Backup QBs Need Snaps in '09

It would have been nice, Mark Richt has said repeatedly, to have gotten Joe Cox in for a few more snaps a year ago. There's no substitute for game conditions, and even for an experienced veteran like Cox, stepping into the starting role after four years of primarily clipboard duty is no easy task.

Still, turning to Cox this season is a luxury for Richt. No, Cox doesn't have the same arm as Matthew Stafford and no, he hasn't started a game in nearly three years, but he's hardly a rookie either. He knows the offense, he knows the SEC, and he's earned the job.

But what about 2010? After Cox leaves, things get a bit more dicey, and it's never too early to start thinking about the future. Or at least, it should never be too early for Richt.

Last season, Cox threw just 15 passes. No other non-Stafford QB attempted a pass.

Those numbers were exactly the same in 2007.

For the past two years, the backup hasn't seen the field often, but if Richt is going to groom a quarterback -- whether it be third-year sophomore Logan Gray or true freshmen Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger -- for 2010, he'll need to find a few more snaps for the backups this year than he has in past seasons.

“You want to but you’ve got to be careful of disrupting your starter and his rhythm," Richt said. "If you can find a way of doing it without disrupting your starters ability to feel comfortable and confident, then you do it."

Georgia's schedule -- which features just one non-BCS conference opponent -- won't make things any easier.

"The best way to do it is if you play well enough toward the end of the game you can get the guys some playing time," Richt said. "That would be the ideal way. But with our schedule, that doesn’t happen too often."

The upside to this year's cast of reserves is that both Murray and Gray offer a distinctly different look than Cox, making both ideal contributors for situational play calls. Both Gray and Murray are athletic quarterbacks, capable of beating a defense with both their legs and their arm -- an asset Richt said will likely find its way into Georgia's offense this season.

"If there’s a way to insert a guy in a situation or a down-and-distance or field position, that might be part of what we’d do and it would be comfortable for everybody," Richt said. "So that’s a possibility.”

As for Gray, who has yet to attempt a pass at the college level, Richt said he has been impressed with his progress. Gray missed a significant portion of last year's practice time while working on special teams, but this spring, Richt said his quarterback took a big step forward.

“He looked very good," Richt said. "I think it helped him a lot that we allowed him to be in all the QB meetings and the fundamental work at the start of practice. I think it paid off big time. If you didn’t know anything at all about Logan and you just watched that game as a casual observer, you’d say that guy’s pretty darned good. And he is good. I’m happy to see him do that and gain some confidence.”

For more comments from Richt on Gray, check out this video from the Macon Bulldogs Club meeting last week...

Monday Links (5/11)

Ah, the start of another week. The weather is gorgeous, the baseball team has a one-game winning streak, and the season finale of "Lost" is a mere three days away. The only thing that could really improve life is probably a nice batch of links...

-- I posted earlier today about the many question marks on Georgia's offense this season, but perhaps none are quite as interesting as the development of running back Caleb King. I wrote a profile piece on King that helps to explain why he hasn't quite met expectations to this point for the most recent issue of Dawg Post's magazine. It's online, but a subscription is required. (Of course, you should really get a subscription anyway.)

* Also of note -- in my post earlier today, I mentioned how much inexperience there was on offense, and how little depth there is at receiver. I should note that I don't think Tony Wilson was exactly a make-or-break player this year, but his loss underscores an issue that I believe had been overlooked a bit beforehand. Certainly A.J. Green and Marlon Brown could make for a dynamic duo -- but if that doesn't happen, Georgia doesn't have too many other options.

Anyway, my real point is this: Georgia has talent enough to win on offense this year, but the margin for error is extremely small. Another season of injuries could mean things get real ugly, real fast.

-- Bill King of the Junkyard Blawg weighs in with his opinion on the impact of the recent suspensions, as does Georgia Sports Blog.

-- If there's one thing that definitely won't be a question on Georgia's offense next year, it's the leadership ability of quarterback Joe Cox, as Columbus' Guerry Glegg writes.

-- Pete Fiutak of College Football News sounds pretty optimistic about Georgia's chances in 2009 in his preview story. (h/t Blutarski)

-- Think Knowshon Moreno might have some lofty expectations to live up to in Denver? This Broncos Web site is already asking if it's possible Moreno could score 30 touchdowns in 2009.

-- Here's an interview you'll definitely want to check out: 960 the Ref talks with legendary former Bulldog Hines Ward in its latest podcast.

-- According to Corch Meyers, today begins the Summer of Hell for the Florida Gators.

-- Eight players from Georgia make the Sporting News' list of the top 100 recruits for 2010.

-- The Diamond Dogs finally ended an eight-game losing streak with a ninth-inning run to beat Vanderbilt and clinch a spot in the SEC tournament.

-- The Athens Banner-Herald uncovers the real reason Georgia snapped the losing streak: A rather unpleasant purchase by pitcher Trevor Holder.

-- Former Stratford standout Russell Henley will help lead Georgia into the men's golf regional, which begins Thursday.

-- Here's an interesting story for all you Middle Georgians who enjoy a bit of history: The Telegraph's Coley Harvey writes about the first players to integrate Macon professional baseball.

-- I've heard nothing but good things about the new "Star Trek," and this blog lists seven other franchises J.J. Abrams should reboot in a similar fashion. (No mention of the Oakland Raiders though.)

-- As a Cubs fan, there used to be a time when I felt a particular kinship with Red Sox Nation. Now, stories like this make me giggle with delight. Screw you, arrogant Sox fans!

-- And finally, as I've mentioned a few times before, I grew up in Delaware -- home to vice president Joe Biden, gifted actress Elizabeth Shue, and tax-free shopping. Beyond that, my guess is you don't know much about the state, but here's a news story about a guy I went to high school with (he sat directly in front of me in home room) that should tell you everything you need to know about what it's like there. (As a fun exercise, after reading it, try to identify the dumbest part.)

Video Blog: Mark Fox Q&A

Still have a few videos from last week's Bulldogs Club meeting in Macon. Here's one with basketball coach Mark Fox answering a few questions from the crowd.

Plenty of Questions on Georgia's Offense

With Tony Wilson gone and Bruce Figgins out for six games to start the 2009 season, things could get pretty ugly for Georgia's passing game.

How ugly?

Take away A.J. Green and Michael Moore and Georgia's offense this coming season has a career total of 27 receptions... combined!

