Archive for February, 2009

Image: Online Athens

Chris Low over at ESPN’s SEC blog predicts Caleb King will be a break-out performer in the SEC in 2009:

Georgia tailback Caleb King: One of the most intriguing position battles next season in the SEC will be the Georgia starting tailback job. The front-runner is King, although Richard Samuel will also be a big part of the rotation. But with Knowshon Moreno gone and after so much hype about his potential, this is the 5-foot-11, 212-pound King’s time to shine and he knows it. He rushed for just 247 yards on 61 carries last season, but Moreno was the centerpiece of the Georgia running game. Here’s betting that King seizes this opportunity during his junior season and showcases what kind of back he really is behind an offensive line that should be one of the strengths of the team in 2009.

This is the second time I’ve noticed this discussion come up in the last few days. First pondered by the awesome Bubba n’ Earl a few days ago.

If King is going to separate himself in the crowded backfield early 2009 is certainly the time to do it. As mentioned in the excerpt Richard Samuel will miss the spring with a wrist injury and leave the door wide open for King to solidify his grip on the starting spot.

I really thought King would wow us a little more last year after showing such promise early on but he disappeared completely after the botched blocking assignment in the Florida game.

I like his slippery style though but I hope that he can get a little better at moving the pile forward. His moves and vision seem excellent though he often he seems to go down at first contact.

There is no doubt though, the ball is in his court. What will it be?

The Georgia Diamond Dogs ventured out west and used their bats to mete out a little punishment on the Arizona Wildcats. They defeated Arizona 11-5 Friday night.

When it came to scoring runs, lots of Bulldogs joined the party.

Nine different players had at least one hit for Georgia (6-0) including Johnathan Taylor, Rich Poythress, Bryce Massanari and Lyle Allen with two apiece. Poythress drove in three runs and Fuller and Allen had two RBI each.

Coach Perno was thoroughly pleased with the team effort.

“It was a great effort tonight all around,” said head coach David Perno. “We threw a bunch of strikes and Trevor was really good. We got off to a great start, ran their starter out of the game and got to their bullpen. (Will) Harvil was tremendous for us and (Justin) Earls got a big out for us. We did a tremendous job and I’m very proud of our team tonight. We did a good job of answering everything they had.”

Game 2 of the 3 game series will begin tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

Image: Athens Banner Herald

Jeff Owens gets into the Mount Rushmore thing by naming his Top 5 Favorite Dawgs of all-time. It’s pretty interesting because he selects two all-time greats in Herschel and Champ, but the other three are guys that he’s played with.

Check it out. I loved reading about his second-favorite dawg, Knowshon Moreno.

I’m not being biased just because I played three years with him, but he is the best running back I have ever played with. In 2005 when he came to the UGA camp, he was the best back at the camp. I did not know he would make an impact like the way he did, but he was a beast the first day he put pads on! In 2006 fall camp

Man, reading that makes you want to hop in a time machine and convince Coach Richt to throw Knowshon into the mix as a true freshmen. May have not put the Dogs in the mix for a championship but could have at least enabled them to get to ten wins. Ah well, hindsight and all.

This is good stuff on Greg Blue.

To me, the fifth greatest player is Greg Blue. I got the opportunity to play with Greg Blue my freshman year. I saw him run through people. In practice, the coach would not let him tackle because they feared he would hurt someone.

Yeah, Greg Blue had his flaws but I sure do miss that fear factor he brought when he walked out onto the field. It was awesome and is sorely missed.

Jeff’s also been busy talking to ESPN.com’s SEC blogger Chris Low and publishing a new player Q & A with Trinton Sturdivant.

Image: AP

You just never know who’s going to show up.

The much maligned Georgia basketball team pulled another victory out of it’s hat to push their SEC win total to two.

Georgia (11-17, 2-11) led by 10 at halftime and stretched the margin as high as 15 in the second half, only to have Vanderbilt (16-11, 5-8) make a game of it down the stretch.

Ricky “McThree” led the Dogs in scoring.

