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BI From the Editor

With the SEC Media Days commencing last week, talkingabout the 2013 football season is certainly now allowed in all cor-ners. No longer will the diehards get blank stares from the fans whocan’t fathom talking about football all year long.

In just a matter of days, our boys in red and black will reportfor camp and begin the grueling month-long process of getting readyfor the opener at Clemson. But we’re not there just yet, so why nothave some fun taking a look at what all went down in Hoover, Ala.last week.

Early Tuesday morning, our veteran Murray Poole hooked upwith our rookie Logan Booker for the beginning of a three-daypigskin extravaganza. Our two guys were two of the 1,200 mediamembers in attendance. Yes, college football is at an all time highand nowhere is it more prevalent than the good, ol’ SEC.

All 14 teams in the conference send their head coach and threeselected players to face every kind of media imaginable. It is organ-ized chaos at its best. I won’t go into every facet because Murray andLogan have that covered throughout this issue. But what I took awayfrom SEC MD 2013 was how loaded the conference is with excel-lent coaches and players.

My goodness … Saban, Spurrier, Miles and Richt are veteranswho have amassed hundreds of victories. But the rest of the coachesare nipping on their heels week in and week out. And you knowwhat is so scary? The fact that only one man and his team will get tohoist the league championship trophy on the first Saturday in De-cember.

Then there’s all the talent in the league. Aaron Murray hasamassed about every passing record at Georgia, but guess what? Hewas merely named to the third All SEC team by the media membersat SEC MD 2013. And you know what, you really can’t argue thatwhen the first and second All SEC team signal callers encompassedlast year’s Heisman Trophy winner and the other, who has won twonational titles.

Needless to say, the SEC is the beast of college football. Here’s another fact for you. Georgia’s incredible playmaker, Mal-

colm Mitchell also only made thirdteam in the media predictions. Andlooking at who beat him out, it’s hardto argue where Mitchell ended up.

I mention Murray and Mitchellbecause it’s my sincere hope thatthese two guys play with a chip ontheir shoulder all season long. There’sno reason the duo can’t abuse de-fenses throughout 2013. Take noprisoners guys with the goal of beingfirst teamers at the most importantAll SEC team at the end of the sea-son.

Man, I’m so ready for kickoff.

How many more days must I endure? For now, please enjoy this awesome SEC Preview issue our

team has created. On page 6, Murray breaks down what Georgia’smain message was at Media Days. Not surprisingly, kicking off atClemson at night is about all Richt and company cared to talk about.Wow, that place is going to be crazy. Then beginning on page 10,Murray goes team by team looking at the highlights from last week.

Let’s hope our freshman players come out of the gate like ourrookie Logan Booker did with his coverage. Not only did he pepperour website and social media throughout Media Days, his write upon page 20 is excellent. There’s no doubt he was like a kid in a candystore over in Alabama, capturing his overall experience in a way thatshould have all our readers feeling like they were there themselves.

I can’t wait to see what all our guys will do to thrill our readersduring Fall Camp and the season.

Also in this issue, don’t miss our other veteran, Jeff Dantzler’s AllSEC team (page 21). JD is with me in thinking Malcolm Mitchell isgoing to have a massive breakout season in 2013. And I love that healso has Arthur Lynch, Todd Gurley, Jordan Jenkins and DamianSwann on his first team.

Ok, I need to switch gears and encourage you to enjoy all ourfan photos throughout this issue. The Stinchcomb brothers andDavid Greene were in Athens a few weeks ago for their annualCountdown to Kickoff event. I can’t begin to thank them enough forwhat they have provided for the Bulldog Nation. Not only does theevent raise a ton of money for charities. But the way it gives our fansaccess to former and current players is so special. I myself was ableto tell Musa Smith that one of our Golden Retrievers is named afterhim. Again kudos to everyone involved with Countdown. Everyoneat BI is so proud to be a part of it and look forward to next year.

Don’t miss the photos we captured at new UGA president, JereMorehead’s reception (page 8) a few week ago. It was so special tobe on North Campus as it was a reminder of the beauty of UGA’scampus. Without question, it will be fun to watch President More-head flourish in his new role. Godspeed to him.

Ok, I’m completely out of space, but I’ve saved the best for last. On August 1, the Glynn Art Association on St. Simons will

have the Jack Davis exhibit running in its gallery all month long. Ifyou’ve been reading our publication for the last 11 years, then youcertainly know how much Jack’s art has enhanced our pages. In fact,recently Jack drew art for all 12 of Georgia’s upcoming opponents in2013. We can’t wait to use them in our coming issue. Besides the ex-hibit, there are three neat events involving Jack on August 1, 2 and3 (page 22). Make plans to head to the coast at the beginning of Au-gust. It should be an amazing event that will honor not only an in-credible artist, but a great man and damn good Dawg.

Well, that should do it. Enjoy this issue and the next time wesee you will be with our Fall Camp issue in mid August. Our teamwill be in full pads and the hype and hoopla will be through theroof. Until then …

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Jeff DantzlerThe road to greatness runs through the SEC

No conference had ever pro-duced more than three straightnational championships from itsmember schools. Well the roughand tough Southeastern Confer-ence has doubled that and addedanother. Yes, the SEC has pro-duced a magnificent sevenstraight national titles, won byfour different schools. Duringthat stretch, four other SECschools had a final ranking in thenation’s top eight. Over the sevenyear run of national champi-onships, 12 schools, as SECmembers, have recorded at leastone nine-win season. Eightleague members have made it tothe SEC Championship Gamesince 2006.

It’s power, depth and bal-ance.

In the six Bowl Champi-onship Series title games not pit-ting the SEC vs. the SEC (Alabamadefeated LSU 21-0 in New Orleans for the2011 national title in January of 2012),five have been won by double digits.

That includes Florida’s 41-14 blastingof Ohio State to start the streak, and Al-abama’s 42-14 mauling of Notre Dame thispast season to extend it to seven.

And a year ago, the SEC was at itsmost dominant. At the conclusion of theregular season, there were six teamsranked in the top sporting double digitvictory totals. After Alabama’s heart-stop-ping victory over Georgia in the SECChampionship Game, the Crimson Tidewere 12-1. The Bulldogs were 11-2.Florida was 11-1, while South Carolina,LSU and Texas A&M were all 10-2. All 10of those losses came to one another. Ala-bama fell to the Aggies, who lost to Floridaand LSU. The Gators lost to Georgia, whocame up short against Alabama and SouthCarolina. The Gamecocks lost to Floridaand LSU. The Fightin’ Tigers went downto Florida and Alabama. Four of the sixwon their bowl game, with LSU’s one-point loss to Clemson bouncing the BayouBengals from the top ten. Florida’s let-down Sugar Bowl loss to Louisvilledropped the Gators to No. 9, or the SECwould have likely had five of the top sevenin the land.

All six of those SEC powers have theirstarting quarterbacks returning for 2013.All have recruited well, and though somehave more talent to replace and reloadthan others, expectations are sky highacross the board. As they are at Ole Miss,which had seven wins, Mississippi State,which won eight, and Vanderbilt, whichwent 9-4 and 5-3 in the SEC. The Com-modores enter this season with a sevengame winning streak, the longest active inthe league. A

Plus there is a quartet of SEC pro-grams – Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee andKentucky – welcoming in new coaches.The Razorbacks went 4-8 last season, yetthe lure of the SEC drew Bret Bilemma,coach of Big Ten champion Wisconsin.

There are some coaches around thecountry – no doubt tired of hearing of andbeing asked about the league’s dominance- who try to knock the SEC by knockingdown the teams in the bottom of theleague. Amongst them is Oklahoma’shighly successful Bob Stoops.

But there is simply no argument. First of all, obviously it is mathemat-

ically impossible for every team in anyconference to have an outstanding record.Somebody has to lose the head to headmatch-ups. And in the SEC in 2012, herewere three of the four worst teams – Ten-nessee, Arkansas and Auburn. The Vol-unteers rank in the top ten of all timecollege football wins. The Razorbacks fin-ished No. 5 nationally in 2011, going 11-2, losing only to national title combatantsLSU and Alabama. The Tigers won the na-tional title in 2010.

Case dismissed. There are a myriad of reasons for the

SEC’s dominance. But at the root is excel-lent coaches getting great players. It’s acycle of power. The league gets the bestrecruits – most every season, five or six ofthe top classes in America are produced bySEC schools. Then the league with themost talent produces the most draft picksand the most first round choices. This at-tracts even more elite recruits.

Rinse and repeat. Take Alabama tailbacks – Mark In-

gram to Trent Richardson to Eddie Laceyto T.J. Yeldon.

LSU signed Patrick Petersen at corner.The next season Morris Claiborne came.The year after, it was the “Honey Badger”Tyran Mathieu.

Jarvis Jones was a two-time All-Amer-ican at Georgia and the Pittsburgh Steelersfirst round pick. Freshman All-AmericanJordan Jenkins is up next.

Where the talent has shown most inthe BCS Championship Games is along thedefensive front. There are swift receivers,backs and corners in every league. But theSEC has the big dominating front sevendefenders who can move and wreak havocen masse like no other league besides theNFL.

You can go back year-by-year throughthe title tilts.

It was Jarvis Moss running down TroySmith’s as the Gators manhandled OhioState. A year later, the Buckeyes had noanswer for LSU’s Rickey Jean-Francois. In2008, it was Carlos Dunlap of Florida whoOklahoma couldn’t handle. Alabama’sMarcel Dareus was the un-blockable forcethat Texas couldn’t contain. Nick Fairleyof Auburn was literally a Tiger amongstDucks as Oregon’s line tried to handlehim. As for Notre Dame trying to handleAlabama….it looked as though the Crim-son Tide was playing with 15 defenders.I’m sorry, does anyone think the FightingIrish’s Heisman Trophy finalist linebackerManti Teo would’ve started for Alabama,much less made first team All-SEC? Thatunit had Georgia’s Jones, Alabama’s C.J.Moseley, and LSU’s Kevin Minter – all ofwhom made first team All-American.