That's not just the receiving corps either. That's everyone on the offense -- tailbacks, fullbacks, tight ends and receivers. Twenty-seven catches. And you know who the the proud owner of the plurality of those catches is? That would be fullback Shaun Chapas, who has 12 receptions in his career, not counting the time he fell down in the end zone on a wide-open TD pass from Matthew Stafford last season.

Beyond that, Moore had just five career catches coming into last season, and neither he nor Green has proven they can be viable threats without Mohamed Massaquoi, Knowshon Moreno and Stafford to help keep defenses honest. That's certainly not to say they can't be -- but it also is a bit troubling that Green will be Georgia's only offensive weapon likely to put much fear into a defense to start the season.

Even with true freshmen Marlon Brown and Rontavious Wooten coming in, Georgia will still have just six scholarship receivers on its roster in 2009 -- and while both Brown and Wooten could be impact players, neither is a sure thing. Wooten is a Carlton Thomas clone in terms of his physical presence and he still has to show he can get off the line of scrimmage against physical SEC corners. Brown looks the part of A.J. Green version 2.0, but his success in high school came against drastically inferior competition.

Figgins' loss hurts beyond just the passing game, too. There's a real chance that Orson Charles and/or Aron White can make an impact as receivers this season, but neither are prototypical blockers. Mark Richt has even noted that Charles is likely to be flexed out wide regularly and White will be primarily used in passing situations. So who does that leave to handle blocking duties? Freshman Arthur Lynch -- and that's about it.

And maybe all of this wouldn't be too troublesome if Stafford and Moreno were still spending time in Georgia's backfield, but they aren't. The tailback situation remains up for grabs -- and none of the likely contributors have shown they can handle blocking duties consistently either. Meanwhile Joe Cox is the proud owner of just one career start.

Georgia averaged 426 yards of total offense last season. The Bulldogs will be hard pressed to come anywhere near that number this year. Yes, a healthy and experienced offensive line will be a nice change of pace -- but we're also assuming that it will be healthy and experienced. Five starters -- Josh Davis, Chris Davis, Trinton Sturdivant, Ben Jones and Vince Vance -- have undergone some type of surgery in the past nine months, and until they get back into game conditions, it's hard to say for certain how they'll respond. And right now, an awful lot is riding on the assumption that Georgia's offensive line will not only be good in 2009, but great.

Softball Gets Top Seed for Regional

From UGA Athletics...

The Georgia Bulldogs were selected as a No. 1 seed for the Chapel Hill Regional and the sixth overall national seed in the 28th annual NCAA Division I Softball Championships, the NCAA announced Sunday. Hosted by the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Chapel Hill Regional will take place May 14-16.

The 2009 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional will feature Georgia (39-10), who finished third in the Southeastern Conference, host UNC (45-11) from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Atlantic Sun Championship winner Campbell (38-14) and Big South Champion Radford (40-13).

Georgia is making its eighth-consecutive and eighth overall NCAA postseason appearance in school history, all under head coach Lu Harris-Champer. It marks the second-straight season in which the Bulldogs were selected as the top seed for the Chapel Hill Regional after going 3-0 there last year to advance to Super Regionals.

The Bulldogs are 21-14 overall in NCAA postseason play and will open Regional play against fourth-seeded Radford. Regional host North Carolina, the second seed, will open the Chapel Hill Regional against third-seeded Campbell.

UGA Snaps Losing Streak

From UGA Athletics...

Matt Cerione's single to left field with one out in the bottom of the ninth scored Michael Demperio from second as No. 13 Georgia snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over Vanderbilt Sunday at Foley Field.

With the win the Bulldogs (34-17, 15-12 SEC) clinched a berth in the SEC Tournament.

"This is a momentum win for a lot of reasons," Georgia coach David Perno said. "It got the monkey off our back and put us on the right foot again. This was huge for us. We've really been a good team all year and we can't let the last two weeks get us down. We've clinched postseason play and we need to carry this win on through Tuesday and next weekend."

Demperio was hit on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth, then stole second on an 0-1 pitch to Lyle Allen. Allen was then plunked to set up Cerione's hit on a 3-2 count.

Cerione had two hits including hit his eighth home run of the year to left field in the bottom of the first to give Georgia its first lead of the weekend. Vanderbilt quickly answered as Curt Casali led off the second with a double then scored on a single by Aaron Westlake.

Georgia theatened in the third after Levi Hyams walked, moved to second on a balk, then moved to third as David Thoms grounded out on an 11-pitch at bat. However, Drew Hayes induced a pair of groundouts from Johnathan Taylor and Cerione to get out of the jam.

The Commodores took the lead on an RBI single by Riley Reynolds in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half of the inning, Georgia loaded the bases after walks to Chase Davidson and Hyams and a single by Thoms, but Grayson Garvin struck out Allen and Cerione to end the inning.

Georgia finally broke through on the first pitch in the bottom of the seventh as Joey Lewis launched his 16th home run off the batter's eye to knot the score at 2-2.

The Commodores regained the lead 3-2 in the top of the eighth when Curt Casali scored on a passed ball with two outs, but Bryce Massanari hit Georgia's third home run with one out in the eighth to make it 3-3.

Dean Weaver (2-2) worked two scoreless inning to pick up the win while Nick Christiani (5-4) took the loss. Georgia starter Justin Grimm allowed just two runs on seven hits in five innings.

"I'm really proud of the way Grimm is pitching right now," Perno said. "He came out and attacked every hitter today. The main thing was that we finally got ahead of hitters early in the count. He did a great job today as did the rest of the bullpen. Will (Harvil), Michael (Palazzone) and Dean all threw well today."

It's Official: Wilson, Figgins, Houston Out

From UGA Athletics...

Two University of Georgia football players will incur suspensions due to violation of team rules, according to an announcement Saturday by Bulldog head coach Mark Richt.


Junior tight end Bruce Figgins has received a six-game suspension and redshirt sophomore defensive end Justin Houston has been suspended for two games. A third player, junior wide receiver Tony Wilson, also violated team rules; however, he is in the process of being medically disqualified from competition due to slow recovery from a severe ankle injury originally suffered in the spring of 2008.


"I'm very disappointed in the poor judgment of these players," said UGA head coach Mark Richt. "They'll have to pay an appropriate price and I'm confident they will learn an important lesson from their mistake."

Video Blog: Richt Talks Up-and-Comers

Mark Richt discusses the young players he thinks can make a big impact in 2009...

Friday Links (5/8)

Happy Friday, ladies and gents. Here are some links for your reading pleasure...

-- Georgia Sports Blog rounds up a bunch of basketball news, including the coaching staff, recruiting and transfers.

