Brandon Kublanow ... pave the way for tailbacks Chubb (1,547 yards rushing, 16 total touchdowns), Sony Michel (6.4 yards per carry), Keith Marshall, Brendan Douglas and A.J. Turman to inflict punishment on SEC defenses once again and, at the same time, provide ample pass protection for whoever becomes the Bulldogs’ new starting quarterback?

Of course, if you know all about the four regulars up front returning for the Bulldogs, you also know all about the one name missing from last year’s offensive line. And that’s a big one, graduating senior center David Andrews, who was the bell cow of this Georgia line as a three-year starter, simply a tremendous leader who got the Bulldog offense into the right sets with recognition of opposing defensive alignments.

So even with the four experienced starters back, that still brings up the question of whether the Bulldogs can find an adequate replacement for the steady Andrews from the likes of three guys who have tossed their hats into the ring for the starting job ... sophomore Isaiah Wynn, senior Hunter Long and the aforementioned Kublanow, who was given a number of reps at center in the final days of spring drills.

According to both Georgia offensive and defensive players, the 2015 Bulldogs’ O-line won’t miss a beat this coming football season. They also say new O-line coach Sale brings the same intensity and sound coaching technique that Will Friend demonstrat-ed with the Georgia linemen the past four seasons.

“I think all the guys are doing well,” said 6-6, 313-pound left tackle Theus, a solid All-SEC candidate this season. “The thing about our offensive

line, we’ve got a lot of fighters on it so everybody makes adjustments at their position and gives it all they have, and that’s what makes us good.

“Coach Sale is tough on the field,” said Theus. “He’s not afraid to yell at you but that’s what we need and I think that’s what every good offensive line needs, hard coaching. But he definitely loves us off the field. He told us he would do that and he’s been good about that as well. He’s a good teacher and a good coach and I think he gets the best out of us. There’s not too much difference between Coach Friend and Coach Sale. They’re both hard on the field and love you off the field. They might coach some different techniques and stuff like that but they both do a good job and they’re both good coaches.”

Theus said with An-drews no longer on the field, he knows it’s impera-tive for him-self and

fellow senior Houston to step up in the leadership role.

“We knew coming in we were returning four starters but me and Kolton are kind of the older guys and have the most experience,” Theus said. “And we knew we were going to have to come in and fill the gap that Boss (Andrews) left. So we knew we had that responsibility coming in and we’ve taken that role.”

“Our O-line is coming along very well,” offered senior center Long, who backed Andrews last season. “All we’ve known is Coach Friend for four years, at least me, and Coach Sale came in and we loved him right from the start. He’s been a great coach, great guy, great person to talk to off the field. I mean, losing David was a big loss but I think we’ll be fine. Somebody will step up and we’ll just keep moving. With Coach Sale, there’s a few minor things that have changed but as far as attitude, effort and all that stuff, every-thing is the same. We’re just trying to bring the same toughness we had last year.”

Senior linebacker Jake Ganus, the transfer from UAB, quickly learned about the talent of the Bulldogs’ offensive front ... from the moment he arrived in Athens.

“They’re outstanding,” Ganus said. “It’s the best O-front I’ve played against, which is good because it makes me better. Going against guys like that every play it does nothing but make you better. They’re all good … 1’s, 2’s and 3’s, everybody. The whole offen-

sive line, they do a great job. They’re physical, they’re fast and athletic and they get their hands on you; I just think they do a great job.”

Wynn, the sophomore from St. Petersburg, ran with the No. 1 unit for much of the spring drills but Sale said the battle for the starting center spot will be an ongoing competition throughout preseason camp.

“My philosophy is that every-one’s job is open in the spring and I tell those guys from day one and that’s only fair,” he said. “In fall camp, I’m going to say the same thing … hey, all the jobs are open because it’s their job for them to work it in the summer, putting in all the lifting, and then in fall camp doing the same thing. The jobs are open, then after the third or fourth week you kind of identify that, hey, these are the guys that can play. These are the guys I’m going to put in

this spot here and that type thing.“The center job is close,”

Sale pointed out. “Guys are doing a good job and at the

same time you’re trying to create an edge to where they don’t feel compla-cent. I would just go with one guy one day and then might go half-line and flip it. Isaiah might go to guard, Brandon might go to

center and vice-versa. Hunter might go to center

with the 1’s and Isaiah the same type deal. For depth, we

have several guys. Hunter is one, he can play the inside ‘3’ which

is good. He knows what to do.” The coach said the fact

that Kublanow is left-handed hasn’t impeded his develop-ment at the position.

“Well, the ball hits the quarterback in the hand at a different spot,” said Sale.

“Gun snaps really doesn’t affect them but I haven’t seen it to be

a problem yet but at the same time, he hasn’t gotten live bullets in

scrimmage and team run situations, 11-on-11 situations, so we’ll see.”

“We don’t know who the center is going to be,” head coach Mark Richt remarked after the completion of the spring game and the subsequent final two days of practice. “Kublanow is capable, Isaiah Wynn is capable and Hunter Long is capable right now. Are they game-ready right this second? Probably not. Hunter is probably the most able to handle all the calls and everything going on and snap the ball consistently right this second. But there’s a lot of time between now and then for everybody to get better at the skills that they need to get better at and study the spring cutups and make sure they can make all the right calls and all that kind of stuff. Those guys will work all summer long.”

Late in the spring sessions, Sale was pleased with the entire line’s progress.

“I would say our run blocking might be a little ahead right now but we’re coming along in play-action as well,” he said. “Protection is coming along fine. You’re going to give up some pressures here and there and everybody’s going to get beat, especially in situational practice, but they’re doing a good job. I’m pleased with our progress thus far. I’d say the 1’s are do-ing better than the 2’s; the 2’s need to keep coming along – they’re the 2’s for a reason – but they are getting better. I think the four returning starters are right on par with where they need to be.”

And that final statement by Sale could mean the Bulldogs could be headed for another record-smashing year on offense in the autumn of 2015.

photos by Rob Saye

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When then St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer accepted the same position at the University of Georgia on Jan. 7 of this year he said he expected “an easy fit” in Georgia’s pro-style offense.

