The Mizzou recap is pass heavy and undefeated

Just getting around to having the time to put these thoughts together. I think Kirby put it best in the post game press conference, we’re so close to being 0-3 really, but those guys are playing really hard and instead we’re undefeated. Unreal.

Eason

• Eason is growing up before our eyes. I know we came into that game hoping to be able to run more effectively. The game dictated that we go pass heavy, and 10 really stepped up. Couple bad balls and the one interception, but it’s obvious he’s something special.
• I mean we knew he was going to be special, but it’s different now. The comparison to Matt Stafford is no longer relevant because Eason has so much more composure than Staff did at this point.
• The bottom line is that Eason is working through his progressions which is why he’s starting. He’s reading things well and making plays with not just his arm but his head.
• I think the touchdown pass to Payne exemplifies this. Payne was open and it seemed an eternity passed before Eason finally decided not to throw to the receiver trailing in the back of the end zone. I was sure he'd waited too long, but he zipped that ball in there and Payne ran a great route to meet that throw.
• Just shows he has a different set of skills and his college football mind is developing up to his arm's talent level.
• Yes, he still has a long way to go, but you have to be encouraged with our quarterback’s growth, especially after that game winning 4th down throw.

McKenzie

• Kirby alluded to the only concern we can have about 16 at this point, and that is that there’s no way his body can handle carrying that much of the load the entire season.
• We’ll get to the offensive line in a minute, but Chaney has to find a way to get some yards using his stable of running backs and tight ends as well as guys like Godwin.
• 16 is dynamic and a game changer. We knew that before the season. But it’s more than a little uneasy seeing how much we have to rely on him.
• Still, McKenzie deserves all the accolades he should receive this week. The touchdown run is one only a few guys in college football can make. His first touchdown catch would have just been a long reception for many receivers, but he found a way to make it into a touchdown.
• And the game winner, whoa Nelly. Perfectly placed ball, but 16 went up and got it. Showed a lot of tenacity and grit.

Defense

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• Defense struggled but made a ton of plays when we needed them to. Not sure what Drew Lock was thinking on Mauger’s  interception in the endzone, but that was a game saving pick.
• And Mauger is clearly the type of player Smart wants. He’s a senior that hasn’t played much but continues to practice hard and makes the most of his time on the field.
• Coach Tucker is going to have to find a pass rush this week if our secondary is to have a chance to keep up with Ole Miss.
• After getting picked on repeatedly Briscoe improved in pass coverage in the second half, but some of that may be attributed to Missouri leaning more towards running the ball once they had the lead. Huepel has to be kicking himself for the shift in his philosophy after halftime.
• I was hoping we’d be more physical than we were, especially considering our lack of pass rush. The next couple games are critical for this defense. As a fan you want both the front seven and the d-backs to dictate the play, but we need at least one facet to step up.

Special teams

• I’m glad we didn’t have to line up for another field goal, but if we had it would’ve been interesting to see if the coaches actually would’ve stuck with Ham or given Rodrigo a shot.
• I would expect more emphasis on this phase of the game this week in practice. You can’t give up return yardage and leave points on the field like we have and expect to beat Ole Miss on the road and Tennessee the following week.
• And there’s moments to build on for sure. For instance, Tyrique McGhee had a great tackle in kick coverage. Just seems to me we have some guys sticking to their lane and others not as conscious about it or trying too hard to make a play.

Offensive line

• I was legitimately optimistic after beating UNC. I saw real promise in the run blocking and thought we’d have some time to develop better pass protection.
• Nicholls showed our offensive front could be outworked. That was an eye opener.
• Then Saturday night we saw a great defensive front just dismantle them play after play. Charles Harris never stops. He might end up being All-SEC for sure and might be the best pass rusher we see, even better than Tennessee’s Barnett and Auburn’s Lawson.
• But we have to run the football more effectively. Just as McKenzie can’t carry us at receiver all season and survive, Eason can’t throw it 55 times a game. We just can’t rely on that week in and week out.
• The coaches know that. Chaney is in Athens because Kirby respected him as a play caller and developer of quarterbacks. If the line can’t run block we have to do two things: find guys who can and develop plays that get Chubb to the second level.

But in all honesty, what do I know? Seriously. I looked closely at our schedule in August and scoffed at Missouri being able to beat us. I truly believed we would go in there and run them out of the state.