-- Bernie's Dawg Blawg has video of Mark Richt chatting with ESPN.

-- Tim Tucker has a bunch of interesting quotes from Mark Richt from last night's Bulldog Club meeting in Columbus, including a semi-endorsement of playing the Cocktail Party game in Atlanta.

-- Columbus' Guerry Clegg isn't getting a lot more from Richt about the suspensions: "When the appropriate time comes, I'll make a comment."

-- Total UGA has an update on the Nick Montana sweepstakes. (Subscription required)

-- Scott Linehan says he isn't worried about Matthew Stafford's accuracy in the NFL.

-- Knowshon Moreno's hometown paper gives a taste of his past and his future in this story.

-- Marc Weiszer finds out whatever happened to former Bulldogs Walter Hill and NeDerris Ward.

-- The AJC chats with Matt Stinchcomb about a number of topics, including his upcoming charity event.

-- Georgia wraps up its home slate this weekend at Foley Field, and the series is going to be a big one for the struggling Diamond Dogs.

-- The Banner-Herald has a story on the marked improvement of Sunday's starter, Justin Grimm.

-- The softball team heads to Knoxville for the SEC tournament.

-- Georgia's men's tennis team begins its title defense this weekend.

-- 960 the Ref has a couple of tennis interviews.

-- And the Savannah Morning News profiles a former Georgia tennis player now making some noise on the pro tour.

-- Bo Jackson is giving the commencement speech at Auburn, and ESPN's Chris Low picks his dream speakers at each SEC school. All due respect to Herschel Walker, but I'd prefer Georgia alum Kyle Chandler, from "Friday Night Lights." Now that guy can give a speech. "Clear eyes, full hearts..."

-- Jim Rome bashes Tim Tebow... but doesn't call him Chris.

-- Blutarski notes the unfortunate parallels between two sports stories, one of which involves my home state.

-- Apparently a Cleveland news anchor is no big fan of the AJC's Mark Bradley.

-- "The Simpsons" commemorative stamps are finally available. Now go mail some stuff.

-- One of the last surviving Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz" has died.

-- And finally, I've had my share of issues with the NCAA's seedings for the tournament in years past, but nothing they have done is as absurd as this tourney bracket for "Best Bad-Ass TV character" pitting Jack Bauer and B.A. Baracus against each other in the first round.

Catch Gym Dogs on CBS

From UGA Athletics...

CBS will televise the NCAA Gymnastics Championship on Saturday at 2 p.m., giving Georgia fans a chance to relive the Gym Dogs’ fifth straight and 10th overall national title.

Georgia’s NCAA title capped the career of Coach Suzanne Yoculan, who posted more than 800 victories in her 26-year career.

CBS reporters and producers did several interviews with Georgia’s coaches and student-athletes over the course of a four-day period in Lincoln, Neb., last month. Tim Brando and Amanda Borden handled the play-by-play and analysis, respectively.

Fox Rounds Out Staff

The Roanoke Times reports that Virginia Tech assistant Stacey Palmore has accepted a job as part of Mark Fox's staff at Georgia.

Palmore joins Phil Pearson and Kwanza Johnson as assistants for Fox.

Q&A with Mark Fox

Mark Fox joked during his address to fans in Macon yesterday that he was just a warm-up act. They were all there to see Mark Richt. There was certainly some truth to that sentiment.

But, at the same time, Fox is working on boosting interest in his program, too, and he even got a good sales pitch from Richt as well. But with a thin roster, reaching out to fans has to be about more than winning. I talked to the new Georgia basketball coach about just how he plans on handling that challenge -- along with a few other key issues facing the hoops team.

David Hale: You've been out on a number of these Bulldog Club meetings now. Obviously you can't promise a Sweet 16 to fans for the upcoming season, but you also want to get people excited about Georgia basketball again. So sort of a two-part question: What has been the reaction you've gotten from fans so far, and what is the message you've been giving them?

Mark Fox: Answer one is that the response has been great. People have been very welcoming and have really embraced me and our message. I think for our players and our fans, we certainly have some work to do. But it has to start with the right mentality of our team, and what I've tried to express to people is that we need to play the game a certain way. We have to play the game hard, we have to act right, and we have to put forth an effort that people are able to appreciate. That should be the first thing that a fan looks for, whether you're picked to win a championship or not. So that's what we're focusing on right now is to create that level of effort and passion, and if we can do that, hopefully people will appreciate the effort our kids are putting out.

DH: With all you have on your plate from the schedule to recruiting to putting your staff together, how important is it for you to be out and talking to fans and building that relationship between the program and a fan base that has drifted away?

MF: It's important to have fans there just because the noise stays indoors, so the fans make a huge difference in college basketball. I don't know if it was half full last year or less, but we know there's room for improvement there. What comes first -- the chicken or the egg? Well, we need both. Hopefully we'll get some people come back and help us, hopefully our team will play the right way, and attract people to return and bring some friends with them.

DH: I know you've discussed this a bit, but do you have an idea of when you might hear a final decision from Trey Thompkins on his future?

MF: Trey's been great. He has finals this week and is focusing on that.

DH: But you plan on sitting down with him and discussing what his plans are soon?

MF: All of our guys will have an exit interview. We'll meet with all those guys this week and map out their future, and Trey will be in that group.

DH: There have also been a few guys, including Travis Leslie, who have had some problems in the classroom. Are you confident you'll have all your players available for next year?

MF: I will say that we have had a good academic month. I've been pleased with the approach of the last couple weeks. Until we see grades, I don't know. I do think the kids have had a good approach the last month and are making progress. I'd like to be cautiously optimistic in that area.

DH: So having been here for a month, how much of a handle do you think you have on the program now -- what needed to be improved and a plan to get it done?

MF: I think we have a great understanding of where it was. There is a lot of potential in this program, but we have a lot of work in front of us. There are a lot of things that correlate to winning that are in place. The practice facility is unbelievable. But we have to develop things in the right way, we have to operate the program in the right way so we can improve, and hopefully continually improve until we get to a point where we're winning. Hopefully if we do it right, we get to a point where we can sustain success. That's the long-term objective.

Top 25 by APR

Following up a little more on the news about Georgia's APR: Here is the final AP top 25 from 2008 (AP ranking in parentheses) now ranked by APR...