Ricky McPhee scored 14 points, including a 3-pointer that put Georgia ahead to stay with just under 2 1/2 minutes remaining, and the Bulldogs held on for their second Southeastern Conference win, 61-57 over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.

Most sane people would have predicted a solid Vanderbilt victory. After all, Ole Miss has a similar record and took the Dogs to school in Oxford on Saturday night. A week ago, Auburn sauntered into Stegeman to put a lashing on the Dogs after their electrifying victory over the Gators.

We’ll take what we can get. Good for the team for putting together a victorious effort on the backside of a season that is so hopelessly lost.

The Diamond Dogs defeated Presbyterian 11-4 today at Foley Field to push their record to 5-0 before their trip out west to face the Arizona Wildcats in a three game series.

Even though it was a win Coach Perno found plenty of room for the team to improve.

“I thought it was a good game, but we made some really bad decisions in the middle innings,” said head coach David Perno. “The guys in the pen did a really good job. Some guys were having an off night, but we had some players lower in the lineup who were picking them up.”

Hopefully the Dogs got the mistakes out of their system as they’ll need their best effort to take the series with Arizona.

Image: Scout.com

In what is definitely a surprise to me, Orson Charles has dropped Florida from the list of schools he is considering. It is now down to UGA, Tennessee and USC.

“I appreciate Florida’s interest. I think very highly of Coach Meyer and the Gators,” wrote Charles, a 6-foot-3 prospect from Tampa-Plant. “This was a tough decision for my family. Please understand me and my family’s call. Thank you and God bless.”

Now that we know his final three I really like Georgia’s chances. Florida was the team that I felt like might get him in the end because it was close, and the home state school.

Charles will make his final decision on March 6, but all signs point to him signing with Georgia. His high school quarterback, Aaron Murray, already signed with the Dawgs, and Charles favorite jersey number 7 came open this year with Matthew Stafford heading to the NFL.

He seems like the kind of kid that wouldn’t go for Kiffin’s recruiting voodoo and then it would boil down to Georgia and USC. So, do you want to commit to playing four years at a place you’ve only visited once?

I got a good feeling about Orson Charles. We’ll all know on March 6th.

RELATED LINKS:

• TE Orson Charles keeps UGA among his finalists – AJC
• Georgia poised to add a tight end? – ESPN
• TE Orson Charles takes small step toward end of recruiting journey – AJC
• Orson Charles eliminates Gators – Orlando Sentinel

Image: Kelly Wegel

The Diamond Dogs relied on excellent platoon pitching to win their fourth game straight by defeating the Blue Hose of Presbyterian at Foley Field in Athens.

“Pitching was the key,” said Georgia head coach David Perno. “Tanner threw the ball well, and kept it down. He did a great job funneling the ball through the strike zone.”

While the pitching was dominant the bats weren’t exactly dormant.

Freshman Zach Cone went 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI to lead the Bulldogs (4-0), and Colby May and Rich Poythress each homered.

The Dogs will face off against Presbyterian again tomorrow afternoon at Foley Field. First pitch is at 4:00 p.m.

RELATED LINKS:

• UGA Baseball Schedule
• Freshmen play big role again in victory

Vince Vance and Tavarres King give us a look around the Georgia Bulldogs locker room. Looks like a nice place to spend a lot of time.

This is just one of the many cool things being provided on the Mark Richt blog.

Via Bernie’s Dawg Blawg.

Image: CLIFF McBRIDE

According to this post by the AJC’s Michael Carvell Orson Charles has confirmed he will not be signing a letter of commitment until the last day possible, March 6th.

On Tuesday, tight end Orson Charles of Tampa, who is one of the nation’s top unsigned seniors, confirmed that he will announce his college decision on March 6. Charles is deciding between Florida, Georgia, Southern Cal and Tennessee. Charles also said he will narrow down to “two or three” schools on Wednesday, but did not offer any hints.

So, it looks like we’ll get one last update before decision day. I’m guessing the final two will be Florida and Georgia. I think it’s possible that he’ll give USC the courtesy of being on his final list but that Tennessee will definitely be eliminated before the moment of truth arrives.