Certainly there are members of themedia and the BCS committee who arealso sick of the SEC They would love anOhio State-Oregon, Oklahoma-Stanfordor Notre Dame-Texas national title game,especially in the last year before the play-off begins. Perhaps two said schools willgo undefeated, and a once-beaten SECteam will be left out here in 2013. If thatis the case, the crystal ball will go some-place else, but college football fans every-where – even those who have grown toloathe the toughest league in the land –would know, even if it’s in those JackNicholson “A Few Good Men” deep, darkplaces that it would be a hollow title.

The road to greatness runs throughthe SEC, and for any league to even thinkabout challenging its supremacy, they’vegot at least a half-decade of championshipsto chalk up before making a run at themightiest conference there has ever been.

photo by Logan Booker

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Amber McClendon savors off-season time with husband

Amber McClendon, who's been married toGeorgia running backs coach Bryan McClendon fornearly seven years, says the summer is about the onlytime her husband has to spend quality momentswith his family, the only time he can catch his breathand take a little respite from the hectic world of col-lege coaching.

"Right after the G-Day game the coaches firstgo back into recruiting," said Amber. "They do a lotof recruiting pretty much from the middle of Apriluntil the very end of May and after that, Bryan isdoing the summer camps such as the Mark RichtCamp. He works that and he takes our 6-year-oldson with him, which he really enjoys. After that,Bryan usually gets a little bit of free time and we nor-mally go down to St. Simons Island and visit someof Bryan's relatives in Brunswick. So we spend abouta week there before the fourth of July, before it getsreal crowded down there."

And also, Mrs. McClendon puts her husband,a standout player himself at UGA from 2002-05 andthe son of former Bulldog great Willie McClendon,to work around the house. "Before that vacation,we're pretty much at home trying to squeeze in a lotof the honey-dos that can't get done throughout theyear," she related. "So, just things around the house,getting the carpet cleaned, planting of flowers, fixingthings around the house, that's what Bryan normallydoes when he has that extra time and he's here. Andhe also spends a lot of time with my son and takinghim swimming and camping out here and lightingthe pit fire in the back. But the two biggest eventswe look forward to in the summer time, during thistime off, would be the week we spend at St. Simonsat the beach and the trip to Lake Oconee that wetake with the other coaches. It's kind of like a retreatfor the families right before the coaches go into theirhideaway before they start the August practice."

In this question-and-answer with Bulldawg Il-lustrated, Amber McClendon gives the Bulldog Na-tion a glimpse into her background and what it's liketo be married to a college football coach at Georgia.

Years married, children?We are going on seven years this September.

We have Bryan, Jr., who is six years old and we alsohave Brooke, who is 19-and-a-half months old.Bryan and I have known each other since middleschool and we went to high school (Mays High ofAtlanta) together so we've known each other forquite some time. I went to Clark Atlanta Universityfor undergrad and I came to Georgia to get my mas-ters so he and I dated maybe beginning about oursophomore, junior year and have just been togetherever since.

The most gratifying part of being married to acollege football coach?

Well, I would say the most gratifying partwould be seeing the success of my husband and ex-periencing this collegiate football atmosphere. I did-n't attend Georgia so I really didn't think collegefootball was that big until he and I started dating.And then when he became a graduate assistant andthen a coach I really got to see how much collegefootball is loved and how important it is to a lot ofpeople in the state of Georgia. And just to see howimportant it was to Bryan and see how he affected alot of people around us and strangers, people wedidn't know, I thought that was very gratifying andI thought this has been a good experience that I hadnever witnessed before ... until he and I started dat-ing. So basically just seeing the success Bryan hashad and the way he has touched a lot of these chil-dren's lives and the families he's gotten to meet andthe way I've been able to network through him, thathas been very beneficial to us.

The most challenging part of being married toa college football coach?

I think a big challenge for me personally hasbeen to see how much football is glorified and yetcritiqued, especially when we're not doing as goodas we'd like to do. You know, from behind thescenes, we know the coaches are working their hard-

est, the players are working their hardest but some-times things just don't go the way you want them togo. And to hear a lot of critique, that's kind of diffi-cult to deal with and you have to maintain a certainattitude. You can't respond the way you'd like to re-spond and that's a very big challenge, hearing a lotof critique when you know these guys are workingreally hard both on and off the field and they do a lotmore than coaching. There's a lot more to winningfootball games than coaching and one big thing Ithink people don't realize is that recruiting plays abig part in coaching ... getting football players andwinning games. I think a lot of people probably min-imize that when it comes to the coaching. They lookat a lot of the things that are on field and not off thefield. That would probably be the biggest challengeI've had so far but, other than that, it's been won-derful.

Where did you grow up and what made it spe-cial?

Bryan and I grew up in Atlanta and what madeit special was how close my family and I were to-gether. My aunts have always been like a secondmother and my uncles like a second father and we'vejust always been a close-knit family and are still likethat today. I talk to them and to my mother, almostdaily, so being around that family and growing upwith them and just sharing all my experiences withthem and them doing the same with me, that madeit special and also to see how they're passing that onto my children. We grew up in the Atlanta city lim-its but I wouldn't say I'm a big city girl but I'm not asuburban girl, either. I think when it comes to com-paring Athens to Atlanta I would say, yes, I'm moreof a city girl but I love this suburban life. I love notbeing around busyness all the time. I give you aprime example. Whenever we go home now to visitAtlanta I get so frustrated with driving because youjust don't have that here in Athens, all that traffic andfar distance to go.

Other than rooting on the Bulldogs, what aresome of your other passions?

I like to read and I like being very much in-volved with my children and the activities they takepart in. I work part-time as a program coordinatorfor a non-profit here in Athens so that takes up a bigpart of my time as well, and we do family interven-tion for first juvenile defenders. And of course root-ing for the Bulldogs takes a lot of time as well. Also,I'm a homebody person so I like to do decoratingand such.

What do you like most about UGA and living inthe Athens area?

The number one thing I love about Athens ishow diverse the city is. It's a small city but it's so fullof life. There's so many different people from allwalks of life and I feel like you never meet a stranger.So I love that about Athens. The events they havehere, I know Atlanta has a lot of these same eventsbut it's just different. It's different here in Athens be-cause you're guaranteed to see a few people youknow whereas in a big city, you may or may not.

If your husband wasn’t a college coach, what ca-reer do you envision him having?

If Bryan wasn't a coach, I could almost guar-antee he'd be a veterinarian. He just loves animals.

Your favorite UGA football moment?There are so many but I would say one that

stood out to me was my very first Georgia-Floridagame (in 2007). We were married when I went tothis game and I was just shocked to see the amountof people there and what really got my attention wassitting in the stands and seeing the division of colorsbetween red on one side and orange and blue onthe other side. I thought that was amazing. TimTebow was the quarterback for Florida; MatthewStafford and Knowshon (Moreno) were here and itwas the game where the team ran out on the fieldwhen we scored the very first touchdown. And wewon that game (42-30).

Bryan, Jr., Bryan, Brooke and Amber McClendon

www.bulldawgillustrated.com • 5

Despite accolades, Bulldogs stay focused on ClemsonDespite accolades, Bulldogs stay focused on Clemson

edia members that cover Southeastern Con-ference football have voted Georgia to win itsthird consecutive Eastern Division crown in2013.

So, to say the least, that makes the Bulldogs' Sept.7 SEC opener against South Carolina the most impor-tant game on the early-season schedule.

At the same time, however, even though the Aug.31 season opener at also nationally-ranked Clemsonwon't figure in the conference standings all the BulldogNation, and especially the Georgia players and coachesthemselves, know the magnitude of this year's openinggame. Lose to the Tigers in a nationally-televised, ABCprime-time game that will spotlight two potentially Top10-ranked teams and you plummet immediately fromthat ranking and also in the eyes of the national media.

Sure, a Georgia defeat in Death Valley can be over-come if the Bulldogs then go on to beat South Carolinafor the first time in four seasons, win the East again andthen capture Mark Richt's first SEC title since 2005 but,would a crushing opening loss at Clemson stick in theminds of the national pollsters which feed into the BCSprocess to determine the two teams for Jan. 6's nationaltitle game in Pasadena? And, too, if the Bulldogs limpout of Clemson at 0-1, how much will that affect theirmental state in turning around and having to face SteveSpurrier's Gamecocks the next week? Yes, a loss to theTigers could motivate Georgia to rebound with avengeance against Carolina but, conversely, it couldalso strip the Bulldogs of some of the confidence theycarried into this new season.

Certainly, the three Georgia leaders that accompa-nied Richt to SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala. this pastweek realize how a victory over the Tigers on openingnight is a must if the team is to realize all its 2013 goals.

Senior tight end Arthur Lynch, named to the pre-season All-SEC first team offense along with teammateTodd Gurley, after thinking about it for a few moments,said, yes indeed, the Clemson game will be the biggestseason opener in his four years in Athens.

"I think the Boise State game (2011 opener) was apretty big one, too, but I think the fact we're both com-ing off successful campaigns kind of makes this one

more important for a national ranking situation," Lynchsaid. "But yeah, I think Clemson is a big game. Fortu-nately, it's one of those games that doesn't count towardthe SEC but it's good for your program if you win. SoI think that's how we're attacking it, it's an SEC vs. ACCthing. They're coming off a win against LSU in the bowlseason and they're confident, we're coming off the bowlwin over Nebraska and we're confident so it's going tobe an interesting situation.