1 (t). Georgia (13), 976
1 (t). Penn State (8), 976
3. Ohio State (9), 968
4. Boise State (11), 966
5. Florida (1), 963
6. TCU (7), 962
7. Georgia Tech (22), 957
8. USC (3), 956
9. Alabama (6), 955
10. Utah (2), 954
11. Oklahoma (5), 952
12. Missouri (19), 951
13. Cincinnati (17), 947
14. Iowa (20), 946
15. BYU (25), 942
16 (t). Texas (4), 939
16 (t). Oklahoma State (16), 939
16 (t). West Virginia (23), 939
19 (t). Oregon (10), 935
19 (t). Texas Tech (12), 935
21 (t). Virginia Tech (15), 932
21 (t). Florida State (21), 932
23. Michigan State (24), 931
24. Oregon State (18), 930
25. Ole Miss (14), 910

UGA Tops SEC in APR

Mark Richt discusses Georgia's APR at last night's Bulldog Club meeting in Macon...



Here's the news release from UGA Athletics...

The University of Georgia football and women's basketball scores in the annual NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) released Wednesday were both tops in the SEC. The Bulldog football team's 976 APR score tied with Penn State for the best score among all of the nation's top 25 teams as ranked in the final polls.

The Academic Progress Rate, now in its fifth year, measures the eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team. It also serves as a predictor of graduation success. The most recent APR scores are multi-year rates based on the scores from the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic years.

The UGA men's basketball team ranked fourth best in the SEC.

NCAA sports falling below the established point cutoff of 925 are subject to penalties including scholarship reductions. UGA will not incur any penalties as all 20 NCAA Bulldog sports were above the cutoff score.

While all Georgia sports were above the established cutoff, 12 actually increased their scores over last year—baseball, football, men's golf, men's indoor and outdoor track and field, women's basketball, women's cross country, gymnastics, soccer, women's tennis, and women's indoor and outdoor track and field.

Georgia's football APR of 976 was best in the SEC – seven points ahead of second place Vanderbilt (969). The Lady Bulldog basketball team scored 986, also seven points ahead of Vanderbilt's 979.

"We're obviously pleased to once again be above the established cutoffs in all our sports," said UGA Director of Athletics Damon Evans. "I'm especially pleased with football and women's basketball being at the top of the SEC and the fact that the APR is one of the predictors of graduation rate success. But we also realize there is always room for improvement. We are committed to working hard every day to strengthen the academic performance and graduation of our student-athletes."

Note: The complete NCAA APR Report can be obtained at the following web address beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET: www.ncaa.org

Richt, Fox in Macon

Don't forget Mark Richt and Mark Fox will both be in Columbus tonight for the Bulldog Club meeting.

The two coaches were in Macon last night. We'll have some video up soon, but here are a few photos from the event.

No Word on Suspensions

Georgia could be without three players to start the 2009 season due to suspensions, according to UGASports.com.

The Web site reported that tight end Bruce Figgins, defensive end Justin Houston and wide receiver Tony Wilson would each be suspended for an undetermined period after violating team rules.

Head coach Mark Richt would not confirm the suspensions Wednesday, however, saying in a statement through sports information director Claude Felton that "there is nothing to report" at this time.

Georgia was plagued by off-field incidents a year ago and began the 2008 season with more than a half-dozen players suspended. Things had been quiet on that front so far in 2009, with Richt noting that he was employing a stricter approach to discipline this year.

Still, Richt cautioned that these issues are likely to crop up at any program.

"We do have to remember these guys are human," Richt said last month. "These guys are being watched more closely than probably any group in the state of Georgia. There's no place to hide. So am I going to sit here and say that these guys are never going to make a mistake again? That's very unrealistic, but I think at least we’ve had a very good start and guys, as a whole, want to do the right thing. But shoot, who knows what tomorrow brings, right?"

Houts Invited to USA Hoops Trials

From UGA Athletics...

Georgia's Ashley Houts has accepted an invitation to try out for the U.S. National Team that will compete in this summer's World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia.

"I'm very excited and anxious at the same time," Houts said. "I think this is a great opportunity to represent our program and the University of Georgia. I'll do my best to do that and make the most of this chance."

Houts, a 5-6, guard from Trenton, Ga., who just completed her junior year in Athens, is among 29 players attending team trials from May 17-19 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Finalists will return to Colorado Springs on June 18 for a training camp, with the 12-player team announced prior to the squad's expected departure for Serbia on June 25. The World University Games will be held on July 1-11 in Belgrade.

Houts is one of seven players attending the trials with gold medal-winning experience with USA Basketball. In the summer of 2007, Houts was the lone rising sophomore chosen for the National Team that won the U21 World Championships in Moscow. She averaged 4.1 points per game, including 14 points in 16 minutes of action against Belgium in the quarterfinal round.

Video Blog: Trevor Holder

Georgia starting pitcher Trevor Holder talks about his team's -- and his own -- recent struggles, while getting a good bit of ribbing from his teammates.

Wednesday Links (5/6)

I hate Brett Favre.

Now links...

-- Tim Tucker gets some facts on the possibility of Georgia playing a game in the Georgia Dome in 2010.

-- Yesterday I linked to a rather pointless early look at the top 25. Dancing in the End Zone actually adds some semblance of rationale to the discussion by giving us a more well-reasoned top 25 -- one in which Georgia does surprisingly well.

-- The Banner-Herald writes that Georgia will need to rely heavily on its offensive line this season.

-- Julio Jones has gone under the knife three times this offseason.

-- OK, so maybe Corch Meyers didn't have all his facts exactly right.

-- Two softball players took home weekly SEC honors.

-- I met a member of the equestrian team yesterday and promised her more coverage. I'm assuming linking to a story in the Red & Black counts.

-- This is why people hate the Yankees.

-- 960 the Ref talks to Braves prospect Kris Medlen, who should be getting a call up (along with his buddy Tommy Hanson) soon.

-- Georgia Sports Blog talks about an off-topic issue that is close to my heart.

-- The Guardian has a profile on the former star of "The Wire" and arch nemesis of Michael Scott, Idris Elba.

-- First Jerry Reed and now Dom Deluise. It's been a bad year to be a Burt Reynolds co-star.

-- An interesting story for history buffs or art lovers: Turns out Van Gogh probably didn't cut off his own ear.

-- And finally, on the day the show comes to a (likely) end, the AV Club talks with "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence.

Also, for those of you in Macon, don't forget that Mark Richt and Mark Fox will be in town today. I'll be there for the event, and I'll also be on Bill Shanks' show sometime between 4 and 5.

Video Blog: Fox on Williams

Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox discusses the significance of landing his first commitment, Florida guard Vincent Williams...