So I don’t know squat, except that I have a bruise on my arm from pinching myself Sunday morning.

Did you see what we just did?

— Bernie (@BernieDawg) September 18, 2016

I know I love teams that fight hard. This team does. They believe in each other from start to finish. And that’s the biggest reason why we’re heading to Oxford undefeated.

Go Dawgs!

Around the Tailgate - Who's your breakout player for 2016?

Originally posted at BullDawg Illustrated

Michael Barnett

So we've discussed the issue at quarterback, and then yesterday we talked about the game we'd most like to win. Today we're going to see who the guys think will be 2016's breakout player.

Give me one player you think we need to watch for that could be this year's very pleasant surprise. And his last name can't have two consecutive B's in it.

Namaman: I am hoping the player(s) to watch this year will be the entire TE corps.  Still the most under-utilized position in offenses - especially UGA offenses - in recent history. Let's get back to where we have proven, NFL caliber TE's like McMichael and Watson that can help Lambert, Eason and Chubb open up things for the WR's as well.  That is one of my fondest wishes... GO DAWGS!

Robert: I want to go with Jackson Harris, but you have to assume that a lot of the tight ends are going to see playing time.  How about Michael Chigbu? Then again, Kirby said the receivers would most likely be by committee.  I still like the Chigbu pick.  He should get significantly more targets, and I expect him to have a breakout year and be the pleasant surprise.

The Wrangler: I am going on the defensive side of the ball and picking #7 Lorenzo Carter.  The defensive intensity Coach Smart has brought to UGA will motivate Carter to be the best he can be.  After a great 2014 season, he was very quiet last year.  You know he has been waiting all summer to prove that he can be the man.  Since we are breaking in a new offense, the defense will have to be solid to take some pressure off the offense.  I predict 10 sacks for Carter this year.

Smokewagon: Wow….another tough question!  Mecole Hardman is a name that I haven’t heard much in pre-season coverage.  I hope I didn’t miss a story on him being injured or otherwise not available. I admit that I have not been clicking on the blogs all summer!  Perhaps the new stealthy coaching staff is holding his explosiveness under wraps and away from the media.  If not Mecole, I would go with Charlie Woerner.  I think Nauta and Holyfield will have serious impact, but I don’t think that will be a surprise.

I agree with the Wrangler and that it will be a defensive player, and we're going to need a big man to step up on the defensive front early. So I going with a guy that I think started to come on strong there last season in Michael Barnett. I have it on very good authority that 94, although he's a nice young man, has a real mean streak on the football field. Plus he's coachable. And we have one of the best d-line coaches around in Rocker.

Thanks for joining us for this preseason primer around the tailgate. Hope you've enjoyed it, and Go Dawgs y'all!

Sunday Thoughts on Eight of the last Ten

The 56th win in this series finds Carl Lawson's picture on a milk carton.

Let's start the bullets with the defense. 

- As big as the turnover margin was, the halftime adjustments put pressure on the Auburn offense and forced enticed Malzahn to panic into using Sean White and thereby disrupting some of the rhythm they had rushing the football. What Jeremy Johnson lacks in throwing the football he makes up for in scrambling and running the football. Auburn got away from that when they probably didn't have to. Especially considering White was clearly still hobbled.

- Auburn went into the locker room at the half with 161 yards rushing. They finished the game with 231. Pruitt's defense did a much better job maintaining their discipline and managing the edge later in the game. Great game by Jenkins and Floyd, which was refreshing to see.

- And hello Mr. Carter! Couple tackles and a forced fumble, not to mention a key quarterback pressure.

- Malkom Parrish! Wow. Auburn smartly avoided running to his side, so he never got a tackle. But that interception might have been part of the reason Malzahn eventually sent White in.

- Isaiah McKenzie had a big day - 4 carries for 26 yards and a touchdown, 2 catches for 16 yards, and of course the punt return that he took back for six. He wasn't the only offense on the day, but his speed and dependable hands made a huge difference.

- Maybe Schotty should drink some of Ekeler's Red Bull.

- As much frustration as I had over the short yardage shotgun situations, I thought overall Schottenheimer mixed the wildcat formations with the traditional sets effectively in the second half. He also did a better job of utilizing his weapons than he did last month.

- It was a shame Lambert didn't connect with Mitchell on some of those deep throws. I thought those were great play calls.