"I'm excited to play and anxious is the right word,"said Lynch. "I'm ready to stop working at my job forthe summer and get out and play some football. I fellin love with the tradition here and I know Clemson andGeorgia is a rivalry. It's an old-time rivalry and I'vetalked to some guys who played in the 1980s and '90sand they said, 'you don't want to lose to Clemson' andthat's kind of the mindset I have. We don't want to loseto Clemson."

Senior quarterback Aaron Murray, who's on a pathto shatter all the Georgia and SEC passing records,thinks the way the Bulldogs have worked so diligentlyin the off-season drills will have the team ready to an-swer the opening whistle on Aug. 31.

"I think we're definitely excited to start off againstClemson," said Murray. "The first two weeks are verychallenging games and I think that's why we've hadsuch a successful off-season, that guys realize there'sno easing our way into this season. We've got to be inmid-season shape to start the season off, and our guysknow that. Attendance (in off-season practice) has beenthe best since I've been here when it comes to work-outs, conditioning, one-on-ones, the guys watchingextra film in preparation for that opening game. It'sbeen a great, great summer and I know we're ready togo."

Much as has been the case at Georgia this presea-son, everybody has talked at length about Clemson'sexplosive offense but the Tiger defense hasn't seemed todraw a lot of respect. Murray, though, is very cognizantof the unit he'll be facing opening night.

"Clemson definitely has a talented defense, a lot ofvery good skilled guys all around the board," he said."You could tell from the way they played LSU in the

bowl game, a very talented team. And also, they'regoing to have the advantage of it's going to be at theirhome field. You have to deal with the crowd noise andthings like that so it's going to be a challenge. They'regoing to be hyped, they're going to be excited just as weare so we have to be ready to go."

"Clemson is a pretty big game," offered the Bull-dogs' third player rep at media days, senior defensiveend Garrison Smith. "But like I always say, every gameis a big game because every game counts. No matter ifyou're playing Boise State, Clemson or you're playingClark Atlanta, it doesn't matter because every game isbig. It's a win or loss and them wins and losses are realimportant," Smith said. "There's no lesser opponentsthese days. Every team can be beat and you know acouple of years ago, Appalachian State beat Michigan.No team is taken lightly and we prepare like we're inthe national championship every game. We're just fo-cused on one goal right now. That's the season openerand we're going to try to do our best to win it."

With preseason camp set to kick off on theWoodruff Practice Fields on Thursday, Aug. 1, Smithechoed Murray about the outstanding off-season work-outs the Bulldogs have had in preparation this summer.

"Most definitely, we've been working out realhard," he said. "Everybody's been training hard to-gether and we're ready to just compete against otherand try to make each other better."

And much like the Clemson season outlook, Smithisn't worried in the least about prognosticators who arecalling the Bulldog defense too young and inexperi-enced to slow down formidable opposing attacks thisseason.

"As a defense, we're just worried about what wecan control and that's how hard we play, how hard wework and following the game plan the coaches give us,"Smith said. "We're just going to try to execute to thebest of our ability starting with this first game − that'sour focus."

The Georgia Bulldogs vs. the Clemson Tigers. Thecountdown is truly already underway for this giganticseason-opening matchup, which is now less than sixfull weeks away.

photos by Logan BookerBy Murray Poole/BI

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Sun, Sand and a Salute to the Military Family!

MILITARY APPRECIATION FESTIVALDuring the weekend of fun, sun and music, a Military Appreciation Festival

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SPECIAL FIREWORKS SHOWSaturday night will be a blast - literally. Make plans to make it a big weekend

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A FREE FOR ALLJoin us Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the free Beach Music Festival at Great Dunes Park. On Sunday, the festival continues from noon to 4 p.m. with more live entertainment from several local acts, as well as performances from Nashville newcomers Cole Taylor and Marjory Lee.

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Headlining the weekend events will be

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7 9 8 P R I N C E A V E N U E s o n i a s a y s . c o m

BI Welcome reception for UGA’s 22nd president - Jere Morehead

Dink Nesmith and Jere MoreheadAllison Hays, John Hays and Will Hays Tom Jackson, Kitty Keadle and Barbara Lucas

Ralph Johnson, George Huban and Kay BettsRandy Groomes and Carl Swearingen Heather Malcom and Kathy Pharr

Sarah George and Caroline Maddox Charlie McAlexander and Vance LeavyCarlton Harwood and Aldon Knight Ginny Ingels, Libby Fennell and Mark Slonaker

Stephen Simpson and Parker MiddletonMichael Luthi, Megan Hill and Hanna Hunt Angela Yearwood, Dr. William Keller and Jere Morehead



HOOVER, Ala. − One by one they marched up to thepodium at 2013 SEC Media Days here July 16-18 and beforethe opening whistle has sounded this football season, all of thehead coaches in the Southeastern Conference − including thenew faces at Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas −seemed cautiously optimistic about their teams' chances thisfall. We all know, however, once the season-opening kickoffson Aug. 29 and Aug. 31 transpire, some of those coaches' pre-season optimism will fade into stark reality. But, certainly, herebefore the new campaign begins, every team is on equal 0-0footing so let's take a look at how things shaped up from eachschool coming out of this season's media days and headinginto the August fall camps.

Alabama

Now, the big question as the 2013 season draws near, isthis: Can the Alabama Crimson Tide pull off an amazing three-peat? Can Nick Saban’s football team roll to a third consecutivenational championship this coming fall, which would give theAlabama mentor his fourth national crown on the Capstone?

Certainly, I don't know who would bet against that hap-pening. From last season's 13-1 squad, the one that lost onlyto Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M, held off a red-hot Geor-gia team in the SEC title game and then hammered NotreDame 42-14 in the BCS title game in Miami, the Tide returnsno less than seven defensive starters and six offensive regulars.

And, too, the 2013 schedule is most favorable for Saban'steam. Alabama goes to Texas A&M Sept. 14 for the long-awaited rematch but welcomes Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennesseeand the LSU Tigers all to Bryant-Denny Stadium this fall.

Offensively, however, the Tide will have to find capablereplacements for the three all-star players it lost up front ...guard Chance Warmack, former Outland Trophy winning cen-ter Barrett Jones and right tackle D.J. Fluker. But outstandingjunior tackle Cyrus Kouandjio is back as is starting left guard,senior Anthony Steen, whom Saban brought to Media Days,along with senior quarterback AJ McCarron and senior line-backer C.J. Mosley. McCarron, of course, will be guiding the'Bama attack after landing third-team All-America honors inthe 2012 season when he passed for 2,933 yards and 30 touch-downs while amazingly being intercepted only three times.And McCarron will again be throwing to his top two receiversfrom last year, sophomore Amari Cooper (59 catches, 1000yards) and senior Kevin Norwood (29, 461). Although Ala-bama lost leading rusher Eddie Lacy to the NFL, the Tide re-turns its other 1,000-yard runner in sophomore T.J. Yeldon(1,108 yards, 12 TDs).

Defensively, while the Tide lost All-America cornerbackDee Milliner and powerful nose guard Jesse Williams, it hasplenty of firepower returning in 2012 starters DE Ed Stinson,outside linebackers Adrian Hubbard and Xzavier Dixon, in-side backers Trey DePriest and leading tackler and ButkusAward finalist Mosley, cornerback Deion Belue, and All-Amer-ica safety candidate HaHa Clinton-Dix.

This Alabama team is a consensus No. 1 preseason pickin all the polls and until somebody proves differently, that'swhere they'll stay over the course of the upcoming season.

Head coach Nick Saban: "I just think it's crazy to specu-late because of the fact that each year you have a different typeof team. This year, you know, our team probably has a littlebetter skilled players on offense. We have a very experiencedquarterback who has done a wonderful job and has developedand improved every year, has continued to do that, has been aleader on our team in A.J. McCarron. We have questions aboutthe development of the offensive line, but that seems to go verywell. We have some very good skill players at wide receiverwho have been very productive. So we may have a little differ-ent type of team."

Arkansas

One of four new head coaches in the SEC, former Wis-consin mentor Bret Bielema will be attempting to lead Arkansasback to prominence after the Razorbacks suffered through a 4-8 season (2-6 in SEC) in their one season under John L. Smith.

Bielema especially inherits experience on defense, whatwith eight starters back from the 2012 unit. Senior defensiveend Chris Smith and senior tackle Byran Jones are the Hogs’ all-star candidates and should get ample assistance from juniorend Trey Flowers, sophomore linebacker A.J. Turner, sopho-more cornerback Will Hines, junior cornerback Tevin Mitchell,senior safety Eric Bennett and sophomore safety Rohan Gaines.

Offensively. the cupboard is not quite as full as only fourstarters from last year return. They are senior center TravisSwanson, an All-SEC second-team selection in 2012, senioroffensive tackle David Hurd, senior tight end Austin Tate andsophomore wide receiver Mekale McKay. But the Razorbacksare expecting big things from senior fullback Kiero Small, astrong blocker who returns to the lineup after missing the final11 games of last season and being granted a medical redshirt.At quarterback, with the record-breaking Tyler Wilson nowgone, sophomore Brandon Allen made a move in the spring towrest the starting job from senior Brandon Mitchell. At tail-back, sophomore Jonathan Williams is the leader heading intoAugust camp but will be pushed at the spot by big KodyWalker, swift Nate Holmes and blue-chip signee Alex Collins.

So how high can Arkansas climb in Bielema’s first seasonin Fayetteville? Well, the Razorbacks aren’t going to scale con-sensus pick Alabama and division contenders Texas A&M andLSU but if the Hogs can get good production at the QB andrunning back spots, they could possibly find themselves in abattle with Ole Miss and Mississippi State – even a new-lookAuburn team – for a fourth place finish in the wild, wild West.

Head coach Bret Bielema: “I'm going to start with the of-fensive line and defensive line, two staples I believe are impor-tant for winning games that I want our team to play. Doesn'tmatter if we're in the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, whatever it is. It'ssomething I emphasize from day one. I'm so excited. For us atArkansas, one of our better players, Travis Swanson, is a cen-ter. I've always been taught back from Hayden Fry, if you canbuild a team from the inside out on both sides of the football,you have a chance to be good.”

