Georgia's first two league games are against South Carolina and Arkansas, which notably are among the few SEC teams with returning starting quarterbacks.
Well, hold that thought on one of them.
All offseason, Steve Sppurrier has been riding Stephen Garcia, who started all 13 games for the Gamecocks last season. And the Head Ball Coach has been praising Connor Shaw, a true freshman who enrolled early and went through spring practice.
Most assumed Spurrier was just trying to light a fire under Garcia. But a little more than two weeks from the opener, Spurrier has said Shaw WILL play against Southern Miss. Now it's just a matter of how much.
My former colleague and good friend Joe Person breaks it down on his blog at The State.
This obviously bears watching for Georgia. Will it be facing Garcia, as it expected, or will a true freshman be under center for the Gamecocks when the Bulldogs visit on Sept. 11?
You just never know with Spurrier. Danny Wuerffel is really the only quarterback that's ever had the HBC's full trust. Garcia has a lot of talent, and has done it in flashes, but he has a carefree attitude off the field - and sometimes on it - that has always made Spurrier blanch.
As for Shaw, having watched him in spring practice, he definitely has a decent bit of composure. He's a dual-threat kind of quarterback, like Garcia, who impressed coaches and teammates right away. But he's also still just a true freshman.
We'll see.
- Georgia's second league opponent, however, has no such quarterback issues. In fact Ryan Mallett had a huge night in a simulated scrimmage on Thursday: 31-38, 484 yards and five touchdowns.
It was against the second-team defense, but ... jeez.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Opposing QB news
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5 comments:
Carolina nor Arkansas scares me in the least. Arkansas kind of reminds me of the way Mississippi was perceived last year - big QB prospect with a questionable team getting a lot of hype and headlines...only to have a very average season without making a lot of noise.
Lakatos has handled Spurrier and Garcia before and will do so again. Mallet will have similar results against the Dawgs 3-4 that he enjoyed against Alabama last year. It's all good. Real test is Florida. Now that sets a tone! Auburn is bringing some experience but I'm glad to play them at Auburn and Tech will bring some optimism to their fan base but our hedges are safe.
just sayin'
I strongly doubt Shaw takes the majority of the snaps against the dawgs if Garcia is healthy! Spurrier likes to sandbag and poor mouth but no way he's handing over the offense to Shaw for the Georgia game. I would expect Shaw to play quite a bit against S. Miss so that Georgia will have to prepare for it. I also expect him to get a couple of snaps in the Georgia game but if the game is as close as they usually are he won't see much action.
I'm scared about Arkansas. A week prior the game in Columbia will be hot and full of emotion. However, Arkansas has all eyes on Georgia already and the Dawgs will have to get up for two straight weeks. The noon start will help Arky just like it will benefit us in Columbia. If we were seeing them later in the year I wouldn't be so worried. But 3 new secondary starters and a noon start have me not as confident as I'd like to be.
BCSAV..
Don't trouble yourself. Hoggs have had their eyes on the prize for awhile. NO worries> Dawgs will handle their business.
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