- It's a shame Marshall couldn't play either. Was hoping for a big day from #4.

- The offensive line had a mostly effective day. They gave Lambert time and I think it's more than fair to say giving Wynn the task of stopping Lawson was effective. The run blocking never fully sprung Michel into wide open spaces. But it's hard to tell if that's more of a function of the blocking or the fact that everyone knows we're running Sony between the tackles.

- And the third down conversion ineffectiveness continues to be a real concern. Dodged a big bullet with the face mask penalty on the lone touchdown drive.

- Speaking of the first touchdown, Mitchell continues to prove his effectiveness as a blocker.He locked that edge and McKenzie's speed did the rest.

The Fire Em ALL narrative is now harder to hear as it is starting to get drowned out by the Georgia can still win 10 games. Regardless, lot of football left. And if ten wins is to happen, this offense is going to continue to use playmakers like it did yesterday. Against Auburn it was just enough to overcome some suspect playcalling and get yet another win on the plains.

Go Dawgs!

Two keys - WLOCP edition

It's here. Time to head down to Jacksonville with a handle of bourbon and a heart full of hate.

1. Malcolm Mitchell. It'd be easy to put Bauta in as one of these, but I'm sticking with the offensive player I've felt for two weeks needs to get more touches in this game. We know what 26 can do in the passing game. If we can also use his speed to stretch the field from sideline to sideline I think that will only help against this Florida defense.
2. Linebacker play. I think our defensive line can do some work on their offensive line. So disciplined play on the edge and in the middle of the field could be the key to managing their offense between the chains. In other words, play with bad intentions. But do so as a unit of 11.

No solos today. Team effort. Let's do this!

Go Dawgs!

ULM rewatch - the offense

Vanilla. Plain. Ho-hum.

That’s how many are describing the offensive (and defensive for that matter, which we’ll get to next) performance Saturday. For those who use those descriptions in a critical manner, I’m not really sure what they were expecting to see.

Afforded the opportunity to rewatch the play selection, line blocking, running backs’ decision, downfield blocking, and of course the quarterback play, I was looking mostly for fine details to mention and discuss. Every running play was virtually the same. And passing downs, what few there were, evolved as an exercise in caution.

But there was a lot that can be gleaned regardless. Let’s start with the line of scrimmage.

The offensive line didn’t come out of the gate with bad intentions. But Sale’s group dominated ULM’s front overall. The only concern I saw was when we moved Kublanow over to guard. He may have had a costly penalty for a chop block (I believe), but the line was better with him at center for sure. Pass protection was good. The couple times Lambert was rushed was more due to downfield coverage. And the lanes Chubb, Michel, and Marshall had were reminiscent of last season against Auburn and Louisville.

I’d forgotten how nice it is to have an experienced returning offensive line to start the season.

The running backs were as advertised of course. There really wasn’t much of a surprise here. The only exception might be that we were treated to what it looks like to have three healthy backs that would probably be starters for most other teams. Marshall ran with confidence and the kind of power we may have forgotten he had. His first touchdown wasn’t due to blocking as much as his sheer determination to get in the endzone. And Michel showed plenty of power between the tackles too, moving the pile forward a few times for extra yards.

The only disappointment may have been not getting Turman in the game before it was called. Oh well.

It might be easy to gloss over the receivers as they did not get much in the way of stats. But the truth is they got plenty of work. Mitchell was putting on a clinic blocking, and both he and Blazevich made great catches for scores. Godwin showed us how his speed and athleticism can lead to separation from defenders. He’s going to be fun to watch develop once he’s out of the doghouse for that non-fumble.

Ok, the quarterbacks. Again, to me it was clear why he was named the starter as he just looked more poised. But the main thing is the offense was just better with him out there. You’re probably pointing to the one drive Ramsey had, and you’re right. Not much to go on and Bauta didn’t even get in the game.

But, I saw something Lambert did that Ramsey didn’t, and that was change the play at the line of scrimmage. We were running so many times between the tackles that it was repeatedly an easy call for ULM to blitz up the middle. Lambert looked like he audibled into a better run on Chubb’s second score; Ramsey should have done the same on the sack he took. There were just too many defenders for the center and Keith Marshall to contain.