Auburn

After what was arguably the very worst season in Auburn’sfootball history, the Tigers are hoping to return to SEC powerin 2013 and the man leading the way on the plains is formeroffensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

Coming off that dismal 3-9 overall and winless (0-8) SECfinish which included shutout losses to rivals Georgia (0-38)and Alabama (0-49), Malzahn inherits a good bit of experienceon defense where no less than nine Tiger starters return. Of-fensively, only five regulars are back but then, with Malzahninstalling his fast-paced spread option attack, Auburn shouldbe much better on that side of the ball as well.

After the Tiger quarterbacks threw only eight touchdownpasses last season, against 15 interceptions, Malzahn is certainlybanking on improved play from junior signal-caller Kiehl Fra-zier and sophomore Jonathan Wallace could also be a factor butthen Tiger fans are most anxious to get a look at former Geor-gia signee Nick Marshall, who dazzled in the junior collegeranks last season and has true dual-threat capabilities.

Junior tailback Tre Mason leads the running back corpsafter going for 1,000-plus yards in last season’s anemic attackand paving the way up front will be the likes of tackles GregRobinson and Patrick Miller, guard Chad Slade and junior cen-ter Reese Dismukes, who is the anchor of the Tigers’ O-line.

Auburn’s experienced defensive unit is spurred by seniorend Dee Ford, who recorded two sacks of Clemson’s Tajh Boydin Auburn’s one-touchdown loss to the other Tigers in the 2012season opener, third-year starting senior cornerback ChrisDavis and junior strong safety Jermaine Whitehead. OtherTiger leaders on defense this fall should be senior tackle JeffreyWhitaker, senior end Nosa Eguae, senior linebacker Jake Hol-land, junior cornerback Jonathon Mincy and senior free safetyDemetruce McNeal.

While Auburn can’t help but be improved over the 2012debacle, the Tigers still look to be a ways off from being able tolook state rival Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss in the eyes in theSEC West Division.

Senior cornerback Chris Davis: “Last year was very frus-trating, to be Auburn and go 3-9. Coach Malzahn came inand said we’ve got to get Auburn football back to where itused to be and get our edge back, but the best thing aboutit is he always says, it’s a new day. You know we use last yearevery day as a motivation. It’s always going to be stuck inthe back of your head, that you went 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC…that’s not Auburn football and we’ve got to get it back towhere it used to be.”

Florida

They’re not exactly going to become “Air Florida” a laSpurrier’s Gators in the 1990s but it’s a safe bet you will beseeing Will Muschamp’s third UF edition having more suc-cess with the passing game this coming autumn.

After averaging only 146 yards through the air in 2012,Muschamp thinks Florida’s aerial attack is now better suitedto complement a Gator run game which produced a 1,000-yard rusher last season in senior Mike Gillislee. Still, for thatto happen, Florida is going to have to come up with somepeople to catch Driskel’s passes. Wideouts such as QuintonDunbar, Latroy Pittman and Trey Burton clearly have to stepup their performances over last year and enable the Gatorsto go over the top when opposing defenses load up to stopthe running of new starting tailback Matt Jones and toutedfreshman backup and Kelvin Taylor, son of former Floridagreat Fred Taylor. And of course, Driskel is a pretty fair ballcarrier himself, having run for 400-plus yards last year, in-cluding a school quarterback record of 177 yards againstVanderbilt.

The Gators, hoping to challenge Georgia and SouthCarolina for the SEC East title after posting an 11-2 overallrecord and 7-1 SEC mark (only loss to rival Georgia) in2012, should once again be formidable on the other side ofthe ball, where Muschamp has injected his mindset afterbeing a defensive back at Georgia and tutoring the defensesat LSU, Auburn and Texas, before coming to Gainesville.All-star candidates Loucheiz Purifoy (CB) and DominiqueEasley (DL) are the Florida leaders on defense and get plentyof help from the likes of linebacker Antonio Morrison andsafety Jaylen Watkins. To win the East this year, however,the Gators will have to hold serve away from Gainesville.They go to LSU and South Carolina while of course squar-ing off against the Bulldogs in Jacksonville, where Floridawill be attempting to snap a two-game losing skid vs. Geor-gia.

Junior quarterback Jeff Driskel: “The loss to Louisville(by 33-23 in the Sugar Bowl) was definitely embarrassing.They tore us up, on offense and defense. Louisville played agreat game. It’s not like we weren’t prepared, we were veryprepared for the game. We didn’t take them lightly, they justbeat us. That’s the end of the story there. That’s a huge mo-tivation we brought into the off-season and we’ll be ready togo. We have a huge chip on our shoulders and we’ll be readyto go in camp here come a couple of weeks.”

Georgia

Five agonizing yards away from it being the GeorgiaBulldogs, not the Alabama Crimson Tide, in the BCS Na-tional Championship game against an outmanned NotreDame team, Georgia in 2013 is being expected to make an-other run at the SEC championship and that coveted – andlong awaited – slot in the biggest game of them all.

To accomplish as much, of course, the Bulldogs willhave to get excellent play from a rebuilt defensive unit …what with most of last year’s regulars having moved on to theNational Football League. From the 12-2 team of 2012 (7-1 SEC), head coach Mark Richt greets just three returningdefensive starters … senior end Garrison Smith, junior in-side Amarlo Herrera, sophomore outside linebacker JordanJenkins and senior cornerback Damian Swann. But thecoaching staff feels good about the young and athletic guyswho will be filling the remaining starting spots this season.

photos by Logan BookerBy Murray Poole/BI

SEC Media Days kick off the 2013 seasonSEC Media Days kick off the 2013 season


People like nose guard Mike Thornton, ends SterlingBailey and Ray Drew, inside linebacker Ramik Wilson, ex-citing freshman safety Tray Matthews, corner Sheldon Daw-son,outside linebacker James DeLoach and “Star” JoshHarvey-Clemons, once he’s over his opening-game suspen-sion against Clemson, will all be counted on heavily to keepthe Bulldogs from being pummeled by opposing offenses.

Certainly, Georgia doesn’t have those questions on theother side of the ball where a whopping 10 starters return togive the Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley-led attack poten-tially one of the best offenses in the country.

While senior QB Murray will continue to shatter schooland SEC passing records, the running back tandem of soph-omores Gurley and Keith Marshall could also be among thebest in America. The bruising Gurley ran for 1,385 yards anda freshman record 17 touchdowns (beating Herschel by two)in his UGA debut while the mercurial Marshall added 759yards and eight scores, many of them being from long dis-tance. Although the Bulldogs lost leading receiver TavarresKing, Murray still has a slew of able targets in MalcolmMitchell, Michael Bennett (back from a 2012 injury), ChrisConley, Justin Scott-Wesley, Rantavious Wooten and tightends Arthur Lynch, a preseason All-SEC selection, and JayRome.

Up front, all road-grading starters are back in the per-sons of Kenarious Gates, John Theus, David Andrews, ChrisBurnette (All-SEC preseason) and Dallas Lee and pushingfor a starting tackle slot in the spring was sophomore tackleXzavier Ward.

Critical for Georgia’s national aspirations is the Aug. 31season opener at explosive Clemson and critical for the Bull-dogs’ hopes of returning to the SEC title game is the Sept. 7home opener against South Carolina, a team that has de-feated Georgia for three consecutive seasons. If Richt’s teamcan leap over those two hurdles, this season could indeedturn into something magical.

Head coach Mark Richt: “It was a tremendous season lastyear. We really, I thought, played extremely well. Got a tasteof how close you can get and not quite get it done. I thinkthat will serve to motivate us throughout this off-season,what's left of it, and throughout our camp. Once again, thegoal is to get back to Atlanta. That's it for us. You get to Atlanta,once you get there, you win that game, you got a chance toplay for a national championship. Sounds like a brokenrecord, but that's the real deal.”

Kentucky

The 2013 Kentucky Wildcats return six offensivestarters and the same amount of defensive starters from lastyear’s football team. Only thing is, these are the starters froma team that won only two of 12 games and thus, the chal-lenge facing new Cat mentor Mark Stoops seems an enor-mous one.

Stoops, the former defensive coordinator at FloridaState and brother of Oklahoma head coach Bob, will be at-tempting to get Kentucky back to some of the winning waysit experienced under Rich Brooks, prior to the three losingseasons the Wildcats went through under Joker Phillips in2010, 2011 and 2012.

But certainly, the Big Blue Nation is enthusiastic aboutStoops injecting new life into the program and that was ap-parent in this year’s spring game, when over 50,000 turnedout to watch a sport that admittedly takes second fiddle tobasketball in Lexington.

The Wildcats will be looking to the likes of offensivelinemen Darrian Miller, Zach West and Kevin Mitchell forleadership up front and like the way sophomore Jalen Whit-low, a dual threat quarterback, is coming on directing theUK attack. The key name in the Wildcats’ running game iselusive senior Raymond Sanders, from Stone Mountain, Ga.Defensively, Kentucky is counting on end Bud Dupree,tackle Donte Rumph, linebackers Avery Williamson andMiles Simpson and safety Ashely Lowery to show the wayfor the Wildcats’ new starters on that side of the ball.

Senior running back Raymond Sanders: “It’s very spe-cial when I go against Georgia. I know a lot of those guys onthe team and being from Georgia, you always look forwardto that game. When we play them, it’s that game when fam-ily and friends and everybody will be watching and every-one will be there. So it’s always a big game on the schedule.T.J. Stripling, I’m friends with him and of course I knowMichael Thornton (former Stephenson High teammate) andGarrison Smith, I know a bunch of guys on that team andcheck up on them and see how they’re doing and howthey’re working. I’m eager to see Big Mike play and I’mproud of him. I’m glad he’s been working hard. He’s beenworking his tail off and waiting his time behind those bigguys (John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers) that were aheadof him. I hope he can be successful, except for one week,when we play them.”