Catching Up With... Danny Ware

Jeff Owens was the first Georgia player to launch his own blog, but he hasn't updated it in a few weeks. (He gets a little bit of a pass since it's finals week.) But since Jeff is on hiatus, there's another Dawg who is now in the blogosphere -- former Georgia running back Danny Ware.

Danny played three seasons at Georgia, leaving after his junior year for the NFL. He went undrafted, but eventually signed with the New York Giants, where he hopes to find some significant snaps this season out of the backfield.

I talked with Danny about his blog, his goals for next season and advice for his former teammates who are just now getting their first taste of life in the NFL. Here's what he had to say...

David Hale: You have a blog up now where you share your thoughts on life in the NFL. What inspired you to create the blog?

Danny Ware: I just wanted to get the fans involved. A lot of people have heard of me but didn't know exactly what I was about. So I figured I'd start the blog and let them know exactly what was going on in my world and how hard I was working and what they could expect from me. If they had any questions, they could ask and I would get on and answer it. It was just a fun project.

DH: One of your most recent posts is about your quest to get on the field more now that Derrick Ward is gone. What have you been doing to get ready for the upcoming season?

DW: I've just turned into an animal. I'm working hard non-stop. I'm doing extra running, going out and catching with Eli (Manning), our old quarterback David (Carr), Andre Woodson. Just working, in the playbook to make sure I know everything backwards and forwards, so when it's time to go into camp, I'm ahead of schedule. I just want to put myself in a position to go out there and excel.

DH: Coming out of college as an undrafted free agent, you've really had to work just to get noticed so far in your career. Has the hardest part of your NFL career just been trying to find that opportunity to show what you can do?

DW: Yeah, it has, but I kind of like it a little bit -- being the underdog and nobody knowing who you are, not being drafted and working your way up. It shows character. I just put everything behind me in the past, and I'm just moving to the future now, going out there working hard and getting better every day. I think I had two good preseasons, but it's just been a numbers game. But it's all good now. I think I've got a little bit more room to work with and I'm hoping I'll come out there and compete just as hard as I did last year and even harder and give myself a chance to play in the regular season.

DH: Looking back now at how things unfolded, do you have any regrets about leaving Georgia early to go to the NFL?

DW: I'm happy with the decision. I would have loved to have been drafted, but it didn't happen, and I'm not going to cry about it. I'm going to go out there and keep working and make my mark this way. This is really my opportunity to go out there and make myself known, let the world know who Danny Ware is and help the Giants win.

DH: You had a bunch of former teammates drafted last month, and a few others -- including your former backfield teammate, Brannan Southerland -- who will follow your route as an undrafted free agent. Have you talked to them yet or given them any advice on adjusting to life in the NFL?

DW: I haven't talked to them, but I certainly want to. I've got to try to get Brannan's number, but I talk to Knowshon (Moreno) all the time. I talked to Matt (Stafford) when he was up here in New York the week before the draft in the city and everything. I just told them that it's a great life, but you've got to also work and understand that there's a lot of things that come with this great life. There's going to be a lot of people that will mooch off you, there's going to be people that try to break you down. You've got to look past all that and clear those people out of your life and concentrate on playing ball.

DH: I know you watched the team pretty closely last year. As an outside observer, was there anything that you noticed that would explain why the Bulldogs fell short of expectations last season?

DW: It's always been kind of one of those things where we have a great team, and we have so many high expectations, and we have that one game or two games that just happen to slip by and everybody's just not on that same page. For some reason, you just don't know why it happens, but they've just got to get over that hump. Once they do that, I think they'll be playing for national championships.

DH: This year, things will certainly be a lot different for the Dawgs. You played with David Greene and then were there when D.J. Shockley finally got his chance to start. It's a little bit similar this year with Joe Cox taking over for Matthew. What does Joe need to do to find the same kind of success that D.J. did? Or was D.J. just always primed to be a starter and play as well as he did?

DW: D.J. was always like that. He was always talking to you, making sure your head was in the game and you were staying focused. We knew he was going to go out there and do everything he could to help the team win, and he did. I'm pretty sure Joe Cox is going to do the same thing. I like Joe, he's a friend of mine, and I'm excited to see what he's going to do. I'm expecting great things out of him. He had a great career at Independent High School, and I think he's going to carry that over now.

DH: OK, back to the NFL. I grew up a huge Eagles fan, so I have a rooting interest in the NFC East. How do you see that division shaking out this year?

DW: We've got to get through the first couple of games first. I couldn't even try to tell you that. I've got a couple of old teammates on the Eagles though -- Reggie (Brown) and Max (Jean-Gilles). I'd really like to play them. I've been up here for two years, but haven't had a chance to get in the games. I want to get a couple plays or a couple catches and finally get in the game against my old teammates.

DH: You play with a quarterback who was taken first overall in the draft and had some big expectations to live up to. Do you have any advice to pass along to Matthew now that he's in the same boat that Eli was a few years ago?

DW: Matthew's a great athlete. All he's got to do is go out there and play ball like he was back in high school. That's all he's got to do, and everything else will happen.

DH: You said you've talked to Knowshon a bunch, too. What do you think will be the biggest adjustment for him in the NFL, and what kind of numbers do you think he can put up in his rookie season?

DW: I think the hardest thing is going to be learning the protections and blocking the bigger guys that come with the NFL. They're a lot faster, a lot stronger, and they have a non-stop motor. In college, you've got guys who will lay down on certain plays. These guys up here come all day. It's going to be one of those things where he's got to know what he's doing, but I'm looking for big things out of him in Denver -- probably about 1,500 yards rushing in his rookie year.

DH: So how about you? Is 1,500 yards in your future this year as well? Should fantasy football owners have you down as a sleeper pick in 2009?

DW: I'd definitely like to get 1,500 yards, about eight touchdowns, about another 800 yards receiving. But we'll see how that goes. I've got to be patient, but I'm definitely going to do my best to do that.

* Don't forget to check out Danny's blog at www.dannyware28.com or find him on Twitter HERE.

Video Blog: More with Mark Fox

Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox discusses what life has been like for him during the past month since coming to Athens. (NOTE: This isn't included in the clip, but he said he's spent a lot of time at Waffle House.)

Cinco de Mayo Links

Happy Cico de Mayo, folks. Hope everyone has some sort of fiesta planned to celebrate or at least plans on getting a couple double-decker tacos at Taco Bell on your way home from work. And to help kill the time until that first margarita, here's a handful of links mas fina.

-- New Mexico State will fill out Georgia's 2011 slate. My only regret here is that Hal Mumme won't be on the sideline for the Aggies.