Going further, Schottenheimer said rather than bring all sorts of NFL terminology to the Bulldogs’ offense and have the players learn a completely new system, he would keep the same terminology used by former coordinator Mike Bobo, who was named as Colorado State’s head coach on Dec. 22.

“We’re not going to reinvent the wheel,” said Schottenheimer at the time. “That’s going to allow these guys to play fast. There certainly will be some things that will have my fingerprint on it.”

All that said, if you listened to Georgia’s offensive players during this year’s 15 days of spring practice, their new coordinator’s terminology was a good bit different than what Mike Bobo brought to the table.

“I think we’re doing a good job with the new offense terminology,” said sophomore tight end Jeb Blazevich. “I told my friends who don’t play football it’s like having two other classes that you have to study for every night. Every night we’re all studying, all talking to each other, we’re all getting what we need to get done in terms of studying and I think it’s all starting to show through on the field a lot better.”

Senior wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell said not only is Schottenheimer’s coaching methods different than Bobo’s but the offensive players are having to learn a lot faster as well.

“Coach Bobo has been a college coach for so long and Coach Schotty is just getting back into that flow,” Mitchell said after the G-Day game on April 11. “So when he’s (Schottenheimer’s) teaching, he’s rolling through. It’s not taking five minutes to teach one play. It’s like 10 seconds and you better know it by tomorrow. He’s just brought that in. Every time we install, it’s quick. We might have a 30-play install that might last five minutes. His coaching is different but they’re two different people.”

But, like Blazevich, Mitchell thinks the results of Schottenheimer’s coaching are already showing on the field, making the Bulldogs’ offense not only better as a unit but as individual players as well.

“We love it,” he said. “Everyone in the room wants to go to the NFL. That’s where he came from. So if he’s doing that, he’s just showing us how to be at the next level.”

Mitchell pointed out the primary challenge for the Georgia offense now is to get on the same page going forward into summer workouts and then preseason camp in August.

“We need a lot more chemistry,” Mitchell said. “That’s not bashing the chemistry we have now because we do have flow. We saw a little bit of that (in G-Day) but we have a long way to go. Everybody needs to be on the same page. That will be straightened out once we get the quarterback position solidified.”

Blazevich sees Schottenheimer’s new-look offense clicking in high gear by the time the Bulldogs line up for the season opener Sept. 5 against Louisiana-Monroe.

“We keep installing new stuff and shoot, I can’t wait for fall camp,” he said. “We’ll have everything in and first game, we’re going to be able to show a lot. It’s just a different mindset on what we do against blitzes and

everything and just kind of different ways of going about some of these things. I just love what he’s doing, I love this new offense.”

Another new face on the UGA offensive staff this season is running backs coach Thomas Brown, the former standout Bulldogs tailback who succeeded Bryan McClendon tutoring the Georgia backs when McClendon assumed the wide receiver coaching duties .... the position he played for the Bulldogs. Under Schottenheimer Brown envisions an extremely balanced attack, not simply a power-running football team like the system Brown coached in at Wisconsin last season. At the same time, Brown knows running the football well has always been Georgia’s bread-and-butter.

“It’s somewhat of a different offense (than Wisconsin’s),” said Brown. “We can be a lot more balanced here, we’ll have more skilled players on the outside but we’ll definitely continue to attack and run the football well. Obviously, it starts up front and the offensive line is doing a great job. Coach (Rob) Sale does a great job with those guys and gets them to compete and work hard every day, and it’s my job to get these guys to clean up on the back end and make sure we maximize every run we have. I think our backs are very talented and they work extremely hard every single day.”

Georgia fans are wondering if the Bulldogs’ offense under Schottenheimer’s guidance will produce more passes to the tight ends this coming season.

Blazevich, the 6-5, 232-pound sophomore from Charlotte who, after moving into the starting role at tight end as a mere freshman and earning Freshman All-SEC and UGA Newcomer of the Year honors, definitely thinks that will become a reality this autumn.

“I think so,” he said. “I think just because we’re all healthy, we’re all back, we’re all learning a lot more and we’re able to open it up a lot more, just expand what we can do. I think we’re getting the opportunity to move around a lot more. I felt like we could have done it last year but with the people we had and the inexperience by me we weren’t able to do these things but now everybody’s healthy and we’re able to open it up more,” said Blazevich.

“The system that Coach Schottenheimer brought here to Georgia is really tight-end friendly,” said senior Jay Rome, who bounced back from past injuries in the spring drills and is expected to push Blazevich for the starting nod this season. “If we keep getting opportunities we’re going to keep making plays.”

And although the Bulldogs were admittedly thin at the wide receiver spots this spring, Schottenheimer showed he intends to

stretch the field with deep throws in the 2015 season. That was evident in the G-Day game when sophomore quarterback Brice Ramsey uncorked a 72-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah McKenzie and also a 60-yard bomb to Reggie Davis. And with 5-star recruit Terry Godwin as well as outstanding receivers Jayson Stanley and Michael Chigbu reporting to campus this month to join incumbents Mitchell, McKenzie, Davis, Shakenneth Williams, Kenneth Towns, Justin Scott-Wesley, Charlie Hegedus and Clay Johnson, Georgia’s new starting quarterback − whomever it may be − should be blessed with plenty of downfield weapons.

“Overall, as a receivers group, I think we’re coming together,” said junior split end Towns. “We’re adapting to the way Coach B-Mac wants and we’re just jelling together. Malcolm, he’s good. He’s out there running with no limitations, playing like he was when he first got here.

“Everybody has their own ways but Coach McClendon brings the intensity he brought to the running backs,” added Towns. “Just like he helped Todd (Gurley) become the person he is, he brings that same intensity and is pushing us each and every play and making sure we don’t slack.”

Of course, if Schottenheimer’s offense is to click like Bobo’s Georgia attack did the last few seasons, it will all come down to the new coordinator selecting the right guy to run things ... whether it be Ramsey, junior Faton Bauta or redshirt freshman Jacob Park.

“I think we truly have three guys that are capable of doing it,” said Schottenheimer, who like Bobo coaches the quarterbacks. “We’re rotating the reps with the ones, giving them all a shot to work in there with the first group. What we’re looking for as a staff is, there are going to be good days, bad days, but we’ll come to a point with, ‘Who’s being the most consistent?’”