LSU

No team has been hit harder by attrition than the LSUTigers. From last season’s West Division runners-up to Ala-bama, the Bayou Bengals team that went 10-3 overall and 5-1 in the SEC, head coach Les Miles lost his normal bunchof seniors but also, had a whopping 10 juniors that declaredfor the NFL Draft. Especially jolted by the Tiger migrationwas the LSU defensive line, which six key players were lost.

Thus, Miles is faced with reconstructing his squadwhile inheriting only three returning defensive starters. Notan enviable position when attempting to battle the two-timedefending national champion, Alabama, for the right tomake it to the SEC title game in Atlanta.

Offensively, the outlook is a bit better as the Tigers re-turn seven to eight players who started at one time or an-other in 2012. That includes senior quarterback ZachMettenberger, the transfer from Georgia who passed for2,609 yards and 12 touchdowns last fall, against seven in-terceptions. And Mettenberger has talented targets to throwto this season in the persons of junior wideouts Odell Beck-ham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry. Landry led LSU in receiving lastyear with 56 catches for 573 yards while Beckham led intotal yards with 713 on 43 receptions. With leading rusherJeremy Hill’s playing status uncertain at this juncture, afteroff-the-field transgressions, the Tigers will lean heavily onsenior tailback Alfred Blue and junior tailback KennyHilliard to keep the LSU running game going. Up front, jun-ior tackle La’el Collins, sophomore guard Trai Turner andsophomore tackle Vadal Alexander will be counted on heav-ily to lead the Tigers’ young offensive line.

Defensively, as mentioned, all kinds of new faces will beon the field for LSU and it will be up to incumbents LaminBarrow (sr. LB), Jalen Mills (soph. corner) and Craig Loston(sr. safety) to show the new starters what has to be done toslow opposing offenses. Senior linebacker Tahj Jones is an-other Tiger who has tasted starting action.

But, certainly, with his new-look defensive unit, Milesand company are facing a prodigious task this season. TheTigers have to go to Alabama Nov. 9, get Texas A&M inBaton Rouge two weeks after that and also must encounterEast Division powers Georgia and Florida.

Senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger: (On possiblybeing too hyped in his Sept. 28 return to Athens to face theBulldogs) “It can be easy for someone to let themselves, Imean I don’t know anybody else that’s had to go back andplay the team they got kicked off of. Yeah, it can be easy formyself to go out there, and try to throw for 500 yards, and8 touchdowns, but you can’t force that. You just have to playwithin yourself and put the ball in the coaches’ hands andtrust the coach that he’ll call the right play at the right time.”

Mississippi State

Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen begins hisfifth season at the helm of the Bulldogs and will be out topost a fourth consecutive winning campaign when the ma-roon Dogs kick off the 2013 slate on Aug. 31 against Okla-homa State in Houston.

From last season’s 8-5 team (4-4 SEC), which fellto rival Ole Miss and then to Northwestern in the GatorBowl in the final two games, the Bulldogs bring back sixstarters on each side of the ball. Senior Tyler Russell isback to guide State’s spread offense after throwing for2,897 yards and 24 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions,in the 2012 season. Second-team All-SEC selectionLadarius Perkins is the top gun at running back afterrunning for 1,024 yards and eight scores during his jun-ior season last year and Mississippi State’s leader up frontis high future draft choice and first-team All-SEC selec-tion Gabe Jackson, a 6-4, 310-pound senior guard. Abig question, however, is who will step up at wide re-ceiver, where the Bulldogs lost all three starters to grad-uation.

Defensively, Mullen is looking to senior end DenicoAutry and sophomore linebacker Benardrick McKinneyto help shore up a unit that was also pelted by gradua-tion. Other returning starters being counted on heavilyare end Kaleb Eulls, linebackers Deonte Skinner andMatt Wells and safety Nickoe Whitley.

Certainly, the State program under Mullen hasevolved into a position to deliver another winning sea-son for the Bulldog Nation but again, don’t look for Mis-sissippi State to seriously challenge national powersAlabama and LSU for SEC West supremacy.

Head coach Dan Mullen: “I'm very excited about thisyear coming back. What we've tried to do in building aprogram at Mississippi State is build consistency, build ateam that can consistently win. As you consistently win,at that point you're going to have the opportunity to goon and continue to take those next steps and go com-pete, which our ultimate goal is to find a way to get to

Atlanta and compete for an SEC Championship.Every year, that is always our number one goal, try tofind a way to get to Atlanta in December.”

Missouri

Pretty much as expected, the Missouri Tigers foundthe road rocky in their first season in the SoutheasternConference, going only 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the leaguein 2012. But with head coach Gary Pinkel welcomingeight offensive starters and six defensive regulars back tothe lineup this year, the former Big 12 team is expectedto have an opportunity to at least knock out a winningrecord and thereby earn a post-season invitation.

Inconsistent and injury-plagued in his junior seasonlast fall when he did pass for 1,562 yards and 10 touch-downs (with 7 picks), Tiger QB James Franklin is hop-ing to return to the form of his outstanding sophomoreyear. He’ll be joined in the Missouri backfield by juniortailback Henry Josey, who sat out the entire 2012 seasonwhile rehabbing a knee injury he suffered in the 10thgame in 2011 … after running for 1,168 yards. Ofcourse, Franklin will again have a big target to throw toin the person of 6-6, 210-pound Dorial Green-Beckhamwho was maybe the most touted freshman recruit inAmerica last year when he hardly set the woods on firebut did catch 28 passes for 395 yards and five touch-downs. Defensively, Missouri will sorely miss NFL signeeSheldon Richardson but still are looking to be better onthat side of the football, what with defensive ends KonyEaly and Michael Sam, tackle Matt Hoch, middle line-backer Andrew Wilson, cornerback E.J. Gaines and freesafety Brayton Webb all returning to their starting roles.

Head coach Gary Pinkel: “I think we certainly under-stand how great it is to be in the SEC. People ask me,‘What did you learn from the SEC after your first yearinto it?’ The SEC is what I thought it was going to be. It'sa line-of-scrimmage league. I knew that coming in. Greatfootball teams start at their line of scrimmage. I don't carewhat skill positions you have, you got to be good upfront. I knew that going in.”

photos by Logan Booker


Ole Miss

Hugh Freeze is proving he can recruit very well, drawingin one of the nation’s top five classes this year. Now, Freeze hadto prove he can coach as well and place his Ole Miss Rebels intitle contention in the rugged SEC West division.

Entering his second season in Oxford, Freeze will be at-tempting to take a step up from last season’s 7-6 finish(3-5SEC), which included closing maulings of state rival Missis-sippi State (41-24) and Pittsburgh (38-17 in the BBVA Com-pass Bowl).

And the Rebels look to be pretty well fortified to accom-plish that, bringing back no less than eight offensive startersand seven defensive regulars from the 2012 squad. Among theoffensive stalwarts are junior wide receiver Donte Moncrief,who rated one of the very top receivers in the league last sea-son with 66 receptions for 979 yards and 10 touchdowns, andjunior quarterback Bo Wallace, who threw for 2,994 yards and22 touchdowns, though he also had 17 interceptions. Wallacealso kept the ball for 390 yards and eight scores. Then there issenior running back Jeff Scott, who rambled for 846 yards andsix touchdowns. These Rebels will be operating the team’s high-tempo attack behind an offensive front that has four returningstarters.

Defensively, Ole Miss is expected to get ample productionfrom all-star sophomore linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche, an All-SEC second-team selection in his redshirt freshman season andthe older brother of Rebel recruit Robert Nkemdiche, the na-tion’s No. 1 prep signee. Other Ole Miss leaders on defense arejunior free safety Cody Prewitt, senior corner Charles Sawyer,senior linebacker Mike Marry and junior defensive end C.J.Johnson.

Head coach Hugh Freeze: “Our task in year two is tomaintain the enthusiasm and energy from both our fans andour players and everyone that is involved in our program, as wecontinue to strive to be relevant in the SEC West. We have madestrides. But, again, those young men we've recruited to help uswith our depth issues, they're 18-year-old kids. How quickthey'll adjust to this game and this league, you really don'tknow.”

South Carolina

Steve Spurrier has brought unparalleled success to theUniversity of South Carolina, already having won more gamesthan any coach in Gamecock football history.

But what Spurrier hasn’t done in his now nine years at theSC helm is win a Southeastern Conference title which of coursehe managed to do no less than seven times at Florida, while alsoguiding the Gators to a national championship in 1996.

But coming off last season’s sparkling 11-2 record, whichincluded a 6-2 SEC mark and a 35-7 victory over eventual EastDivision champion Georgia, Spurrier is expected to once againfield the kind of football team that will give the defendingchampion Bulldogs and his old school, Florida, all they wantin the quest to make the SEC championship game at the Geor-gia Dome.

With quarterbacks Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompsonthrowing to junior wideout Bruce Ellington and several othercapable receivers, Spurrier should have the potent air game healways covets but despite South Carolina bringing back fourstarting offensive linemen from last season, the big question iswhat kind of running attack the Gamecocks will muster nowthat great tailback Marcus Lattimore has migrated to the NFL?Spurrier is hoping that Mike Davis, a 215-pound sophomorefrom Lithonia, will now step up and be the complement toShaw and Thompson’s passing arms.