-- Marc Weiszer was a busy man yesterday, also posting a good blog about Mark Richt's thoughts on a potential indoor practice facility.

-- ESPN's Chris Low is wrapping up the spring for every SEC team, including Georgia. He helped me out with a Q&A on the SEC to wrap up our Two-A-Days last week, but also has a look back of his own, too.

-- Jalen Fields was Georgia's first commitment for 2010, but as TotalUGA notes, it's not exactly a done deal just yet that Fields will be playing in Athens. (Subscription required)

-- Like most people, I was pretty much against the BCS for a long time. But then I started reading Blutarski's thoughts on the whole thing, and slowly but surely, he has worn me down with great posts like this one.

-- You know what makes for great offseason banter: A meaningless poll done by someone none of you have heard of that ranks Georgia Tech seven spots ahead of the Dawgs.

-- USA Today has its spring scoop on college football teams from coast to coast.

-- DaugMan has one of the few notes I forgot to mention from Mark Fox's meeting with reporters last week: The new coach is pretty impressed with the abilities of Drazen Zlovaric.

-- Tim Tucker has some thoughts on Georgia's newest (female) hoops recruit and the slumping Diamond Dogs.

-- 960 the Ref talks to the man in charge of those slumping Diamond Dogs, Dave Perno.

-- Here's a question I've been posed a few times throughout the course of my life: If you're at a bar or some sort of social meeting place, and someone of the opposite sex whom you would never find remotely attractive hits on you, should you a.) be flattered that you were hit on at all, or b.) be concerned that someone you would never be interested in assumed you were attainable. I've usually stuck with option A, if for no other reason than I have some ugly friends who consistently hit on any girl who doesn't immediately run. In any case, I assume that this is a similar question that the folks in the Chattanooga sports media might ask themselves after being wooed by Bleacher Report.

-- As a former teacher at a community college, I think I've officially found the show I'm most excited about watching next season.

-- I'm guessing The Hoff will be taking it easy on Cinco de Mayo after his latest round of trouble.

-- And finally, I must say, I LOVED last night's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," but I'm in agreement with the Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall, who isn't buying in to that final twist. Seriously though, how can you not love a show that compares a character's success rate hitting on women to Jim Abbott's career batting average? And Marshall's diagram of "Cecilia?" Classic.

(As a side note, prior to last night's episode, my favorite Jim Abbott comparison was to my friend, Tim. Back in college, we played intramural softball, but Tim would always forget to bring his glove -- this was usually happy hour-related. We had extra gloves, but he was our only lefty. So, when playing the field, he would always wear a right-handed glove, catch the ball, then have to take the glove off and switch hands in order to throw the ball back to the infield, a la Jim Abbott. We were not very good, as you might imagine.)

Stafford Not Starting Yet

What, Matthew Stafford hasn't landed the starting gig already? Well what are they paying him all that money for?

ESPN is reporting that Lions' GM Martin Mayhew has tentatively named Daunte Culpepper as the team's starting quarterback.

"He's a pro, and I trust Daunte," Mayhew told the (Detroit) Free Press' Carlos Monarrez. "He's got a lot of ability, and I anticipate that if we had something to do today, Daunte would be the guy today. But we've got a lot of time to work, and we'll see how it goes."

It doesn't sound like this is anything more than the typical lip service early on. A team would be insane to name a rookie as the starter after one weekend of workouts, so this is really not news. Still, with a veteran like Culpepper (who also has a long relationship with O coordinator Scott Linehan) on the roster, Stafford will probably have a bit tougher time landing the starting job this fall than Matt Ryan had a year ago in Atlanta.

Video Blog: Fox on Recruiting

Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox discusses his approach to recruiting at his point in the year, along with his relationship with star forward Trey Thompkins.

Monday Links (5/4)

Well, it's been a while since we posted any links, so there's a lot to catch up on...

-- For our readers in Macon and Columbus, don't forget Mark Richt and Mark Fox will be coming to town this week.

-- During his visit to his old stomping grounds in North Jersey, a fan asked Knowshon Moreno why he wore the No. 24. He wasn't sure. Unlike most athletes, it had no special meaning to him. As best he could recall, he used to wear No. 27 growing up, but it wasn't available in high school, so he switched without much thought.

With the Broncos, Knowshon will wear No. 27 again, but this time, it will have plenty of meaning.

-- Larry Munson is heading to the broadcaster's hall of fame tonight.

-- The AJC's Tim Tucker looks at two-sport stars at Georgia, starting with Geno Atkins, who excels on both the football field and with the shotput.

-- A.J. Green will grace the cover of the new Athlon College Football preview issue (with some other guys you've probably never heard of). (h/t GTP)

-- The Dalton Daily Citizen refers to Matthew Stafford's run-in with a 49ers psychologist as an "outburst" then gets Mark Richt to comment on it. I'd hate to find out how they're covering the swine flu... "We're all gonna die!!!!"

-- Anthony Dasher catches up with Trinton Strurdivant to find out the big left tackle is feeling pretty good these days. (Subscription Required.)

-- Former Georgia running back Verron Haynes will be playing close to home once again.

-- The Orange & Brown Report looks at how Mohamed Massaquoi may fit into the Browns' offense next season. (Scout subscription required.)

-- If you followed our coverage from Orlando on this blog during bowl week, you'll know I was less than impressed by the festivities of the Cap One Bowl. The Orlando Sentinel has a story up now that says I'm not the only one that thinks the so-called best non-BCS bowl game has lost a good bit of its luster.

-- Mark Fox still has a lot of work left to do before next season.

-- The women's hoops team landed a commitment.

-- Two great posts from T Kyle King:

First, he wraps up the dreadful series at Foley Field in which Georgia was swept by Florida, and has now lost six straight.

And second, he invokes history -- and some Erk Russell quotes -- to argue against big changes to the Cocktail Party.

-- Georgia Sports Blog takes a closer look at the sinking ship that is the Diamond Dogs' season.

-- While the baseball team was struggling, the softball team swept Arkansas and completed a no-hitter.

-- Two things I have really enjoyed in the past year or so: The book "Freakonomics," which is really a great read if you're browsing the aisles of your local Barnes & Noble any time soon, and the recent episodes of "The Office" featuring the Michael Scott Paper Company. Here's a nifty little column by one of the book's authors on the underlying economic principles involved in the latter's business model.

-- If you're any sort of a science dork, you'll love this. Click on the photo once the page loads. (From Rob Neyer's blog at ESPN.com).