Another contrast between Schottenheimer and Bobo is while the ex-coordinator called the plays from up in his press box booth, Coach “Schotty” will likely do so from the sidelines, like he did in his NFL days.

“We haven’t really talked about it yet, but I believe he will be on the sideline,” head coach Mark Richt said. “But that’s not 100 percent.”

TheSchotty

Era BeginsNew offensive

coordinatorbrings big-timeNFL credentials,which are wellreceived by

current players and on the

recruiting trail


photo by Rob Saye

photo by Rob Saye



Five with Mark Richt

By Murray PooleBulldawg Illustrated

Here are five questions Bulldawg Illustrated put to head coach Mark Richt during this year’s spring prac-tice:

1. Some have noticed, you seem at ease this spring (your 15th). What would you attribute that to and how would you assess how the players and coaches (many whom are new) are gelling with each other?“I wouldn’t say I’m at ease, at all. I think we have excellent coaches and I think our players are trying very hard to take the coaching. I’m pretty pleased with everybody’s effort; there’s a lot to learn and you know when you try to get three units working it’s a lot of guys getting reps. So it’s not always going to be perfect.”

2. As we all know, close football games come down to a few critical plays, calls and decisions usually at the end of each half ... is there anything you and your staff are working on or implementing to excel in those moments in 2015?“There’s always calls that need to be made through-out the game. They just seem more critical when it is at the end of a ballgame. We’re always looking at those situations and having answers to those situations.”

3. What’s most important to you and Coach Schot-tenheimer in determining the starting quarterback for the 2015 season? And can y’all envision a situa-tion where multiple QBs will play this season?“It’s hard to say if we’ll play multiple QB’s or not but right now everybody is getting a feel for Coach Schottenheimer and him for them. And we’re just looking for guys that make good decisions and accurate throws and to be able to handle the pressure of that job. So we’re putting them under as many situations as possible to help find out what exactly everybody can do. Will it be settled by the end of the spring? I’d say very doubtful.” (Of course, doubtful was the key word as Richt says entering the summer workouts and fall camp, the starting QB spot is still up for grabs between Brice Ramsey, Faton Bauta and Jacob Park)

4. The UGA administration backed the football program in a big way in the last six months (salary increase, additional positions, indoor facility). What did that mean to you personally and the program as a whole? And does that backing add any pressure?“Well, we feel like everything’s moving in a real positive direction and we’re always having expectations of playing winning football. So that’s going to be our goal.”

5. You and Coach Pruitt are now going into your second year with each other. What would you say is his most important contribution to the staff and team? And what are you expecting the most out of your defense in the upcoming season?“I’d just say our defense is more familiar obviously this year than it was a year ago. We did lose some really good players. I would imagine there will be a lot of young players in our two deep but the goal is going to be to continue to play hard and create turnovers and give opportunities for the offense. Coach Pruitt has done a very good job, no doubt.”

Bonus question: How would you describe Nick Chubb as a football player, but more importantly a man?“Well, he’s fun to watch, I can tell you that. He’s just got a tremendous work ethic and he’s a very unselfish guy. He cares about his team and his teammates. He just works and his actions speak more than his words. He’s a man of very few words.”

Tailback U alive and well in AthensBy Murray PooleBulldawg Illustrated

With his 1,547 yards rushing and 16 total touchdowns in the 2014 season, Nick Chubb became the most prolific freshman tailback at Georgia since the legendary Herschel Walker was running the Bulldogs to a national champion-ship in the fall of 1980.

En route to All-SEC First Team, SEC Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-America honors, the 5-10, 228-pound Chubb as-sumed the starting tailback position when Todd Gurley was slapped with a four-game suspension and proceeded to take the SEC by storm. As a starter, the Cedartown native had eight straight games with at least 100 yards rushing, the first Georgia player to do that since Walker in 1982.

Chubb, who also had 18 recep-tions for 213 yards and two scores, averaged 7.1 yards per carry, which ranked first among the SEC’s top 10 rushers. In the Bulldogs’ 37-14 Belk Bowl pelting of Louisville, Chubb took his game to still another level ... romping for a career-high and SEC bowl record of 266 rushing yards on 33 carries.

It was the second-highest sin-gle-game rushing total in Georgia history, behind only Walker’s 283 yards in his 1980 freshman season against Vanderbilt.

It’s safe to say with Nick Chubb returning for his sophomore campaign in Athens as a bonafide All-America and Heisman Trophy candidate, that Tailback U is indeed alive and well at the University of Georgia.

In this year’s spring practice, Chubb saw very limited action in the first two scrimmages and then, in the April 11 G-Day game, he carried the ball only three times for 34 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown run, and also caught three passes for 23 yards.

One of the top priorities for Brian Schottenheimer’s new-look Georgia offense in the spring was to come up with ample depth behind Chubb at the running back spot. However, with talented rising sophomore Sony Michel and junior Keith Marshall missing most of the heavy contact work due to injuries, it remained for junior Brendan Douglas and redshirt sophomore A.J. Turman to carry the tailback load.

As expected, Douglas contin-ued his powerful, tackle-breaking ball carrying but what wasn’t expected was the way Turman, the 6-0, 215-pound product of Orlan-do, Fla. who was saddled by injury his first two years at UGA, made his presence felt on the depth chart.

Running for 106 yards includ-ing a 52-yard touchdown gallop in the G-Day game, Turman rushed a combined 63 times for 333 yards and five touchdowns over the Bulldogs’ three spring scrimmag-es. Whether he would be able to climb any higher on Coach Thomas Brown’s tailback depth chart once Michel and Marshall return healthy for fall camp remains to be seen but, at the very least, Turman has

shown the coaching staff he can get the job done if called upon this coming season.

“A.J. is a very physical runner,” said Chubb. “He gets downhill and is a perfect fit for what we do at Georgia. I think we’re all doing a good job just running the ball. We’re all − A.J., me and Brendan and now we’ve got Quayvon Hicks in there running − all are doing a great job and running hard.”

“A.J. is a tough running back,” offered senior nose tackle Chris Mayes. “He’s overcome injuries and he’s just been dying to get on the field so he’s just waiting for his mo-ment to shine and trying to make the most of his opportunities.”

