For Bulldog Nation, outside of perhaps Knowshown Moreno, the most significant repercussion of Tim Tebow’s NFL Draft selection is the return of the SEC East to a wide-open, level playing field. With the Conference’s most seasoned teams all residing in the Western hemisphere (well, west of Auburn, AL at least), the Eastern Division lacks a clear front runner. Here’s a look at how the mostly unproven teams stack up against one another going forward.1. Georgia The running game behind Ealey and King should help to give frosh QB Aaron Murray a relatively light work load in his first year under center. Throwing to arguably the best athlete to don red and black since Champ Bailey doesn’t hurt either. A.J. Green should have a monster year no matter who’s on the tossing end of his touchdown receptions, as the offense looks to be the most complete in the East, despite its unproven ring leader. Read the rest of this entry »
Georgia fans will certainly be glad to start the season, of course excitement and anticipation always run high in Bulldog country, however, this year it will be particularly nice to put a forgettable offseason behind them. On the heels of a very mediocre (by Dawgs’ standards) 8-5 season, including a pedestrian 4-4 mark in conference play, the summer was supposed to be a time of focus, hard work and strategizing, instead the month of July afforded the Bulldogs little but chaos, controversy and a loss of personnel. Read the rest of this entry »
When Aaron Murray takes the reins to the University of Georgia offense, the Bulldog faithful will once again be subject to an inexperienced freshman under center (albeit redshirt freshman this go round), in a trend that has become a familiar development process for the Athens Saturday crowd. Looking back at the quarterbacks in recent Bulldog history, perhaps D.J. Shockley was the only big time signal caller to bide his time with a significant stint on the bench, playing only sporadically as a change of pace quarterback, finally becoming the full time starter until his senior season. Of course, when Shockley did finally earn his spot at the top of the depth chart it paid off as the Dawgs scored a date with the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sugar Bowl, on the heels of an SEC Championship victory. That’s not to say freshman QBs have struggled for the Bulldogs. Matt Stafford did pretty well for himself in limited time in school, earning a 40 million guaranteed contract as the Lions 1 pick. Murray’s situation is eerily similar to that of David Greene back when he first won the starting job (also as a redshirt freshman) in 2001, beating out the more athletic Shockley. Murray walked away with the job by winning the coaches’ confidence after a hotly contested summer competition with Logan Grey. Like Shockley, Grey is a more dynamic threat, while Murray has prototypical passing skills (surprisingly mobile as well). Read the rest of this entry »
UGA walked away with another impressive recruiting haul in 2010, continuing to consistently rank in the top 15 in the country year in year out. With practices already underway and opening kickoff just a month away, here’s a look at what we can expect from some of the Dawgs top rated newcomers come fall.T.J. Stripling, Defensive End , Southwest Dekalb At 6’6” 215 lbs., Stripling is just shy of a freak of nature, but surely the Georgia strength & conditioning program will help him quickly qualify. The already large lineman could afford to put on close to 40 lbs., having relied primarily on his speed and quickness in the pass rush. Burning up the track for a man of his stature, the big fellow clocked in with an impressive 4.6 second 40 yard dash. Read the rest of this entry »