Defensively, South Carolina may sorely miss linebackerShaq Wilson and free safety D.J. Swearinger as well as ace puntreturner Ace Sanders but with America’s No. 1 defensive player,Jadeveon Clowney, again setting the pace on the flanks and Vic-tor Hampton, Jimmy Legree and Brison Williams all havingstarting experience in the secondary, the Gamecocks could stillprove extra tough to move the ball against. Clowney, a 6-6,272-pound junior who is surely playing his last season in Co-lumbia, is a once-in-a-lifetime player and a bonafide HeismanTrophy candidate. But, there again, South Carolina isn’t with-out question marks on this side of the ball, either. For one thing,the Gamecocks will be starting three new faces at linebacker,meaning Mr. Clowney may be facing with even more double-team blocks than he’s encountered in the past.

Certainly, South Carolina, if it can topple Georgia for afourth consecutive year in the two teams’ SEC opener Sept. 7in Athens, will take a big step toward that coveted Eastern Di-vision crown.

Head coach Steve Spurrier: “We’ve been pretty fortunate.Last year Georgia, they didn’t play very well at all (35-7 Carolinawin). The first play of the game, their kid was getting ready tointercept it, and Damiere Byrd sort of plucked it out of theirhands, we went down and scored. Everything went our waythe first half, second half. But then they came back. So you gotto give Georgia credit. We’ve beaten them the last two years,then they’ve won all their conference games. That game is im-portant, but it didn’t determine the division champion. So we’regoing to try to beat ‘em like we always do, and they’re going totry to beat us. But should be a heck of a game.”

Tennessee

Derek Dooley is no longer in Knoxville and Big Orangefans are looking to highly-energized new head coach ButchJones to steer the Volunteers back to the championship days theprogram enjoyed under Phil Fulmer.

From Dooley’s final team in Knoxville, the one that com-piled a second consecutive 5-7 record, Jones, the formerCincinnati mentor, inherits five defensive regulars and eightguys who started at one time another on defense. Tennesseeespecially looks formidable in the offensive line where all fivestarters rate NFL potential. They are rugged junior tackle An-tonio Richardson, expected to be playing his final season at UT,senior center James Stone, senior guards Zach Fulton and AlexBullard and senior tackle Ja’Wuan James. Junior Justin Worleyappears to have the inside track toward becoming the Vols’starting quarterback after backing Tyler Bray in 2012. He will,however, certainly miss throwing to ace wide receivers JustinHunter and Cordarrelle Patterson, who were both drafted inApril. Worley will be handing off to running backs Rajion Nealand Marlin Lane. The two rushed for 708 and 658 yards, re-spectively, last season.

Defensively, the Volunteers have that very solid nucleusback led by the SEC’s leading tackler in 2012, junior linebackerA.J. Johnson. Johnson recorded a total of 138 stops last season.Other Tennessee defensive regulars returning to help spur aVolunteer revival this fall are senior defensive tackle Daniel Mc-Cullers, junior linebacker Curt Maggitt, junior corner JustinColeman, senior safety Byron Moore, senior linemen MauriceCouch and Jacques Smith and senior DB LaDarrell McNeil.

How much progress the Vols will make under Jones thisseason is hard to gauge as preseason camp draws near. Ten-nessee does welcome defending East champion Georgia toNeyland Stadium this season and also will play host to Spurrier’sGamecocks two weeks later. But road trips to Florida and Ala-bama look to be too formidable for the rebuilding Volunteersto overcome and, at the moment, Tennessee’s best opportunitywould seem to be holding off Vanderbilt, Missouri and Ken-tucky for a fourth place finish in SEC East.

Junior offensive tackle Antonio Richardson: “Nobodyexpected Johnny Manziel or RGIII (Robert Griffin) to be Heis-man candidates when they were. You never know what’s goingto happen in college football so that’s why we’re optimisticthinking and knowing we’re going to win because you neverknow what’s going to happen in college football. Coach Jonesis really great; he brings a lot of energy every single day. And asa player, that’s all you can ask for, that consistency, and as we asplayers see that, we’ll try to emulate that.”

Texas A&M

Yes, Texas A&M has the great Johnny Manziel, the firstplayer to win the Heisman Trophy as a mere freshman but, thequestion is, does “Johnny Football” have enough of a support-ing cast back in College Station to put the Aggies in position tochallenge defending national champion Alabama in SEC West?

From his 11-2 squad (5-1 SEC) of 2012, head coachKevin Sumlin returns six offensive starters and five defensiveregulars.

Manziel, who hasn’t enamored the collegiate footballworld with his numerous off-the-field troubles, became the firstSEC player to reach the 5,000-yard plateau in total offense fora season with 5,116 total yards, an NCAA freshman recordand No. 9 on the NCAA all-time list. With his prolific running

and passing he will guide an Aggie offensive attack whichalso features all-star candidates in senior tackle JakeMatthews and sophomore wide receiver Mike Evans. Butagain, how will the losses of star offensive linemen LukeJoeckel and Patrick Lewis, as well as leading wide receiverRyan Swope, affect the A&M offense this coming fall?

Defensively, the Aggies will have six new faces takingthe field and the exodus of middle linebacker JonathanStewart and outside ‘backer Sean Porter could especiallybe felt. Texas A&M’s five returning regulars will thus becounted on to step up big time. They are nose guard KirbyEnnis, end Julien Obioha, outside linebacker Steven Jenk-ins and cornerbacks De’Vante Harris and DeshazorEverett.

The Aggies, the only team to take down the eventualnational champion Crimson Tide last season, will be brac-ing for a surely revenge-minded Alabama on Sept. 14 inCollege Station. But A&M must go on the road to playWest foes Arkansas, Ole Miss and LSU in 2013.

Sophomore quarterback Johnny Manziel: “I wouldn’tsay (the criticism of his away-from-field actions) it’s fair orunfair. I would say at times it’s blown a little bit out of pro-portion and at the end of the day I hope people still seethat I’m still a 20-year-old kid in college. I was a freshman,gonna be a sophomore in college. I was trying to enjoymy life and hopefully that doesn’t upset too many people.I’m continuing to learn as the days and weeks go on. Imade my mistakes, obviously, and I continue to learn fromthem and not make the same ones twice. For the mostpart, at some points in time, I feel like it’s been a littleblown up but maybe that’s just the way things are.”

Vanderbilt

No question about it, James Franklin has truly re-vived the Commodore football program, Last season, injust his second year at the Vandy helm, Franklin steeredthe Dores to a 9-4 overall record, which included a 38-24win over N.C. State in the Music City Bowl, and a 5-3 SECmark. And with a good nucleus (seven offensive starters,6 defensive regulars) back from that team, Vanderbilt fansare hoping for even better things in the fall of '013.

But for that to happen, Franklin must find a way tofill the big vacant shoes of quarterback Jordan Rogers, whoended his career on a seven-game winning streak, andleading rusher Zac Stacy, who galloped for 1,141 yardsand 10 touchdowns last season. Those two enabled theCommodores to field its highest-scoring offense (30.0 pergame) since the 1940s. Junior Austyn Carta-Samuels, thetransfer from Wyoming, is the heir apparent to Rogers atthe signal-calling spot and the Dores will have a three-manrotation to fill in for Stacy at tailback ... senior Wesley Tateand sophomores Jerron Seymour and Brian Kimbrow.Vanderbilt is all set at wide receiver with two of the best inthe league in senior Jordan Matthews, an All-SEC first-teamer who led the conference with 94 catches for 1,323yards and eight touchdowns, and junior Chris Boyd.Jonathan Krause is another returning starter in Vandy'sthree-receiver set and set to pave the way up front are re-turning regulars Wesley Johnson, Joe Townsend and An-drew Bridges.

Defensively, the Dores will be paced by returningstarters Walker May (DE), Chase Garnham (MLB), KarlButler (OLB), Andre Hal (2nd-team All-SEC CB), JavonMarshall (SS) and Kenny Ladler (FS).

The Commodores, who will welcome Ole Miss toNashville for the Aug. 29, Thursday night nationally-tele-vised opener, don't figure to leap over Georgia, South Car-olina and Florida in SEC East this year but right now, looklike a solid pick for a second-consecutive fourth place fin-ish, ahead of Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky.

Head coach James Franklin: "To put a little bit ofperspective for everybody, before we arrived at Vanderbilt,Vanderbilt had won four bowls game, had been to fourbowl games, excuse me, in 122 years. We've been to twobowl games in two years. Very, very proud of that. Wewere able to win nine games last year. Haven't won ninegames at Vanderbilt since 1915. Very proud of that fact.We were able to win our last seven games. Longest win-ning streak to end the season in the SEC last year was us."

photos by Logan Booker



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Q: Other than Herschel, who is your favorite Bulldog and why?Matthew: On the field I’d have to say Rennie Curran. You couldn’t go three plays at Sanford without hearing his name when he was here. Absolutely dominant. But I’ve got to give a shout out to Tavar-res King, too. I had a chance to get to know him in a geography class a few years ago, and he’s abso-lutely a class act. Really excited to see him play for the Broncos on Sundays.

Q: Who is your favorite player on the current UGA roster and why?Matthew: At this point Todd Gurley. I think he could be one of the best in the country this year. Looking forward to one of those young guys on D stepping up to make some plays, though.

Q: What makes you a true Bulldog?Matthew: I go to basketball games.

Q: What is the most memorable play you have experienced in person?Matthew: Probably Brandon Boykin scoring on offense against Boise State in the Georgia Dome in 2011, just because of the energy of the game and the fact that we all had to do a double take to make sure it was Boykin.

Q: Which one of our rivals do you enjoy beating the most?Matthew: Kentucky. I grew up and will always be a Hoosier first and foremost, so to come to an SEC school and watch all of the disappointed UK fans leaving Sanford, well, that’s something special.

Q: What makes your tailgating scene so special?Matthew: Our program (MBA) has just about the best spot on campus, right in front of the library. It’s great to be out on a nice autumn day, part of that awesome UGA energy. Let’s just try to schedule some evening games this year. I’m too old to tailgate at 10 in the morning.