And this, from Georgia senior defensive end

Sterling Bailey: “A.J’s com-ing off that foot injury,

but

this spring he’s really playing hard and running the ball hard. It kind of looks like he hasn’t been injured. He’s really toting the ball well.”

Turman said he’s just elated that he was able to get back onto the playing field this spring and make contributions to the Bulldogs’ offense.

“It feels like forever since I’ve played in a game and I just can’t wait to play in a game this year,” he said. “It does feel good to be back out there with the guys again, I love it. I feel like I am 100 percent again. With Keith and Sony out, I get more reps and it gives me more of a chance to play. But I hope they bounce back fast, I know they will.

“I learned a lot playing behind Nick and the others,” Turman con-tinued. “Playing behind anybody you just find what they do success-fully and what they do badly and just pick up little things and tech-niques. Nick is a powerful running back and he’s quick. I picture myself fitting in real good here because we’re all powerful running backs and that’s what Georgia produces and I think I fit in perfectly into this system. Coach is putting me in wherever he feels like. He’s giving me a lot of reps at everything. He just wants me to learn the playbook and I’ve been learning it. Every op-portunity I get I try to be successful at it.”

The spring emergence of Turman, the hoped-for healthy returns of Michel and Marshall and the continued tough inside running by Douglas should all add up to the Bulldogs boasting arguably the deepest tailback corps in the SEC this coming season. But, make no mistake about it, it should still be the “Nick Chubb Show” that will be featured at football stadiums across

the Deep South this fall.And one thing you can bet

your life on: The mighty freshman accomplishments Chubb record-ed last season haven’t changed the player who wears No. 27 one iota. Nor will what Chubb does in his ap-proaching sophomore season change him either. He’s still the humble, soft-spoken guy that he was as an elementary and high school student in Cedartown. He’s the ultimate team man, a player who simply does what the coaches want him to do and a person who would never, ever toot his own horn.

“Nick is one of the hardest working guys on the team,” said former Georgia star tailback and new running backs coach Thomas Brown. “That doesn’t say a whole

lot, I’m still trying to get even more work out of him (laugh-

ing). But he’s a model of consistency,” said Brown.

“He shows up every single day and does what I ask him to do. He goes after it every single day, he attacks and I think having all those guys when we’re healthy and full

strength, pushing each other every single day

is going to make all of us better, not just Nick by him-

self. I’m trying to get him into a leadership role to where he’s going to be in that position of being one of the more high profile guys on the team but also having great produc-tion as well. My deal about leadership is not trying to

force yourself to be somebody different than what you are,”

Brown added. “I’m not about guys being rah-rah guys, yelling

and screaming and doing a bunch of different stuff like that but I think there are times when guys need to step up and be vocal and keep other guys accountable. I think Nick can be that type of guy but that will be up to him.”

“There’s always ways for me to improve ... just gain a little more weight, get stronger and be more of a vocal leader,” said Chubb. “Obviously I don’t talk much so I guess it will mean more once I do and they’ll listen and we’ll get rallied up and ready to play. I’m always focused on weights and running.”

During spring practice, Chubb was thrilled, and a bit in awe, to be able to have a meeting with the top Bulldog running back of all time.

“It was a great experience for me, meeting Herschel, probably Georgia’s greatest running back ever,” Chubb said. “I didn’t know what to say. It was just shocking for me to get to meet him. I heard a lot about him obviously and knew about Herschel when I was young, just watching highlights of him running the ball. I never got to meet him ... I always heard he was different and he’ll tell you that, too. Herschel told me it’s always great to come back to your state because it’s always going to be home for you and people are always going to support you and love you. So seeing him go through the process I’m in right now, I’ll be able to come back one day to Georgia and it makes me happy and proud. Herschel gave me great advice, just always work hard and it’s not going to come easy.

“Herschel was the greatest run-ning back at Georgia and obviously hearing people say we’ve got some similarities, it makes me happy,” concluded Nick Chubb, who well could emerge into the first Bulldog tailback to seriously threaten the fabled Walker’s single-season and career rushing records.

photo by Rob Saye

photos by Rob Saye

www.FitzFord.com

Here’s to winning it all in Lincoln style!

Delving into Pruitt’s D, year twoBy Murray PooleBulldawg Illustrated

No question, the Georgia defense made tremendous strides under first-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt during the 2014 football season.

The Bulldogs led the SEC and finished fourth nationally with a +16 turnover margin, which was the fourth best mark in school history. The season before Pruitt came to Athens, Geor-gia struggled mightily in that department with a -7 turnover margin. Overall, the Bulldogs improved five spots to finish No. 5 in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing 20.7 points per game. Georgia scored 110 points off 29 turnovers in 2014 and the defense scored four of those touchdowns.

But certainly, there were some glitches in the team’s defen-sive performances last autumn. In a 38-20 stinging upset loss to Florida, the Gators pounded the Bulldogs to the tune of 418 yards on the ground and in another 30-24 upset loss to Georgia Tech in the regular season finale, the Yellow Jackets rushed for 399 yards against the Georgia defense.

That said, Pruitt’s defense certainly bounced back to acquit itself well in a 37-14 Belk Bowl victory over Louisville, limiting the Cardinals to only 62 yards net rushing.

Now, big question is, with six defensive starters and several other players who saw considerable action returning from the 2014 unit, what will Pruitt’s stop-em crew look like going for-ward into the new 2015 campaign?

And, subsequently, who will be the standouts and leaders of this year’s Georgia defense?

Almost to a man during the recently-completed spring practice, the Bulldogs’ returning starters expressed confidence that the defense will ratchet things up to another level this com-ing fall, primarily because of the fact they’re in their second year of learning under Pruitt’s tutelage.

“I feel like we have one of the best coaching staffs – if not the best coaching staff – in the nation and I take pride in listening to what they tell me to do and try to execute it to the best of my ability,” said sophomore outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter who, despite his youth, is drawing accolades from his teammates, not only for his outstanding physical skills but for his leadership on the field as well.

“I think the coaches knew what they were getting in me (fierce pass rusher) so they’ve been working with me, trying to get me to reach my full potential,” Carter pointed out.

“I don’t think Coach Pruitt has changed any from last year,” he said. “He is just continually teaching us what we need to know about his defense. He’s been intense since the day I met him and he’s going to stay that way (laughing) so there’s nothing new.