-- Catching up on some news from last week: Deadspin has a pretty entertaining lead in the case to find out who rigged the secret pony code into ESPN.com.

-- The Red & Black has a story about the lives of beauty queens at the University of Georgia. Good stuff.

-- I mentioned Voltron in one of my posts last week, which led to a greater discussion with one reader on whether this year's Georgia team more closely resembled Voltron or Thundercats, in which I surmised that they really ought to be modeling themselves more after G.I. Joe. Yes, I have too much free time on my hands. Anyway, all of that is a round-about way of saying, here's the trailer for the new G.I. Joe movie.

-- I know things are bad for newspapers, and it's inevitable that folks will lose jobs, but the heartless way in which it seems to happen drives me nuts. I remember working in a restaurant in college as a waiter and being told that all of us were replaceable at any time. I had liked to think I'd moved beyond that, but the truth is, that's the way many of the big-wigs look at reporters, and that's a big reason newspapers are doing so badly now.

-- And finally, Nerve.com ranks the top movie opening scenes of all time. Can't disagree with them at all on "Goodfellas," which would make my list, but the diner scene in "Pulp Fiction" is 1,000 times better than "Jackie Brown" and I'm sorta partial to the opening scene from "The Big Lebowski," which didn't make the list. Sometimes there's a man...

Florida Takes Two

From UGA Athletics...

Tyler Thompson's two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th lifted No. 17 Florida to a 10-9 victory over No. 6 Georgia as the Gators completed a two-game sweep Saturday at Foley Field. The game was suspended in the bottom of the ninth on Friday and resumed after the regularly scheduled game on Saturday, which Florida also won 7-6.

Georgia (33-14, 14-9 SEC) had jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the second innning on Friday, but Florida (33-14, 15-8) rallied to tie it with two runs in the eighth before the game was halted with one out in the bottom of the ninth. The game resumed Saturday at 6:53 p.m, one hour and 50 minutes following the conclusion of Saturday's first game.

Florida now holds a one-game lead over Georgia in the SEC Eastern Division, and the Bulldogs have lost four straight SEC games.

"The thing is, we have to get things done in important situations," Georgia coach David Perno said. "Their guys are getting things done and we are just struggling. Our pitching needs to step it up. We've struggled on the mound since the Saturday game at Ole Miss. It's really tough when we're not executing and there are always people on base for them. There is little room for error when that happens.The end results have been disappointing for us so far this weekend, but if we turn things around tomorrow, we'll still at least come out of the weekend tied for first in the division."

Dean Weaver (1-2) took the loss for Georgia while Billy Bullock (2-2) earned the win for the Gators.

In the first game of the day, Florida scored two runs in each of the three middle innings and held on to beat Georgia 7-6. The Gators took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and never trailed. Georgia tied it at 3-3 in the fourth, but Florida scored four straight to take a 7-3 lead. The Bulldogs got within 7-6 in the seventh but were held scoreless over the next two innings.

Florida won despite a season-high 16 strikeouts by Georgia pitchers including a career-high eight by Alex McRee.

McRee (4-1) struck out five batters through the first 1.2 innings, but Teddy Foster launched an opposite field home run with two strikes in the second to give Florida a 1-0 lead. Buddy Munroe hit a two-out home run in the fourth to give the Gators a 3-0 lead.

Georgia came back to tie it in the bottom of the fourth. Bryce Massanari hit a two-out, two-run home run to get the Bulldogs to within one, then a double by Lyle Allen scored Joey Lewis from first to tie the score at 3-3.

The Gators responded with two more runs in the fifth. After a 33 minute rain delay, Avery Barnes scored on a wild pitch, then Josh Adams scored on a bunt single by Matt den Dekker. In the sixth, Barnes tripled in another run then scored on a single by Preston Tucker to stretch Florida's lead to 7-3.

Joey Lewis cut Florida's lead to 7-5 on a two-out, two-run homer to left center in the bottom half of the inning. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but Nick Maronde entered the game and held Georgia to just one run and kept the Gators' lead intact.

Anthony DeSclafani (5-1) earned the win and Bullock picked up his ninth save.

The two teams will play the series finale Sunday at 2 p.m. with sophomore righty Justin Grimm (2-3, 4.42 ERA) on the mound for Georgia.

Hoops Notes: Fox Leans on Richt for Input

From Roy Williams to Bobby Knight to Rick Barnes, new Georgia coach Mark Fox said he has gotten some important advice from plenty of the elite coaches in college basketball before deciding to head to Athens.

Since he has been at Georgia, he has already met with several of the top SEC coaches, too, including Mississippi's Andy Kennedy, LSU's Trent Johnson and Kentucky's John Calipari.

But the one coach Fox said he has been most excited about spending time with is Georgia's football coach, Mark Richt.

"There's only one Mark in town," Fox joked, "and it ain't me."

Fox said that he first met Georgia's football coaches on the day he was hired, spending some time with Richt and several of the assistants.

Since then, he has talked with Richt several times, including during some of the stops the two have made on the school's Bulldog Club tour, which began two weeks ago. At one point, Fox said, the two scheduled to meet for about 15 minutes and ended up spending nearly three hours together. Richt even set up an impromptu tour of Sanford Stadium for Fox's son, who was visiting Athens for the weekend.

It's a relationship Fox said he embraced immediately and said that he has always relied on coaches from other sports for input and advice. To have a staff as good as Richt's nearby makes the process even easier.

"They understand how to win at Georgia," Fox said. "There's a lot of things if you're smart you can use from each other."

NO HARD FEELINGS

There are no hard feelings aimed at former Georgia recruit Daniel Miller, who had committed to the Bulldogs under Dennis Felton but was granted his release by Fox two weeks ago and has since signed with Georgia Tech.

Fox said he met with Miller and his family, and while he would have honored the scholarship offer made by Felton, he was also happy to allow Miller to explore other options.

"I think he wanted a fresh start, and that's understandable," Fox said. "I told his family and him that I'm not going to stand in your way. That wouldn't be the right way to begin."

Fox said he was not aware of Miller's intent to sign with Tech, but said he was not interested in limiting the former recruit's options regardless.

A PERFECT FIT

A few days after losing Miller, Fox added a new name to Georgia's commitment list for 2009.

Point guard Vincent Williams, of Homestead, Fla., was Fox's first commitment since taking over at Georgia, and he said Williams fulfills a key role on the offensive end of the court.

