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.

David Hale has some video of Logan Gray on his excellent blog.

Sure, Joe Cox is the starter. And yes, Zach Mettenberger and Aaron Murray have stolen a lot of headlines since enrolling early at Georgia. But Logan Gray won’t be upstaged… at least not in this post.

I believe we’ll be seeing Logan Gray earlier and more often than most folks are expecting. Georgia is privileged to have options like they do at QB this season.

This is a pretty funny exchange between Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Re:Matthew Stafford in the context of comparing members of this year’s QB crop to Brett Favre.

Of course, McShay thinks Stafford has the gun but chooses other QBs when it comes to grit, play making ability, etc…

Kiper chooses Stafford for everything. EVERYTHING. Mel Kiper has hitched his wagon to Stafford’s star. Hey, I like and mostly agree with Kiper but this is getting into Beano Cook/Ron Powlus territory.

On the outside chance that Stafford just doesn’t pan out his love for Stafford will be an albatross around his neck. Seriously, the guy is risking a lot being such a cheerleader.

Check this video out though, it gets downright chippy when McShay mentions Reggie McNeal and Kiper practically LOLs.

Image: CLIFF McBRIDE

So who do you think is giving Orson Charles an earful about how dull and boring his career as a traditional tight end at UGA would be if he chose to go to Georgia?

Orson Charles, who is Georgia’s top remaining target for its 2009 recruiting class, said he called UGA coach Mark Richt to “clear up some rumors.”

Charles, who may wait until early March to announce his college decision, told the AJC he heard rumors that UGA may use him as a “traditional” tight end. Charles wants to play for a team that lines him up at both tight end and wide receiver. He is ranked as the nation’s No. 62 overall prospect by Rivals.

Of course, my mind goes straight to “Boy Blunder”, infamous Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin. Something tells me though, that Charles is probably too smart to listen to that tool. Which leaves us with… Urban Meyer?

i guess Meyer is really smarting from the recruiting defections to Tennessee and losing out on Greg Reid to Florida State. He’s looking for that final splash to give the Florida class the same “umphh” that the Georgia class got when Marlon Brown chose to be a ‘Dawg late in the afternoon on signing day.

Remember, Florida already has an edge with Charles since he accidentally destroyed the Gators 2006 BCS trophy.

I recently came across this captivating essay by Joe Posnanski on Herschel Walker. It’s a must read for any Georgia fan and especially entertaining for someone like me who was 6 years old during Walker’s legendary freshman season.

I was aware of his greatness, even fortunate enough to attend a few games that year, but not aware of his mythical recruitment and the uniqueness of his once in a lifetime football prowess.

Posnanski’s essay covers everything from the origins of his legendary commitment to physical fitness…

“What do you like to do?” the father asked.

“Watch TV,” the boy said.

Not much of an answer, is it? But this was a wise father, and he said: “OK, if that’s what you like doing, fine. You can watch as much television as you want. But during the commercials, you must exercise. That’s the deal.”

The boy agreed. He would watch television. But during commercials, he would do pushups, sit-ups, chin-ups, he would go outside and run sprints. After a little while, he could feel his body changing. His arms bulked, his legs moved faster. He did more sit-ups, more pushups, more chin-ups. He would race his older sister, Christine, and she would beat him, and he would get mad, and he would do more sit-ups, more pushups, run more sprints.

… to his less than magical professional career:

The legend ends there. Herschel went pro. It was, looking back, a better pro career than most remember. He went to the USFL for some obscene amount of money (something like $16 million guaranteed), and he rushed for more than 5,000 yards in three years, and one of those seasons he ran for 2,411 yards. Nobody really knew what that meant though — being the USFL and all — and nobody knows now.

If you were around to absorb and appreciate the Herschel experience this might be a nice trip down memory lane, if you’re like me though, this is like reading the book when you’d only read the back cover.

David Greene has had enough with the tryouts, scout teams and inherent instability of the free agent NFL lifestyle.

After not playing a regular or postseason NFL game in four years, former Georgia quarterback David Greene told The Herald during Thursday night’s Quail Unlimited dinner that he is retiring.

“I think I’m pretty much done,” Greene said. “I’ve traveled around a pretty good bit and played on a bunch of different teams. I’ve headed to a point where I am ready to settle down. I have a wife (Veronica) and kid (13-month-old son, Jordan). And I’m kind of ready to settle down in Gwinnett (County).”

At this point, this doesn’t surprise me but I’ve often wondered during the years since he left Gergia why he could never catch on with an NFL team. I’m truly stumped. I’m sure there are those that have the answers but after a little digging I found at least one person who was as puzzled as I am:

Failure in the NFL has been Greene’s post-collegiate calling card — but why? He was such a great college player that you have to wonder why he can’t at least stick around with a team. After all, this is a league where coaches have the nerve to call guys like Damon Huard and Kyle Boeller starting quarterbacks and expect not to get laughed at.

I’ll go ahead and add another name to that list: Jason Campbell.

For three years Jason Campbell looked like the lesser college QB. Recruited in the same class, Greene chose Georgia while Campbell opted for Auburn.

Campbell and Auburn struggled to meet expectations while Greene and Georgia rose to prominence on the national scene, capturing the SEC title in 2002 while finishing 13-1.

I didn’t hear any voices declaring Campbell the better QB, or NFL prospect.

Until 2004 that is; when Al Borges came onto the scene and turned Auburn into an offensive juggernaut. Was this all Jason Campbell? Nope. It was more a result of someone finally utilizing one of the most talented backfields the SEC has ever seen; Carnell “Cadillac” Williams and Ronnie Brown.

Despite that fact, Jason Campbell’s prospects soared while Greene’s flattened. No matter, I thought, Greene’s quality will emerge once he spends the time in the league. Unfortunately, it didn’t play out like that and it’s truly a headscratcher.

I guess you could say Greene is the inverse of Matt Cassell, the Patriots QB who never started a game in college but who started for an entire season after Tom Brady went down. Greene started every game in his career and is the winningest QB in NCAA history. Yet, he hasn’t seen the field in years.

No matter. Good luck Mr. Greene, and thanks for the memories.

A couple of my favorites:

David Hale has a meaty post about the state Georgia football. The highlight for me was this passage about A.J. Green…

For one, Green said, he’ll be more knowledgeable of the offense, but the improvements won’t simply involve experience. Green said he hoped to add seven to 10 pounds of muscle so he can play more physical with opposing corners. More importantly, he said, he hopes to finally be over a sore groin that nagged him throughout his freshman season.

and then these quotes from Green:

“Just a little bit bigger, a little faster,” Green said. “I might do some more crazy things, I don’t know. I’m going to have to show the fans when I’m 100 percent.”

Sign me up. I think the Hartman fund just felt a bump.

It’s good to hear comments like these coming out of the ‘Dawgs. It sounds like they’ve developed a little chip on their shoulder and are hungry to atone for the AL, UF embarrassments… and the ugly collapse against the hated Yellow Jackets.

I think this season, with all of it’s adversity and disappointment, is bringing the team together and making them stronger as opposed to pulling them apart.

How many days ’til September?

One of the more memorable moments of the 2008 season for me. After this, I was thinking we were one our way the Dome. I thought the Florida game would be an epic clash. Unforgettable.

Oh, and Knowshon is a beast… gonna miss him next year.