“We just feel comfortable as a defense right now. I feel like we’ve had pretty good practices (this spring). I feel like we have

a lot of players that can play for us right now so we’re just going to have to wait and see who the coaches pick.

“We’re all working hard as a team to get better and I feel like if we’re not pushing each other we’re not doing each other a favor,” Carter continued. “We’re just hurting each other. I feel like with the offensive linemen, we’re competing against each other as hard as we can in practice so I’ll get him (John Theus) one time and he’ll get me another time. We’re just going back and forth, it’s a battle.”

Carter said the Bulldogs’ outside linebacker unit is really a tight and close-knit group.

“We just call ourselves the Wolfpack,” he said. “We’re that tight and when one person slips up in a play, we’ll all jump on him. We won’t let anybody slack off. It’s a group thing, making sure each player is doing the best that they can and if one player is doing better than another player, we’ll give him his credit to keep doing what he’s doing. The lead wolf? We’re mostly alpha wolves, alpha dogs. Of course, I’d have to say myself because I’m the best (chuckling),” Carter said. “Nah, we look up to Jordan (Jenkins) because he’s been here and has a lot of experience. Leonard Floyd, even though he’s hurt, he’s still in the meeting with us making sure that we play attention. I’ll still lean over there and ask him a question about a coverage or two. Davin Bellamy, we all have our roles.”

Outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins thinks the defense will get good leadership from this year’s group of seniors.

“All the leaders as seniors, me, Josh Dawson, James De-loach, Sterling Bailey … we just all have to step up in a new role and get more playing time,” Jenkins said. “I learned a lot from the first year under Coach Pruitt just by observing guys like Mike Thornton and Toby Johnson playing there. I understand the concept that it required a little more finesse plus group strength so I had to learn that. Coach Pruitt basically has the same scheme and same stuff and he’s just like tweaking them a little bit and improving on them so even the new guys get a hang of things. Coach Pruitt has the same goals and the same mentality because we didn’t reach our goal last year … winning the national championship,” declared Jenkins. “That’s still our main goal and just to improve every day in the effort.”

Sophomore cornerback Malkom Parrish says Pruitt’s expec-tations never change.

“He still wants us to work hard and do the right thing every day,” Parrish said. “He’s not hard to please but he is a hard-work-ing guy that wants perfection. He knows he’s not always going to get perfection, but he expects us to do as good as we can. If he doesn’t like it he will get on you but that’s a good coach in my eyes.”

Certainly, Georgia players on both sides of the ball think Lorenzo Carter and sophomore free safety Dominick Sanders, who started all 13 games as a freshman last year and recorded two interceptions in the Belk Bowl win, will be among the very

best performers on the Bulldogs’ defense this coming season. “Right off the bat I just want to say Lorenzo Carter is

going to be one of the greatest defensive players to come through this university,” senior LB Jenkins said. “He’s a young man who is gifted athletically, gifted mentally and just has all the tools you want in a kid. If he stays focused and commits to the offseason and commits to getting better, the sky is the limit for that guy.”

“The biggest difference I’ve seen in a player on the field, offense or defense, is Lorenzo Carter,” offered senior offensive tackle Theus. “I have to go against him every day. He was special last year but he’s that much better this spring. It’s kind of freaky and scary at the same time. I’m glad he’s on my side of the ball come Saturdays and he makes me better every day. He’s going to be a special player.”

Senior tight end Jay Rome is especially high on Sanders.“I’m really proud of what Dominick Sanders has been

doing,” Rome said. “And I think people could see especially to-wards the end of the season just what kind of caliber of player he could be and he’s going to be. And he’s continuing on that path, of just being a ball hawk, and a great football player.”

With other defensive regulars such as Leonard Floyd, Quin-cy Mauger, Sterling Bailey, Josh Dawson, Devin Bowman, Aaron Davis, Chris Mayes, James DeLoach, John Atkins, Tim Kim-brough, Reggie Carter, Davin Bellamy, Reggie Wilkerson and Tramel Terry all also being ready to step up their game in their second year under Pruitt’s watch, combined with the influx of outstanding freshman talent, this Georgia defense could indeed become a band of mean Junkyard Dogs in the 2015 football season that lies just ahead.football season that lies just ahead.


photo by Rob Saye



Houston, Jenkins and Theus tabbed as leaders by RichtBy Murray PooleBulldawg Illustrated

Each year, after spring practice concludes, Bulldawg Illustrated asks Georgia head coach Mark Richt to name two leaders on each side of the ball, for the coming football season.

When the question was put to Richt at the April 21 UGA Days stop in Savannah, Richt didn’t hesitate with his answer this time.

But, at the same time, he would only identify three definite team leaders for his 2015 Bulldog edition.

“Offensively I would say John Theus and Kolton Houston,” the coach responded. “Not only are they playing a very unselfish position but they’re also playing a position that’s very difficult to be good at in our league ... at tackle when you’ve got to go against the greatest pass-rushers in the country, in practice and throughout the season. Those O-linemen, they do a lot of dirty work and they don’t get a lot of credit.”

Senior left tackle Theus, the 6-6, 313-pound senior from The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., will be a starter for the fourth consecutive year for Georgia. After making AP Honorable-Mention All-SEC last season, Theus looms as a solid all-conference as well as All-America candi-date this season.

Houston, a 6-5, 287-pound senior right tackle from Buford, is in his sixth year at the University of Geor-gia, having been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. In July of 2013, Houston was granted reinstate-ment by the NCAA after three years under suspension following routine NCAA drug testing which detected a banned substance medically administered following shoul-der surgery in high school.

Last season, Theus and Houston helped pave the way for the Bulldogs to rush for an SEC-leading 257.8 yards per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, Richt quickly tabbed senior outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins, the 6-3, 252-pound senior outside linebacker from Harris County who, like Theus, has been a starter in all three of his years at Georgia thus far. In 2014, Jenkins received the team’s Most Improved Player of the Year award while also being named to Phil Steele’s Third Team All-SEC.

Richt did throw in another name who could possibly join Theus, Houston and Jenkins as a primary leader of the 2015 Bulldogs.