"One of the things we felt like this team needs is to become a little bit more offensive – well, more than a little bit," Fox said. "Trey (Thompkins) can score a lot of different places, but unless we can stretch the defense and isolate him, he's going to have a tough time. … Vincent can shoot the ball. He can score."

STILL WORKING

Williams' signing leaves three available scholarships for the Bulldogs, but Fox said he doesn't plan on using them all this year. With Albert Jackson as the team's only senior, Fox said it's important to help even out the classes and maintain some flexibility for the future. More importantly, however, he wants players who will fit at Georgia.

"We want to recruit players who can help us win, not just play here," Fox said.

Fox and his staff had just nine days to recruit this year, and they hit the ground running, stopping at as many as seven schools in one day. New NCAA restrictions that prevent coaches from attending post-season basketball tournaments for recruiting has made things more difficult, but Fox said they haven't given up on landing a last-minute addition.

"We'll look at transfers if we can," Fox said. "We're looking internationally. We'll keep looking because you never know what you're going to find."

IT'S TRICKY

One of the biggest headaches of Fox's brief tenure at Georgia has been the schedule. The Bulldogs are already tied into several road and neutral-court games in their non-conference schedule, but the trick has been finding some competition willing to come to Stegeman Coliseum next season.

Georgia has return dates at Virginia Tech and Missouri to fulfill home-and-home agreements that began last season, and the Bulldogs will play Illinois in a neutral site game at the Gwinnett Center as well. They'll also head to New York for a date with St. John's as part of the new Big East-SEC challenge. Georgia Tech remains the only major non-conference game set for Stegeman, and that has been a concern for Fox.

Fox also announced that Georgia would not participate in the Diamond Head Classic, a new tournament hosted by Hawaii, due to the extensive travel. The Bulldogs had initially been scheduled to appear.

Georgia needed eight games to finish out its schedule for 2009-10 and Fox said he is close to agreements with four schools already.

"They wanted to wait and let the new coach make the decisions, which is one of the things I give the administration credit for is they didn't go ahead and schedule a bunch of games," Fox said. "But we're behind. … We have some serious work to do in getting some games, we have some major work to do on the schedule, and that's not going to be solved overnight."

Fox said the schedule would not likely be finalized for a while yet, noting that during one season while he was at Nevada, the final game on the slate wasn't set until October. Fox also said he would not agree to any two-for-one agreements in which Georgia would play a team on the road twice in exchange for one home game, but said he may consider a home-and-home deal with teams he would normally want to visit Stegeman twice.

"I think that we want to play some teams from other BCS leagues," Fox said. "We want to be on TV. We want to be able to certainly take advantage of playing in a big league and playing at home."

MORE TO COME

Up next on Fox's schedule is finalizing his staff, which will include one more assistant and support staff. He also wants to evaluate the team's summer lifting programs and finish up the schedule. Overall, however, he said his first month has been pretty productive.

"I don't think I've had a bad day," Fox said. "We've enjoyed every second of it."

Still No Decision From Thompkins

New Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox has spent his first month on the job frenetically trying to find a few new additions to his team, but he still isn't clear on the future of one of his top current players.

After Fox's hiring, freshman forward Trey Thompkins said he would wait until the end of the spring academic semester before he made any decisions on whether he would return to Georgia for his sophomore season, and while Fox said he has enjoyed a strong relationship with Thompkins thus far, that timetable hasn't changed.

"Trey will do what's best for him, as he should," Fox said. "Certainly there's a great future for him here, but he deserves time to get to know me. I understand that."

Thompkins was one of several Georgia players to admit he wasn't sure who Fox was when the coach was hired nearly one month ago, but said he would reserve judgment until he had a chance to learn more about Fox.

While NCAA restrictions have prevented Fox from overseeing significant practice sessions and workouts since he took over the program, Fox said Thompkins has remained a crucial part of the team. He simply hasn't assured his new coach he'll be around in the fall.

"He hasn't directly said that, but he and I and his family have had some great conversations," Fox said. "He's been a part of everything we do. He's hosted recruits, he's done everything. We've had some very healthy conversations, but right now he's focusing on finishing the semester."

Thompkins averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a freshman last season, but battled injuries early in the year, while getting little offensive help most of the time. That has been a key issue Fox said he hopes to remedy for 2009, which started with the addition of point guard Vincent Williams, who committed to Georgia earlier this week.

Thompkins will be the only Georgia player not to enroll in summer school, Fox said. Instead, he'll attend the Team USA Under-19 tryouts, a move Fox said he fully supports.

Sophomores Zac Swansey and Troy Brewer announced their intentions to transfer prior to Fox's hiring, and Daniel Miller, a commitment left over from Dennis Felton's tenure as head coach, was granted his release as well. Miller landed at Georgia Tech.

Several other players, including Thompkins, publicly discussed the possibility that they might follow suit, but Fox said that so far, he expects the rest of his team to return next season.

"I have not had one player tell me, 'I'm leaving' or 'I want to leave,' " Fox said. "Their response, their actions have shown that they're excited about the direction. I've been pleased with their reaction to what we want them to do."

With just one senior and few offensive weapons returning to a depleted roster that finished last in the SEC East a year ago, however, Thompkins' return will be the most crucial and it remains a top priority for Georgia's first-year coach.

"He's a great kid, and we've had a great start," Fox said. "We've enjoyed time in the gym, time in the office, and I look forward to helping him grow and improve. That's the goal."

Curran Nets Another Honor

Courtesy UGA Athletics...

University of Georgia junior linebacker Rennie Curran will be honored as the Collegiate Athlete of the Year at the AAG Foundation gala in Atlanta on Saturday night.

Curran joins Alonzo Mourning (Athlete of the Year), Hank and Billye Aaron (Lifetime Achievement) and Tessah Holt (High School Athlete of the Year) as the other recipients on Saturday night. The black tie charity gala is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at The Westin Buckhead.

AAG Foundation has a slogan of “unifying athletes for the betterment of our communities.” Curran will be honored at the event for his service and dedication to the community as well as for his athletic success. Proceeds from the charity will benefit AAG Foundation’s Digital Connector & Reads Programs, as well as a donation to Grady Hospital.

A finalist for the Butkus Award, Curran was named to the 2008 All-Southeastern Conference team after recording a team-high 115 tackles, including an SEC-high 63 solo stops. Curran also tied for the team lead with three sacks and forced two fumbles for the 10-3 Bulldogs last season.

Video Blog: Mark Fox

Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox discusses Trey Thompkins' future with the program, the reaction he has gotten from the rest of the roster, the input he's had from other SEC coaches and several other issues that have come up in his first month on the job.