As I said Sunday, I hesitate to put too much on this one (almost complete) game. But there was enough there to go on, with Lambert’s day in particular, to frame what we might see going forward. And that’s that Lambert has taken better overall control of the offense. Just as I was pleased to see Ramsey make a great touch pass to Michel on the screen, I was even more pleased to see Lambert throw the ball where defenders had minimal (if any at all) chance of putting a hand on it.

Just as it will for the season, the running game set the tone Saturday. Eventually we’ll have a game where the passing game will need to win one for us. Nothing I saw from this “vanilla” version of Schottenheimer’s first game leads me to feel uncomfortable about where this offense is heading.

Here's hoping we get to see all three quarterbacks in Nashville.

Tailgate Roundtable - the receivers

Day three. Here's Monday's discussion on the quarterbacks and yesterday's on the center.

After losing some dependable hands in Chris Conley and Michael Bennett, who do you see leading the team in receiving this year?

AHD - Wesley was scoped yesterday. IS Mitchell ready for prime time? I hope so.  McKenzie is a year older. And maybe Godwin can live up to some  of that hype. Our new OC likes to throw to the TE and we have two good ones.

Robert - Malcolm Mitchell, if he stays healthy.  I just feel like he has so much potential, but he has really struggled with the injuries.  We are blessed with a lot of playmakers at this position.  Mitchell, Davis, Scott-Wesley, and McKenzie have all had big moments.

BDB - I should point out that Robert emailed his responses before the JSW news. Hopefully it's true that he'll be ready by August. I'm big on the tight ends too. The more we run our backs the more versatile the tight end position can be.

Roundtable wrapup

Really appreciate Kevin at College Football Zealots setting this up. It was a fun way to pass some time in the off season.

Here are some parting thoughts after yesterday's conclusion.

If the season started today, which of our quarterbacks would you want under center (and why)?

I think Greg hit the nail on the head with his last sentence - "Leadership will go a long way toward making up for any for any athletic deficiencies that Bauta might have relative to the other candidates." He and I seem to be on the same Bauta Bandwagon. Ramsey adds a dimension we need in the offense; a vertical passing game is the perfect compliment to Chubb's chunks of yardage on the ground. 

We knew the coaches weren't going to name a starter this spring. The last thing we need is a quarterback or two transferring because they feel the competition is over. It's pretty evident, just from how the first team reps were shaking out the last couple scrimmages, that Park is the longshot. I think Bauta has the commitment off the field that the coaches like to see. The next few months gives Ramsey a chance to show some of that leadership Poole referred to. I'm sure Coach Shotty is watching carefully. 

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Georgia must replace both of their leading receivers, Chris Conley (36 rec in 2014) and Michael Bennett (37 rec), this season. Barring injury, Malcolm Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley should be able to contribute greatly in 2015 but depth is a big concern. Who needs to step up in this area and who do you see as the other top contributors?

Expectedly, the tight ends get a lot of mention in the responses. And both Greg and Tyler make mention of some of the talent coming in August that could add depth. But Kevin reminds us of the threats in the backfield, specifically Sony Michel. "One guy that didn’t show up in any of the other responses is Sony Michel. Yeah, he’s a running back but in his freshman season we saw that Georgia had the ability to line him up anywhere in the offense including quarterback and wide receiver. In the first four games last year before he started to get banged up, he had six receptions with one for a touchdown. With Michel and McKenzie, Georgia has two wildcards that can be play-makers from anywhere on the field and from any situation. When it comes to making a difference in 2015, keep an eye on both of those guys."

Then BassinDawg picks it up in the comments and on Twitter (make sure and click the link for video evidence):

#Dawgs How nice would that be? Chubb & Marshall in the backfield, Sony in the slot! #ThereGoesMichel #GoDawgs https://t.co/kE9kgOUOW8
— GATA Dawgs (@BassinDawg) April 21, 2015

Yeh. That'll do quite nicely.

What is your biggest concern on defense (and why)?

Perhaps I just wanted to keep the memory of the 2014 WLOCP in the dark recesses of my mind, but Blutarsky is dead on with this point - "Interior run defense. Georgia has to replace a lot of experience on the defensive line and at inside linebacker. And it’s not like last season’s run defense was all that stout at times. You wonder if Pruitt can find that happy balance between having lots of defensive speed, which generally means not having as much defensive mass, and being able to stop power running games." 

I really think the front seven will be much improved this coming season. But until we see that with our own eyes against the likes of the Gamecocks, Tide, Tigers, and Gators, this has to be the primary concern.