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SEC Media Days: It’s football and it’s hereSEC Media Days: It’s football and it’s hereor people throughout the south, it is widely ac-cepted that college football is a 365 days a yearseason. The only argument that could be maderegarding this notion is when exactly one season

turns its pages to the next. Some would argue that theunofficial start to the new season begins at the precisemoment when the charcoal returns to a cool tempera-ture somewhere in the early evening of that Fourth ofJuly barbeque. Others may argue that the new seasonbegins at the exact moment the final out of the MajorLeague Baseball All-Star Game is recorded. But if youask any members of the media who have any ties to theSoutheastern Conference, they would likely unani-mously tell you the season turns its page when confer-ence commissioner Mike Slive takes the podium at theWynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama to open SEC MediaDays.

For many years now, my dream assignment hasbeen to wear the coveted Media Days credential aroundmy neck, getting the privilege to walk through theseemingly thousands of Alabama fans who congregatein the lower lobby of the Wynfrey, proceeding up theguarded escalator to the second floor where all themedia magic happens. With much thanks to BulldawgIllustrated, I set off for Hoover this past week to meetup with BI’s Murray Poole to experience the mania firsthand.

When I arrived at the Wynfrey, the magnitude ofthe event became obvious within the first few momentsI spent in the lobby, waiting for the credential office toopen. Radio Row, which stretched as far as you couldsee down the main hallway was working early, hostingnotable voices such as UGA greats Matt Stinchcomband David Pollack, along with ESPN personalities withnames like Paul Finebaum, Dari Nokwah, and TomLuginbill. The complete ESPN College Football Live sethad been erected, soaking in the bright lights as theequipment was being tested in preparation to go livethat afternoon. ESPNU had their bright lights and cam-eras set off to one corner, as personalities known to col-lege football fans like Tracy Wolfson, Tony Barnhart,and Mark Schlabach walked around the same lobby Iwas in, ready to conduct the same type work I wasthere to do. I had arrived.

This year’s “SECMD13” (as the SEC called it, in ob-vious attempts to look hip for the twitter-obsessedmembers of the media) played host to a record 1,200credentialed media members, all scrambling around thehotel lobby and conference rooms where the coaches ofall fourteen SEC schools, along with a few standoutplayers from each, were shuffled through in a time sen-sitive, meticulously planned circus.

Good news came for Bulldawg fans in Hoover, asthe media voted UGA to finish first in the SEC East,which would be the third year in a row they will havedone so. Tell any fan wearing red and black on NewYear’s Day of 2011 that this would be a possible sce-nario and any of them would have shaken your handand smiled. Well, that is a real possibility, and a bunchof people wearing credentials around their necks feel itis more likely than seeing Steve Spurrier or WillMuschamp march his team into the Georgia Dome thefirst Saturday in December. The same group whopicked UGA out of the East, overwhelmingly pickedAlabama to play against the Dawgs on that December

weekend. Unfortunately though, the vote to win thatgame failed to go in UGA’s favor.

There was no shortage of action throughout theentre three-day event. On day one, Will Muschamp,who always seems to be the most serious natured coachin these settings, spent a long time on the podium giv-ing what seemed like more of a metaphoric halftimespeech than giving a preview of his upcoming season.I’d like to think his record as the Gator coach in Jack-sonville contributed to his demeanor. While answeringquestions, Muschamp may or may not have taken a bitof a stab at current Ohio State, and former Florida headcoach Urban Meyer when he talked about how coachesshould be held 100% accountable for their players’ ac-tions. This all in the wake of the horrific scenario in-volving former Gator tight end Aaron Hernandez, whilethe media has seemingly been on a witch hunt aimedat Urban. But on a lighter note, Steve Spurrier certainlystole the Media Days spotlight, once again, as he gavehis annual goofy speech full of memorable momentsand laughs on the podium. When asked by a memberof the media how his fiftieth high school reunion wentthis summer, Spurrier paused, went into a few secondsof seemingly deep thought, and gave an unexpectedone word answer. “Quiet,” he proclaimed, as the entireroom broke out into laughter. In addition, Spurriergave his annual comments on how the schedule needsto be more fair for each team, and how players shouldbe compensated in some way; nothing too new, andnothing unforeseen going into the event.

Day two brought with it the most circus-like at-mosphere of the circus-like event. And this had ab-solutely nothing to do with four first-year coachestaking the stage for their initiation into the SEC frater-nity. Instead, some quarterback named “Johnny” fromthe Texas A&M Aggies, who was virtually unknown tothese same members of the media just 365 days prior,was the most anticipated interview of the entire event.This proved to be the case, as there was more mediaswarmed around Johnny Manziel’s small table in thecorner of the main room than for any single player orcoach the entire week. I was quite surprised that he wasnot given the main podium in the same way Tim Tebowwas given treatment back in 2009. Johnny answered aplethora of questions, ranging from why he left the eliteManning Passing Camp the previous week underbizarre circumstances, to which golf club he would usein a certain golf scenario. All in all, Manziel handledthe media very well, refraining from giving us anythingshocking or controversial.

The final day of “SECMD13” saw UGA have itstime in the spotlight. Coach Richt brought with himthree seniors who many would consider the class of the2013 Bulldawgs’ roster: star quarterback Aaron Mur-ray, defensive lineman Garrison Smith, and tight endArthur Lynch. Everybody was eager to get the firstquote from Aaron Murray in response to the declara-tions that “all-world” South Carolina defensive linemanJedeveon Clowney gave on day one that Murray playsscared of him. Several UGA beat writers, along with in-vited members of the national media, were invited byUGA’s communications team to a private suite to get allof our questions in prior to the entire media onslaughtthat awaited them in the main rooms. As expected,Murray handled the allegations from Clowney with

class, laughing them off and making it clear that he in-stead plays with great deal of respect for Clowney, notfear.

Also during UGA’s time in front of the media,Coach Richt talked about how coming so close to a tripto the BCS Championship this past season will certainlyplay as motivation to “finish the drill” this fall. Richtalso answered many questions about the magnitude ofopening up the year with a trip to a likely top ten op-ponent in Clemson. Richt emphasized that the teamhas been in a race to get into mid-season form by weekone, and that race began the moment the clock hit ze-roes in Orlando this past January at the conclusion ofthe Capital One Bowl victory over Nebraska.

Another tidbit of interest for Bulldawg fans on thefinal day of “SECMD13” took place when former UGAquarterback Zach Mettenberger answered questionsabout returning to play in Athens on week five of up-coming season. We asked him how he thought the fanswere going to react when he comes out of the tunnel forthe first time between the hedges, and he told BulldawgIllustrated “They’re going to boo the crap out of me! Iwouldn’t be surprised if somebody throws a brick atmy head.” This was said with tongue in cheek, but hemay be right to an extent. But in reality, nobody inAthens is the least bit upset that Aaron Murray has beenthe guy these past three seasons, and will be back forhis fourth this fall.

It goes without saying, the stars of the final day inHoover were the members of the Alabama CrimsonTide, both among the media and the several hundredrabid fans that overwhelmed the lower lobby just tocatch a glimpse of their little general, Nick Saban, walkby with his public relations entourage. These fansstayed for the duration of the day, spontaneously break-ing out in “Roll Tide” cheers, and going absolutely crazywhenever they would catch a glimpse of the little gen-eral, or one of the players brought with him. And onceSaban did take the podium, like a robot, he began totalk of mistakes his team made last year, despite be-coming the first, and what will be the only, team in thehistory of the BCS to win back-to-back crystal footballs.In addition, Saban was adamant that the SEC shouldexpand to a nine game schedule, so that any player whocommits to play for an SEC school will get the oppor-tunity to play every team in the conference during histenure at the school, assuming they stay for four sea-sons. He also stressed the importance of keeping thetraditional cross-divisional rivalries that are of such im-portance to fans such as Georgia-Auburn and Alabama-Tennessee. I must say I agree with Saban’s take on thisissue wholeheartedly.

SEC Media Days, the 2013 edition, has wrappedfrom Hoover, and the 2013 football season is officiallyupon us. The boys in the Classic City, along with thir-teen other campuses across the south, will open uppractices in just a couple short weeks, and we can allstart drooling over practice reports and rumors of depthchart movement. The humidity will soon break, bring-ing with it a chill to the air, which will in turn create abuzz across this nation that is rivaled by no other sport.Many across the state will gather up their coolers,chairs, grills, and good friends and family to make theirfall pilgrimages to Athens to watch the Dawgs hunkerdown, one more time. It’s football. And it’s here.

photo by Logan BookerBy Logan Booker/BI

F

OFFENSE

QB – A.J. McCarron, Alabama – This is a tough call with somany worthy candidates, including the reigning Heisman winner,who has had a noisy off-season. McCarron has been behind cen-ter for a pair of Crimson Tide national championships and is ex-tremely efficient.

RB – Todd Gurley, Georgia – A phenom who many think isGeorgia’s best tailback since Herschel Walker, Gurley is the totalpackage. He has speed, power, size, vision, footwork, a nose for theend zone and finishes the run. He is the nation’s best tailback.

RB – T.J. Yeldon, Alabama – The next in line of Alabama’s greattailbacks, Yeldon just might be the country’s second best. He andMcCarron will be the centerpiece of an Alabama offense that mustreplace most of an all-time great line.

WR – Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt – One of the most deco-rated players in school history, Matthews has a chance to put a se-rious dent into the SEC record books this year. He has the handsand the speed. If the slippery Matthews gets a step, he’s gone.

WR – Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia – One of the best players onthe Bulldogs talented roster, Mitchell is a big-play threat who shouldbe in line for a fantastic season since he can focus exclusively on of-fense. Alabama’s Amari Cooper is right here in the conversationwith Matthews and Mitchell.

TE – Arthur Lynch, Georgia – A fine blocker and big target whocan go over the middle, Lynch gives Georgia’s offense yet another el-ement. He and Jay Rome may be the best tight end combinationin college football.