“I’d probably start with Jordan Jenkins and I don’t know if I wouldn’t just stop there,” Richt said. “I think Leonard (junior outside linebacker Floyd) is a guy they all respect. If Leonard is going well, everybody else is kind of going good, too, so he’s got the ability to lead by exam-ple. He wasn’t there in the spring (due to shoulder injury) to assert that leadership. But I know they all have a high regard for him.”

The coach said some of the Bulldogs’ younger players could also be emerging as team leaders.

“We’ve got some potential guys who probably could, but right now it’s those two guys (on offense) although the quarterbacks will have to lead throughout the summer,” Richt said.

“If you want to talk young guys who have performed well and have that potential, you look at (Nick) Chubb and (Jeb) Blazevich, guys who have come in and really contributed but their work ethic is impressive. Dominick Sanders (soph. DB) is a really hard worker, is focused every day and giving it up in practice, meetings, schools. He’s a really solid guy who has that ability as well.”

Plenty of youngsters are making wavesBy Murray PooleBulldawg Illustrated

They’re mere sopho-mores-to-be but all avid Georgia football fans are well aware of the major impact that Nick Chubb, Lorenzo Carter, Dominick Sanders and Jeb Blazevich had on the Bull-dogs as true freshmen in the 2014 season.

Now, as Georgia has come through spring practice and is in-volved in the summer conditioning workouts while looking ahead to the start of preseason camp in Au-gust, who are the other youngsters that made their presence felt in the spring drills and could also become household names among Bulldawg Nation when the ‘15 season arrives this September?

Both among the early mid-year enrollees and the returning re-serve players from last year’s team, there were Bulldogs that caught the eyes of their teammates as well as the coaching staff.

Making their pres-ence felt quickly on the depth chart after fin-ishing their high school require-ments early and arriving at UGA follow-ing the Christmas break were such names as Jonathan Ledbet-ter, Natrez Patrick, Jarvis Wilson, Johnathan Abram and Jackson Harris.

Ledbetter is a 6-4, 265-pound defensive tackle from Tucker High School; Patrick is a 6-3, 255-pound inside linebacker from Mays High in Atlanta; defensive backs Wilson (6-2, 197) and Abram (6-1, 202) both hail from Mississippi, and Harris is a 6-6, 250-pound tight end by way of Columbia, Tenn.

In the spring drills, all five incoming freshmen displayed the skills and knowledge to see the playing field sooner, rather than later.

“All the young guys are doing well right now,” said senior nose tackle Chris Mayes. “I’d like to say Jonathan Ledbetter, he’s standing out to me with his fight. He’s a feisty little guy, always working hard. He has an attitude about him that he can’t be beat, won’t be denied and that’s what I like about him.”

“Defensively, little Jon Led-better’s been doing well, working hard,” chimed in sophomore outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter. “And Natrez (Patrick), that’s my boy so I have to give him kudos to how hard he’s been working and taking coaching. The two Missis-sippi boys (Abram, Wilson) have been playing well … pretty much every freshman that came in early has been doing a great job.”

From the other side of the line of scrimmage, senior offensive tackle John Theus has likewise been impressed with Ledbetter and Patrick’s early showings.

“Young Ledbetter, Jon, he’s a good player and a good guy,” said Theus. “It’s crazy how young those guys are, they’re still seniors in high school. But there are defi-nitely some playmakers … Natrez is another. They’re coming in and being able to get reps with the 1’s and 2’s right away. It’s pretty spe-

cial to see those guys do that.”And says junior inside line-

backer Reggie Carter: “Natrez Patrick can play any of them (LB spots), inside or outside. That kid there, he’s a baller. You can tell he loves football. Even today, the feel he has for it is natural. He was unreal (in an early scrimmage).”

In the G-Day game April 11, Patrick proceeded to lead the Red team in total tackles with eight and that included a sack and tackle-for-loss from his inside ‘backer spot.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt said at the conclusion of the spring sessions that Patrick may have made the most impact of any of the Bulldogs’ early enrollees.

“It’s hard to say, but Natrez looks like he found a home,” Richt said. “I think he’s got a good body type and a

good disposition to play that middle linebacker position. He’s got good instincts. Sometimes he was flat-out unblocked and made a play in the hole, but he brought the wood,” Richt said. “He brought the wood to people. He’ll strike, he’s a pretty good athlete, a pretty sharp kid. Again, he’s got a ways to go but if you’re asking who of the group, he probably made the biggest im-pression.”

Senior tight end Jay Rome has been notably impressed with his freshman understudy, Jackson Har-ris, who in one of the three spring scrimmages caught three passes for 37 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’m really, really proud of Jackson and what he’s doing,” said Rome. “The way he’s picking up everything. I was telling him, man, you were just in high school three months ago and now he’s out here picking up everything in Schotty’s (offensive coordinator Brian Schot-tenheimer) offense really well. He’s making catches, getting up-field and he’s blocking well.”

Not only did a number of the mid-year enrollees make their marks in spring practice but so did a couple of guys who, while not exactly youngsters, are still new to the team. That would be transfers Jake Ganus and Chuks Amaechi. Senior inside linebacker Ganus (6-2, 220) enrolled at Georgia when the UAB football program was terminated while junior outside linebacker Amaechi (6-3, 220) came to Athens from Arizona Western Junior College. Ganus was the Bulldogs’ leading tackler in the first two spring scrimmages and

Amaechi also showed a nose for the football throughout spring and re-corded eight total tackles including three sacks in one of the Saturday morning scrimmages in Sanford Stadium.

“Jake Ganus, with his ability and toughness, he’s really playing hard,” said nose tackle Mayes. “That guy’s a beast, man.”

“I expect a lot out of Jake,” offered outside ‘backer Lorenzo Carter. “He’s a great player, came from UAB. We’re going to have to see what he does in the season because he’s been balling out this spring.”

“Chuks is a fast cat,” said senior outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins of Amaechi. “He’s not the tallest but he can bend, and he is quick as ever,” Jenkins said.

Richt thinks all of the early enrolling players

are capable of helping the team this coming season.

“The young safeties (Abram and Wilson) have been hot and cold and making some plays,” he said. “Jackson Harris I think is a guy who has got the

skill set to play well and he’s learning pretty

quickly. He had a real solid spring. (Jonathan)

Ledbetter is learning a lot. Chuks (Amaechi) and (Jake) Ganus, those guys are go-ing to help us win. Chuks and Ganus are older guys, a junior college guy in Chuks and Ganus coming from UAB. I think they all

got a lot of solid work in.”Among the young play-

ers returning from last season’s team, you would do well to

keep your eye on such names as Reggie Wilkerson and Tramel Terry in the autumn of 2015.