This could change but right now what is your gut feeling on what makes this season a successful one for Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs?

This question was taken in a different direction by yours truly. And I agree with my colleagues on their responses. Winning the East should always be the standard by which seasons are judged. You can't win the SEC without taking out the garbage in your own division. And if you win the SEC then you stand a good chance of being in the national discussion.

But after all these years of watching the program come close here and there, the fact that the coaches have no excuses is what intrigues me most. As I said, "I’ve never disagreed with those fans that expect more from the program, just in where the blame lies ultimately. Now all that is just noise from years past. It’s time to put up or shut up. No excuses."

Whether you like Coach Richt or not...and whether you blame him or support him...he's the head football coach at the University of Georgia and deserves the full support, both vocal and financial, of the administration. I'm interested to see what he can do now that the bar has been raised.

Thanks again to Kevin and the other guys. That was fun.

Sunday Thoughts on icing cupcakes

It's best to break games like this down into what we learned. And I'll do this in order starting with the most important...

- Lee Greenwood plays some kind of miniature saxophone. Weirdly cute y'all.
- Nick Chubb has a serious violent streak when you try and tackle him prior to when he is ready to be tackled.

via DawgJaytee

- Andrews, Mason, Herrera, Wilson, et al didn't let the rest of the team sleep too late.

- Concession stands ran out of pizza too early. Which made me look bad in front of the kids. Boo. Hiss.

- UGA has some badass members of the military. Seriously, is there anything General James Livingston hasn't done to protect our freedoms? Other than try and tackle Nick Chubb prior to being ready to be tackled.

- Chris Conley uses the force of stretching out for the ball better than the average Jedi.

- We can haz Rumph and Scott-Wesley...in the same game, not just the same jersey.

- Charleston Southern has a really, really good punter.

- Lee Greenwood is shorter than I expected.

- I shouldn't take the 12yo with me to the concession stand.

- No. In actuality, Georgia fans don't spit on opposing fans.

- With (or without) the ball in his hands, Quayvon runs with bad intentions.

- Kyle Karempelis is our most alliterative tailback.

- Richt asked Bobo to allow the Georgia punters to rest this week. He obliged. 

- The 10yo danced with me during Sanford Karaoke. 

Buttercup, don't break my heart. What'd I miss?

Scott-Wesley could do "something anytime now"

NCAA rulings aside, one of the more curious side stories this season has been the health, availability, and lack of production of Justin Scott-Wesley. He's gone from suspended but maybe not all that healthy to ready and sometimes even on the field. What's entirely missing are any stats to speak of in his junior season.

And sounds like Richt has been waiting like the rest of us.

Wide receiver Justin Scott-Wesley has played in three of the last four games, but still hasn’t caught a pass this season. “He’s getting there, he’s working hard,” Richt said. “ I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do something anytime now, but it wouldn’t have surprised me last week or the week before.”

A tip of the cap to the head guy's subtle motivation needle. And honestly, there'd be no better time than Saturday night if you ask me.

Sunday Thoughts on Gurley being left-handed

Spectacular day in Athens. But, you knew that already.

• After all the weekdays of belaboring the point, Hutson Mason looked both better, and worse.
• He stood in and threw a couple balls that were clean, decisive and confident.
• He had a few others that were brain farts.
• Bobo allowed Mason to operate in the HUNH some. I faintly remember back when I thought we'd be using that strategy a lot more.
• Never saw JSW get on the field, but Malcolm got a few snaps and looked good. It'd been a long time since we've seen that.
• Conley's long haul from Mason reminded me of a point that Tyler made the other day. I don't recall if Mitchell was in on that play, but Conley was in single coverage and had his guy beat.
• And Ramsey...well, he's not very good rolling out, is he? Had a few balls sail on him
• But Gurley....damn.
• Seriously, if someone came up to your face today and said there was no way Todd Gurley could win dancing with the stars, split an atom, solve atlanta traffic, make a perfect omelet, ride a scooter un-maliciously...would you believe them?
• Like me, on the post game show Richt sounded a little surprised Bobo called that pass from the #WildGurley formation. You know, against Vanderbilt.
• But hey, gives the Raging Pinkels something to think about this week.
• Defensively...I'd give run defense a B and pass defense a C+. But overall they consistently forced the Commodores into long down and distances. And they only converted 2/13 on third down, 1/2 on fourth.
• Hard to complain about a blowout, but the special teams were not, special.
• Poor punts. Bad returns. Blocked PATs.
• Richt specifically mentioned the punting game in the lockerroom. Barber had four and averaged just 34 yards per. Erickson came in and only punted for 32 yards.
• Meh.
• Is it just me or should that last Vanderbilt touchdown have been reviewed?