OL – Jake Matthews, Texas A&M – A year ago, he and LukeJoekel, the second pick in the NFL Draft, formed a truly dynamictackle duo. They were a big part of Johnny Manziel’s Heisman Tro-phy run. Matthews figures to be a top five pick next spring as well.

OL – Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama – One of the greatest offensivelines in school history lost three sensational starters, but does re-turn one of the nation’s best tackles. Kouandjio was a five-star bluechip prospect who now steps into the starring role.

OL – Anthony Steen, Alabama – The other returning starter onthe Crimson Tide’s offensive line, Steen teams with Kouandjio togive Alabama a strong one-two inside/outside punch. He has mus-cle and is an exceptional run blocker.

OL – Chris Burnette, Georgia – This should be a fine Georgialine, and Burnette is a big reason. This talented veteran is strong,athletic and extremely smart. With the dynamic skill position play-ers behind them, the Dogs O-Line could pave the way for a greatyear.

OL – Antonio Richardson, Tennessee – The offensive line isTennessee’s strength and gives Butch Jones some first year hope.Richardson and JuWaun James are a stellar tackle combination. Be-fore JaDaveon Clowney made the play of the game a year ago,Richardson held his own with the All-American.

DEFENSE

DL – JaDaveon Clowney, South Carolina – Well on his way tobeing the greatest defender in South Carolina history, this once-in-a-decade talent is a sure-fire All-American and the likely No. 1 over-all pick next spring. He is the total package the ultimate offensivedisrupter.

DL – Kelsy Quarles, South Carolina – While Clowney is theAll-American at defensive end, Quarles gives the Gamecocks a one-two inside/out punch as good as any in the land. Quarles is pow-erful and quickly sheds blocks. He is a run-stuffer supreme.

DL – Dominique Easley, Florida – While the Gators lost a lotof talent to the NFL, they bring a whole bunch back, headlined by

Easley. Arguably the second best defensive lineman in the league,he has All-American and early first round potential.

DL – Anthony Johnson, LSU – The Tigers have churned outmore elite defensive linemen and corners than any program inAmerica in the 2000’s. Johnson is the next star. He has tremendousstrength and power, and is fully capable of collapsing the pocketand blowing up the run.

LB – C.J. Moseley, Alabama – A first team All-American a yearago, Moseley’s return gives Alabama’s defense is a big bump. Mose-ley can run and deliver the big hit. He’s the next in Alabama’s greatlinebacker lineage.

LB – Jordan Jenkins, Georgia – A sterling freshman, the heirapparent to Jarvis Jones steps into the headlining role at outsidelinebacker. Jenkins is strong and quick with great discipline. Heplays his assignments as well as any “edge” player in the league.

LB – A.J. Johnson, Tennessee – Far and away the Volunteersbest defender since the departure of the great All-American EricBerry, Johnson is a lethal sideline to sideline run stuffer. The Vols de-fense was bad last year, but this future first-rounder is one of theleague’s best.

CB – Damian Swann, Georgia – A breakout star in 2012, theBulldogs standout junior cornerback has an uncanny nose for thefootball. If the ball is in the air or on the ground, Swann has thatunique ability to attack the pigskin.

CB – Andre Hall, Vanderbilt – The Commodores defense wassuperb in the second half of last season as they closed the campaignwith seven straight wins. A stellar front seven combined with oneof the league’s top cover men in Hall gives this “D” a chance to beeven better.

S – Craig Loston, LSU – The Tigers run of elite corners has beenwell documented. They have also produced a slew of stellar safeties,including the departed Eric Reid. Loston is the next standout to stepup for a defense that lost a lost of stars and starters.

S – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Alabama – Nick Saban is a secondarycoach. Kirby Smart played safety. Almost every year under theirwatch, a Bama defensive back gets taken in the first round. Clin-ton-Dix follows in the footsteps of recent All-Americans Mark Bar-ron and Robert Lester.

KICKERS

P – Kyle Christy, Florida – A year ago, Christy teamed with All-American field goal ace Caleb Sturgis to give the Gators the bestkicking combo in America. With a nasty and talenteddefense,Christy’s big leg is an enormous asset for the Gators.

PK – Carey Spear, Vanderbilt – A candidate for the Lou GrozaAward, Spear was 20 of 24 a year ago on field goals and 27 of 27on extra points a year ago, earning second team All-SEC honorsbehind Sturgis. With so many tight ones in the league, kicker is oneof the most valuable positions on any team.

BI UGA Day - Savannah

Alyssa Lampertz, Lindsey Willingham, Gretchen Pearce, Mary Catherine Kenney, Carolyn Browning Molly GradyUga IX with Wendy Seiler and Cecil Seiler

Mark Fox, Raymond Patricio, Gretchen Patricio, Edwin Chase,Mark Richt

Holton Barwick and Barry Dotson Vance Leavy and Jason Jones Chase Mouchet and Matthew Parrish John and Peggy Perkins Jamie Wallace and Whitney Millwood

Melissa Crump and BrianThompson

Mark Fox, Briana Bowen and Mark Richt Leiston Shuman and Hi Roby Uga IX and Ben Watson Camille Russo and Talmadge Johnson Mark Slonaker, Laura Jolly and Keith Oelke

Uga IX and Melinda Thomas Beth Haberman, Chris Haberman andAnn Shealy

Patrick Lowe, Julie Hahn, Kelly Hahn and Patrick Hahn Hunter Odum, Mike Odum, Cliff McCurry and Adam Montgomery

Jeff Dantzler’s preseason All-SEC team


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Loran SmithEach year building a team is a challenge

Pre-season forecasts are often asunreliable as the weatherman’s predic-tions. There are the unknown factors,which influence results—from injuriesto attitudes—those vicissitudes thatare never reflected on the surface.There may be a bonding that takesplace that enables a team to win theclose games, which usually is the dif-ference in whether or not a team winsa championship.

That ability to win close games isthe most critical circumstance in sport.You come to believe, you are imbuedwith confidence that you can win, andfavorable results often ensue. In 1983,when Herschel Walker turned pro,Georgia was left without an establishedrunning back. During Herschel’s yearsat Georgia, it was understandable thatthe Bulldogs would not be signing anyhighly regarded ball carriers. In addi-tion, there was uncertainty at quarter-back until John Lastinger finallybecame established. Nonetheless, theBulldogs “knew” how to win. A stir-ring comeback against Florida high-lighted a season that ended in theCotton Bowl where the Bulldogs de-feated No. 2–ranked Texas, 10-9,which eliminated Longhorns' hopesfor winning the national champi-onship.

Every December after one of thehigh schools wins the state title, thestar of the team will be quoted about apre-season meeting in which the play-ers got together and vowed they wouldwin the state championship. Morethan likely a couple of dozen teamshad players making that same vow.For one of those teams, the vow be-came reality—but not by design.Emotion is a big part of football, andyou would be disappointed if there arenot several Bulldogs, led by quarter-back Aaron Murray, who don’t thinkthat Georgia has as good a chance towin a championship as anybody. Eventhough it is best to "lay" low, you wantthe players to have confidence thatthey are as good as the next team. Cer-tainly, you don’t want your team to beoutspoken. I remember a conversa-tion with longtime Dodger managerTommy Lasorda who said he alwaystold his players, “Believe you are thebest, but just don’t tell anybody.”

Each year building a team is achallenge that never ends. You wouldthink with the seasoning that charac-terizes the current Georgia offensealong with the ultimate in experienceat quarterback that the offense shouldbe highly productive. Losing all thosestarters on defense has many forecast-ers holding the view that for the Bull-dogs to succeed, they will have tooutscore opponents. Sometimes insuch situations, funny things happen

along the way—the defense surprisesand the offense struggles.

On offense, what Mike Bobo, ashas been the case since he became thecoordinator, wants is consistency.There is experience and proficiency atevery position. There is something towork with across the board.

Todd Grantham, the defensive co-ordinator, will have to count on youthcoming to the party. Think about thelosses—Jarvis Jones, John Jenkins,Kwame Geathers, Sanders Commings,Cornelius Washington, Baccari Rambo,Jarvis Jones, John Jenkins, Alec Ogle-tree and Shawn Williams—all of whomwill likely be playing on Sunday thisfall—and the tendency is to think neg-atively. Accentuating the positive,however, is a daily focus withGrantham. He likes the talent he hasto work with and believes one factorcan make a difference with the Dawgdefense this fall; although the defenseis inexperienced, there will be depth.

Last season, the Bulldogs playedwith 29 players total on defense. Nor-mally, there would be a complement ofat least 40 to 41. That depth defi-ciency showed up in the third quarterof the SEC championship game whenAlabama began running the footballwith gashing success. Big yardagegains resulted against a very tired de-fense, which couldn’t roll its players inand out of the lineup—a very impor-tant routine in today’s game.

Georgia seems to have the bestgrasp of things in years. Richt has set-tled in as the chairman of the boardwith an involvement and commitmentin which he oversees with leadership,direction, and a timely touching of thebases befitting the dean of SECcoaches. He has two competent coor-dinators and a recruiting approach thatincludes both expertise on identifyingthe best players and selling them onplaying for the Bulldogs.

He could not have better supportfrom the corner office on the fourthfloor. Athletic Director Greg McGarityis an ally and an asset whose deepestdesire is helping the football team wina championship. McGarity expectsGeorgia teams to compete consistently.He understands how difficult it is towin, but he knows that the right in-gredients and a constant of underscor-ing the fundamentals can bring Athensa championship trophy.

Putting Georgia in a position toannually compete for the SEC East titleis the ongoing goal of both Richt andMcGarity. The Bulldogs have reachedthat position today. Other schools areat that point, too. It is never easy, butthe first step is being in position tocompete for the title. Georgia has rea-son to believe that it can do that.

photo by Logan Booker

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