Wilkerson is a 5-11, 181-pound redshirt sophomore who rebounded from a torn ACL last season to move into a starting role in the “Star” position this spring. Playing for the Black team No. 1 defensive unit in the G-Day game, Wilkerson notched three tackles along with a sack and tack-le-for-loss.

“Reggie’s been great since he’s come back from his whole knee injury and stuff like that and this year is kind of like a breakout year for him,” said junior safety Quincy Mauger. “I know he’s been working his butt off day in and day out. You should expect some big things from him.”

“Oh man, Reggie is mak-ing big strides, like tremendous strides,” said inside linebacker Reggie Carter.

And also redshirt sophomore cornerback Terry (6-0, 197), who underwent knee surgery after being injured in his high school all-star game, continued to make big strides in the spring. He recorded six tackles and a pass breakup for the Red team at G-Day.

“He’s one physical player,” Dominick Sanders said. “He’s got the right mindset, and he’s got 100 percent effort every time he touches the field.”

So these are a good sampling of the young Bulldogs you can watch for between the hedges in the new football campaign. And with the arrival this month of the remainder of Georgia’s talented 2015 recruiting class, many more new faces are bound to jump into the headlines as well as the minds of Bulldog fans.

photo by Rob Saye

photos by Rob Saye


L O R A N S M I T H

BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED

When I walk thru the UGA coaches offices nowadays, I almost need to request name tags to match up names with faces. In the last two years, there has been so much turnover to the extent that only two guys are holdovers from 2013—Bryan McClendon and John Lilly.

Interestingly, nobody has been fired during this time. Head coaching opportunity for Mike Bobo brought about his taking line coach Will Friend with him to Colorado State. Todd Grantham and Tony Ball accepted oppor-tunity at Louisville and LSU, respectively. Scott Lakatos retired from coaching, and Kirk Olivadotti returned to the Washington Redskins.

Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, football coaching staffs make different impressions. It doesn’t mat-ter a staff’s energy, intellect and inventive savvy—they will be evaluated on their ability to win football games. Even with losing valuable assistants, I, nonetheless feel that Mark Richt has assembled his best staff since he came to Georgia in 2001. This takes into account coaching AND recruiting. Time will tell if this is a correct assessment.

There is a new modus operandi these days with the addition of auxiliary staff in the form of 15 quality control and other assistants having been added to the staff. There is more recruiting information being churned out, all of which requires auxiliary personnel working non-stop each week. It smacks of ridiculousness that high school kids actually keep count of emails and text messages. But they do. Which means, to make sure you keep pace, you have to address the real world circumstance. You gotta email, within the rules, as much as your opponents do.

While I miss my old friends who have moved on, I do like the refreshing atmosphere I find when I wander about the current coaches offices. There is an air of confidence that Georgia can compete for championships. That actu-ally is nothing new, but there seems to be a certain buzz in the air when you walk the halls these days.

The new staff is big on the recruiting potential in our state. They see limitless opportunity and conclude that high school football in the state of Georgia is as good as it is anywhere--better than most states. They are buoyed by the alumni support. They like it when they travel the state and see all those mailboxes with the Georgia “G.” “Remember,” says Jeremy Pruitt, defensive coordinator, “I coached at Alabama, but you can’t find more advantages than what you find at Georgia.”

Winning aids and abets recruiting and vice versa. The consensus is that Georgia has a tough challenge this year when it comes to personnel across the board. Next year, the forecast is that there should be more talent and more depth, hopefully, a break-out year.

This year’s schedule is quite challenging, although it is nice to have two tough SEC opponents, South Carolina and Alabama, playing between the hedges. There are never any guarantees, and playing Tennessee in Knoxville after Alabama will be one of the greatest challenges a Mark Richt team has ever had.

It was the Volunteer’s great coach Gen. Robert Neyland who always said, you never schedule two tough opponents back-to-back. In his day, he could manipulate his schedule. No coach can do that today.

If you want to know what makes Nick Saban so successful, consider that he is probably a better recruit-er than he is a coach. This is not to take away from his astute coaching ability, but nobody in the SEC in the last ten years has enjoyed more depth across the board than Alabama.

What General Neyland was saying about scheduling is that it is tough to get your team ready emotionally to play a peak game on back to back weeks. Your team is just not going to be sharply competitive on successive weekends. That is why Saban has the best record in our league lately. He has enough depth to win when his team has an off day.

That is where Georgia wants to be. I believe Mark Richt has the staff to give him that advantage. This year, however, he will have to get by on coaching and a few breaks.

‘The Georgia Way’ ... 2.0By Murray PooleBulldawg Illustrated

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, running backs coach Thomas Brown and offen-sive line coach Rob Sale aren’t the only new staff members making an impact on the Georgia football program.

During the Christmas break, the athletic program named Mark Hocke as the Director of Strength and Conditioning, succeeding long-time assistant coach Joe Tereshinski, and in Aaron Hill and Carter Blount, have new faces in the team quality control positions.

With these moves, it would appear head coach Mark Richt, with the full support of athletic director Greg McGarity, is leaving no stones unturned in an effort to steer the Bulldogs’ program back into championship status. Addressing the “little things” in every area of the football team − the little things that can spell the difference between victory and defeat in a close game − now seems to be paramount with Richt and his staff as they attempt to capture Georgia’s first SEC Championship since 2005 as well as earn a spot in the college football playoffs.

Doing everything correctly in “The Georgia Way” seems to be permeating the football program more than ever before now and with all the new faces on the staff − remember, defensive coordina-tor Jeremy Pruitt and defensive assistants Tracy Rocker, Mike Ekeler and Kevin Sherrer are all just beginning their second season in Athens − it certainly wouldn’t be out of order to tab this thing “The Georgia Way, II.”

There’s no question that Hocke brought new enthusiasm and energy to the strength and conditioning program when he was hired away from the Alabama Crimson Tide during the Christ-mas break. After quietly observing the Bulldogs’ former way of doing things in the weight room, Hocke discarded the old mat drills as such and replaced them with arguably even more high tempo workouts coupled with what seemed like to the players as running that never stopped.