Back to Gurley. He's the clear front runner now for every post season award he qualifies for. That's cool. And what is even more impressive for Georgia fans is that each week he finds new ways to entertain, amaze, and just generally drop jaws.

What will he do next week? I couldn't even venture a guess really. But I'm anxious to find out.

Coincidences?

Richt on the "injuries".

“We’re hopeful that they’ll all be back by the Vanderbilt game,” Richt said. “It just doesn’t look real promising this week.”

Scott-Wesley appears to be serving a four-game suspension, but Georgia hasn’t confirmed that his marijuana arrest last fall while injured brought more than a one-game suspension.

The Vanderbilt game is the fifth of the season and second violations of Georgia’s drug policy bring a four-game suspension.

Scott-Wesley missed practice time with an ankle injury, but appeared to be full-speed in practice last week but did not play against Troy.

Conspiracy theories abound. The bottom line is that we won't have these guys Saturday for a big SEC East tilt. Time for Reggie Davis to step up and stretch the field. Between him, Conley, Bennett, and McKenzie, I believe Mason has everything he needs in terms of targets. If Bobo can keep the Tennessee linebackers and safeties honest, it's gonna be another big number type of day offensively.

Day to day. Step by step.

It'll be bigger news if he's jogging on an actual sideline anytime soon, but there was Malcolm Mitchell sighting today. As well as a Justin Scott-Wesley.

-----------

UPDATE:

Going deep...??

Bobo's players are confident they can still get deep when needed, even without Scott-Wesley and Mitchell in the opener.

Still, Mason and the Bulldogs express confidence in the passing game, and the deep threat, based on a couple of reasons.

First, Mason is used to not having Mitchell and Scott-Wesley. They were long gone by the time he took over last season and have basically been absent from practice this spring and preseason.

... 

Second, having speed isn’t the only way to complete the deep ball, as everyone points out.

“Sometimes you don’t have to have blinding speed to go deep, sometimes it’s just a matter of getting off the jam and getting the guy cut off,” head coach Mark Richt said. “You know all these guys have pretty good game speed not many guys just run away from people. But you know we have had a good history of placing the ball where our guys can catch it.”

Put another way, the hope is that Mason can hit Bennett, Conley or someone else on a nicely placed pass after the receiver puts the move on a defender.

I get that. And I believe there are yards downfield that Mason and his receivers can grab. But having just re-watched the Gator Bowl where deep passes and especially completions were hard to come by, I'm very eager to see it play out.

Put a spring in my step

I know I'm behind on the news of the last scrimmage. But I've got to tell you that reading this this morning brought a smile to my face.

Hicks with a touchdown catch and Rumph leading all receivers! If only it were August y'all.

Gaining weight

Reggie Davis plans to be up to 185 pounds by the start of the season. That might not sound like much, but he played at 160 last season, "soaking wet". And he's now up to about 168.

“I can do a lot more things that I couldn’t do last year, so it’s been coming around, but it’s still a work in progress,” Davis said. “I can get off jams a lot better and actually establish a vertical line.”

Georgia head coach Mark Richt also has noticed a difference in Davis this spring. Davis caught three passes for 59 yards in the Bulldogs’ first spring scrimmage, but it wasn’t his receiving work that impressed Richt.

“We had a screen early in the scrimmage. He didn’t make a devastating block, but he was supposed to crack a defender,” Richt said. “Come inside and crack him and pin him when we had a screen coming outside, and he wasn’t strong enough to keep him from going, but he was athletic enough and played hard enough to stay on him and stayed with him all the way until he went out of bounds.”

All of that together kind of reminded me of this play by another diminutive Bulldog. Big Texas! (Fast forward to about the 7:40 mark if you're pressed for time.)

Mitchell gets bit by the injury bug again

He won't miss any playing time. But he'll miss the rest of spring practice.

Mitchell, who missed basically all of last season after tearing his right ACL, sustained a left leg injury on Tuesday and will be withheld from the rest of spring practice.

