It seemed like something that wouldn’t happen to the 2009 edition of the Georgia Bulldogs. After months of assurances that the team was different, more focused, Bruce Figgins, Justin Houston and Tony Wilson demonstrated that 2009 won’t be completely immune from the off the field issues that plagued the much maligned 2008 Georgia Bulldogs.

Figgins, the TE who played through shoulder issues last season received the stiffest penalty at 6 games. That shoulder should be plenty healed by the time his cleats hit the Sanford Stadium turf.

Richt didn’t disclose what the players did to warrant suspension, but ESPN reported Friday, citing a “Georgia staff member”, that Figgins failed a drug test. That triggers an automatic suspension of 50 percent of a season, according to Athletic Association policy.

Houston, the Dogs’ best option at the razor thin DE position is suspended for the opener in Stillwater against the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the following game vs. the South Carolina Gamecocks. Ouch.

He had three sacks in the G-Day game and two sacks and an interception return in another spring scrimmage. He was one of only two healthy players to end the spring at the position.

Wilson will apparently be leaving the team anyway because of an inability to recover from a nasty ankle injury.

Richt said during spring practice that Wilson was at about 60 percent as he tried to return to form following a second ankle injury, but Georgia announced he will be medically disqualified because of the injury’s slow recovery.

Well, what is there left to say? This is awful, especially Houston. The Dogs D will now be severely handicapped in Stillwater against a high-powered Cowboys offensive attack. Remember what we couldn’t do last year? Rush the quarterback. Well, our top rusher will be watching in HD like most of the rest of us.

Is there a silver lining? Not really, but this did give me a little bit of a kind of tiny good feeling.

Senior quarterback Joe Cox spoke to the team after the scrimmage about avoiding off field missteps that hurt the team last season. Georgia had eight players arrested last offseason, which resulted in six players being either suspended or dismissed.

Nice to see Cox quickly take the reigns to try and limit future trouble. I like the leadership. Love his moxie. He’s going to need all of that and more to engineer a win over the Cowboys.

Image: SI

Orson Charles, the Plant High School TE/WR has chosen to play his college football at the University of Georgia.

His choice ends a solid month of intense speculation since most other senior high school prospects chose colleges on February 5th, national signing day.

Charles figures to be a match-up nightmare with great speed and quickness to go along with his traditional TE frame.

All I got to say is… HOW ABOUT THIS 2009 RECRUITING CLASS? Where are we now? Top 5?

RELATED LINKS:

• Charles ends wait, signs with Bulldogs – Athens Banner-Herald
• Orson Charles is a Dawg – Bernie’s Dawg Blawg
• Orson Charles picks Georgia over Tennessee and Southern Cal – AJC
• Orson Charles picks UGA – Georgia College Football Examiner
• UGA’s other TE recruit Arthur Lynch, glad for addition - AJC
• Tampa TE Orson Charles Signs With Bulldogs – GeorgiaDogs.com
• Charles Picks UGA! – TotalUGA

Image: Tampa Tribune

Well, tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 Orson Charles will effectively end the 2009 recruiting period for Georgia, Tennessee and USC. He will pull off a shirt to reveal the jersey of the team of his choice at a press conference.

Where will he go? Lately, there has been a little buzz about Tennesee being the slight favorite to gain the use of his services for the next four years.

This little bit from a Q & A with the AJC’s Michael Carvell could be viewed as supporting the rumor that he is leaning towards becoming a Vol.

Another advantage is playing in front of 108,000 people. You wave your arm and the whole stadium shakes. All of their coaching staff comes from the NFL, so they know what it takes to get to that next level. You can tell their coaches have a passion for the game. They expect the best, and they want to win. The other teams want to do that, too. But I feel like something is different about Tennessee. They have a chip on their shoulder, which is good.

“…I feel like something is different about Tennessee”.

That is your lean right there. Will it be enough to tip it for the Vols? Who knows. Remember, Greg Reid went to bed ‘Bama but woke up FSU. I really have no doubt that at the time of that comment Tennessee was the team that may have led by a whisker. After all, Tony Dungy assured him they all were great programs with bright futures all that’s left to distinguish the three is his instinct. “Something different” is Mr. Charles’s instinct pointing him toward Knoxville.