Several Georgia players in fact said during this year’s spring practice sessions that they had never run as much in their lives, as they did in the winter workouts under Hocke’s guidance. And they attributed their increased stami-na during the spring drills to the strenuous off-season early morning sessions in January and February.

“First off I would like to say everybody’s bought into the pro-gram so I really think that’s kind of big,” said Bulldogs’ senior corner-back Devin Bowman. “Everybody’s just listening, working their butts off and we’re just doing everything we need to do to be good in this conference.”

Senior inside linebacker Jake Ganus, who transferred to the University of Georgia to play his

final season after the elimination of the UAB football program, said he found out in a hurry what “The Georgia Way” is all about.

“Absolutely,” said Ganus, “we focus on that every day in the weight room, training room, meeting room; wherever we are we just focus on the little things because that’s what wins and loses ball games.”

And Ganus said playing with confidence is an attribute that every Bulldog player needs and one he brought with him from Birmingham.

“I’ve never really had any problem with confidence or any-thing,” said Ganus. “I’ve always been the guy that

when I stepped on the field or on the basketball court in high school, I knew that no matter who was lined up against me I was going to come out the winner and that’s just the mindset I think you have to have. Herschel Walker came to talk to us this spring and that’s what he said and I’ve really took that to heart. He said no matter who lined up against him he was going to come out on top. He was going to win that rep or that game or what-ever it was so that’s kind of how I look at things. I don’t think about coming from UAB and playing here, I just try to focus on getting better every day and working on what I can do to be a better player. Coach Ekeler has really transformed me in the way I play linebacker. I’m pretty raw with the technique and the way I do things and that’s something I’ve emphasized this spring, and he’s just done a great job working with me and helping me to become the linebacker who can make plays in scrimmages and stuff like that.”

New running backs coach Brown, who has known “The Georgia Way” ever since he enrolled as a freshman tailback in 2004, is impressed with the way Georgia’s players have adapted to all the different terminology and tech-niques brought in by the new staff members the past two years while, at the same time, retaining all the sound teachings they learned under the existing UGA staff.

“I’ve seen the guys buy into this 100 percent,” said Brown. “I think as we kind of move forward we’ll get some older guys start to hold some guys accountable more if they do mess up, but those guys (young

players) have been great so far and done everything we’ve asked them to do. The young guys are learning that (Georgia Way) – they don’t have a choice.”

Back to the Georgia players having to learn to do all the little things right, senior punter Col-lin Barber reflected on that in an interview with Bulldawg Illustrated’s Greg Poole in the early portion of this year’s spring drills.

Reported Poole: “Collin had a rough season in 2014. He told me yesterday that he suffered from a bulging disk that contributed to his demotion to backup punter (although he emphasized that his health was not an excuse). Ad-ditionally, Barber talked at some

length about the new strength and conditioning program and its

contribution to his physical recovery.

“Then, offhandedly, he referred to the new special teams analyst, Carter Blount, and how he has changed the way kickers go about their business. UGA, like most Power 5 schools,

does not have an on-field coach dedicated to special

teams. Responsibility for the various special teams

functions is divided among the position coaches.

“According to Barber, prior to 2015 kickers had set their own practice agenda and went about their business with little guidance or accountability,

at least in terms of a prac-tice routine. Now they are

given a detailed daily practice schedule to complete. Although

analysts cannot coach on the field, they can review film and practices are videoed just like games. Now there is someone directly supervis-ing the practice habits of kickers and planning their activities as part of an overall special teams scheme.

Attention to detail – that is what the additional quality control and analysts bring to the table. They cover the details and free the coach-es to … coach.”

Though Barber didn’t have a showing in the spring game like he, or his coaches, wanted, this increased attention to detail in prac-tice should prove beneficial to him and all the Bulldog kicking corps when the games are played for real beginning in September.

Richt says quality control coaches are vital to the overall health of the football program.

“A quality control coach is basically a guy who will do just about everything a coach would do other than that they can’t be on the field coaching,” he said.”There’s only so many coaches who can be field coaches. The nine full-time coaches, myself, and a couple of graduate assistant coaches on each side of the ball. Student assistant coaches can do some of that, but there’s just so much film breakdown that’s gotta be done. A lot of things that have gotta be done. Even in-house recruiting and things of that nature that these guys can get involved with. That’s what those guys do for the most part.”

Richt said The Georgia Way simply involves his players doing things in a first-class manner.

“The bottom line is we want to teach these guys to not only become great football players but great young men as well,” he said. “And I think we’ve got the right guidance with this coaching staff and I think our players are really growing in that way.”

photos by Rob Saye

BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED 2015 G-Day GameO F F T H E F I E L D

Alex Grill, Claire France, Courtney O’Conner, Hope Cochran and Lauren Tinkey

Chris Kinnas, Robert Kinnas, Walker Way, Carson Mathis and Chris Kinnas, III

Bob, Sarah, Ava and Jan Bobcock

Barrett, Campbell and Molly Barth Rob Buffaloe and Keith Mauriello

Front: Hank Stephens, Jason Lefkowitz, William Beckum, Back: Alexander Leahy,

Price Swann, Hank Stephens, Robert Beckum, Jack Abernathy, Adam Lefkowitz

Joel, Julie, Elena, Emily, Everett and Ethan Goodrow

Brandon Gordan, Terrance Smith and Jason Wallace

Cooper, Melody and Jackson Mann

Tyler Hubbard,

John Hubbard and Rick

Jones

O.J. Greene, Jr.

and Tiffany

Houston

Catherine Colwell

and Luke

Colwell

Greg, Gavin, Stephanie and Elly Pease Vincent, Victor, Sr. and Victor, Jr. Payne Chris Sharrow (below) and Grant Sharrow Lily, Solomon, Sarah and Samuel Humphreys

Sheila Wilson and Barb Parks Mike Beckum and Cary Stephens Stacy Stephens and David AbernathyRachel Mohler and Wes Roberts

Miranda Williams and Jameson Kenerly Frank Burns and Natalie Jones Bradley Kitchen and Jeff AndrewsChris Atkinson and Phillip Hight


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