The redshirt junior is expected to make a full recovery for preseason practice in August, according to UGA head athletic trainer Ron Courson.

"The good news is we think he’ll be ready by the summertime to be working and be 100 percent by the time camp starts," head coach Mark Richt said after Saturday's spring practice. "A lot of times the big question is are that going to happen or not. We don’t think it will cost him the season at all or even any camp for that matter."

No early NFL departures expected

It's been a recurring theme for Richt's staff the last several years - underclassmen declaring themselves for the NFL. This year however, the focus seems to be on making next season better.

With a team that could return a lot on both sides of the ball, do you know of any underclassmen that are threatening to leave?

At this point, honestly I’d be surprised if anyone left early. Malcolm Mitchell and Damian Swann were serious candidates before the season, but Mitchell’s injury and Swann’s struggles have pretty much ended those chances. A few other draft-eligible players – Amarlo Herrera, Ramik Wilson – have talked excitedly about next year.

After Mitchell's freak ACL tear in Clemson, and even despite his hamstring injury his freshman year and the role-switching experiment last season, my gut was telling me he'd leave. Early indications are the opposite and that he's only been pointing to a return in Athens next season. And that would be a decision that would pay off handsomely for him should he make a full return and have the kind of season we were expecting this year.

Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/12/04/2836705/mailbag-grantham-mason-acls-offseason.html#storylink=cpy

Conley makes a stride towards the Plains

After the fluke play that sidelined him for a couple games, you just knew Chris Conley was itching to get back out there. And yesterday he did just that.

Conley, wearing a non-contact jersey. was running straight ahead and changing direction and ran a couple of routes early in practice.

Richt then got permission from director of sports medicine Ron Courson if he could join the receivers and backs with offensive coordinator Mike Bobo against the scout team.

“I was telling the quarterback, `He’s going halfspeed or whatever,’ and then Conley kind of ran a little bit faster than half speed and snatched the ball and Bobo was looking around like maybe we ought to let him practice a little bit,” Richt said. “So he ran routes.”

Even if he's only able to contribute a fraction of his regular workload this would be huge for the offense that is getting healthier each week. Conley is Georgia's top receiver with 30 catches for over 400 yards. Rhett McGowan and Rantavious Wooten have stepped in nicely (and both will certainly get plenty of snaps Saturday regardless).

But Conley adds more to the table. Just ask Tennessee.

Rumph "never thought about taking a redshirt"

Rumph saw the field Saturday. Yesterday, he saw the media.

One of the developing side plots for Saturday will be if and how often Murray and Rumph can connect. It'd be real nice to develop another dangerous target before heading to the Plains.

Vandy- what to look for today

I've been up much of the night preparing a couple pork shoulders. During the game the guys and I will be making our next batch of beer. All in all, outside the arena it is shaping up to be a nice Saturday.

I hope it is inside the arena as well. Here's what I'm looking for:

• Offensive line consistency. If those guys up front don't come to play and come to play hard, it's going to be a long afternoon for Georgia fans. And an even longer one for Aaron Murray. A Todd Gurley can help mask some inconsistencies on the line. But without him and a host of other playmakers, Murray really needs these guys to step up.
• How "set" is the defense. I really think Tyler hit on something big with his post earlier in the week about the defensive play calling. If for nothing else it gives us something to look for today. The last thing a young and not very confident defense needs is getting calls in late from the sideline.
• Who steps up on offense? Murray needs someone to take the pressure off. When he starts to feel like it is all on him is when we start to see the uncharacteristic mistakes. Can Reggie Davis be that guy? Can Jay Rome or Artie Lynch be released to run some routes? Does JJ Green go on a tear?
• Defensive ditto. The same goes for the defense that is still looking for an identity. Ray Drew is really playing well by pressuring the quarterback, but Vandy will use a lot of quick passes to slow down the pass rush. Can a defensive lineman get their hand into one of those passing lanes to create a deflection? Better yet, can a defensive back react quick enough to jump a route?
• Special teams. They've become the equivalent of a four letter word around Athens. But games in Nashville tend to be very difficult for Georgia. Whether it keeps the pace as a high flying touchdown frenzy or devolves into a low scoring slugfest somehow, special teams will play a key role. Every kickoff is important and every punt is crucial.

That's a lot to ask I know. But sure would be nice to go into the off week before Florida with both a win and a lot of confidence!