If he does choose UT, it would have to be considered an “upset” if such a characterization exists in recruiting. Georgia has been considered the odds on favorite since he dropped Florida a few weeks ago. Even though Tennessee may have an edge Mr. Charles still has great things to say about the Dawgs.

My [former teammate at Plant High], Aaron Murray, is there. I feel very comfortable with the coaches. They’ve been recruiting me the longest, one full year. I like how they attack at practice. They get after it. Every time Aaron and I went to watch practices last year, they’d always have at least one fight. That’s not hatred; that’s tough love which builds character. Another thing, I went to [UGA's summer] camp and got after it with [tight ends coach John Lilly]. We chest-bumped and everything. He gets really excited about coaching players, and I like that.”

The most important factor may be the first part of his answer. Some believed the Murray factor has been overplayed but what Georgia has going for it is their stability, and Murray being such a known quantity (who is going to throw passes to him at UT?) adds to that tremendously.

He expands on the Murray factor.

It makes a difference. Like with every wide receiver or tight end, you would like to know what type of quarterback you have. I know what Aaron can do. We’re good friends. He really loves Georgia. He would like it for me to play at Georgia with him. But he wants me to pick the school that best fits me. I told Aaron if it’s Georgia, then let’s go ahead and win the national championship. If it’s not Georgia, then we’ll still be good friends down the road.”

I like the way all that sounds. Hopefully, the factors in favor of Georgia will prove insurmountable when 4:30 p.m. Friday rolls around.

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?

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: 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

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: Red & Black

TotalUGA had a talk with Aron White in which he made some telling comments about how the team mentality has been strengthened with the departure of many of the high profile “stars” of last year’s team.

His comments don’t come as a huge surprise and are basically reinforcing the comments of others that have gone public with a similar point of view.

The most interesting, and possibly most telling, part of the article to me was this:

White went on to say that players are no longer taking days off from workouts, which apparently was an issue last year. And if a player does skip a day, he doesn’t skirt by without any repercussion.

So, we deduce that last year it was not necessarily uncommon for players to skip workouts with no repercussions.

And then…

“I think our seniors are much more willing to get on people this year for missing days. Guys are more willing to call their friends out.”

I think this speaks volumes. If your seniors aren’t willing to call out underclassmen, or each other, guys missing workouts is probably just one of a myriad of issues plaguing the team’s unity and cohesion.

If strong senior leaders are calling out younger players on their transgressions it will make everyone strive harder toward perfection, resulting in a team that is much better equipped to handle adversity when it makes it’s inevitable appearance.

Based on the comments we’ve heard so far it seems like there was a leadership void. Not bad people, or players, just a team that lacked a culture that encouraged teammates to hold one another accountable.

Fortunately for the Bulldog Nation it appears that what the 2009 squad may lack in star power, it will more than make up for with TEAM.

Via Bernie’s Dawg Blawg.

Image:rivals.com

The Georgia Tennis Dogs continue to saw through the competition at the ITA National Indoors in Chicago. Georgia defeated Stanford 4-2 to advance to the finals vs. Virginia.

The Women’s Tennis team is matching the success of their male counterparts. They defeated second-ranked California to advance to the finals of the ITA Women’s National Team Indoors in Madison, Wisconsin. They’ll play undefeated and top-ranked Northwestern in the final.

The Tennessean provides a fresh look at the misadventures of young Lane Kiffin.

Rivals lists ten things it loves about College Football.

Take a look at this great video of the last moments of Georgia’s unlikely win over Florida on Saturday. It’s shot from seats very close to the floor and gives you a great feel for how jubilant the crowd was after the much needed victory.

The Road to Copacetic notices a lot of love being directed toward one Matthew Stafford from ESPN. Complete with all the Stafford video from it’s draft coverage.

Great recap and insight from the most recent LOST episode at The Stuff of Legend.

Rodney Garner explains why it may seem like Georgia is slow to offer in-state kids.

Oh, and this is a couple days old, but Josh Fields reached a deal with the Seattle Mariners. Some believe that Fields may get called up by the All-Star break.

Furman Bisher doesn’t know why in the heck Georgia has enlisted the help of a search firm. I mean, really! Why doesn’t Damon Evans just fly out to Norman and knock on Jeff Capel’s office door? Yeah, that’d go well. Furman is pretty out of touch with the modern goings on of these fancy pants athletic departments with their keyboard phones and all.