Sailors: A walk-on who runs fast

Blake Sailors lacks a scholarship (for now), but not confidence.

The redshirt freshman from Athens has been starring on special teams for the Georgia football team, especially on kick and punt coverage. Head coach Mark Richt said Sailors has been the first man down “every time” on kickoffs.

So how does a walk-on manage to out-run a bunch of scholarship teammates?

“I mean, I’m faster than them. That’s basically it,” Sailors said Tuesday. “They might have scholarships, but they don’t have my speed. So I just use my speed to get down there.”

Sailors said he ran 300 hurdles at Oconee County High School, finishing third in the state his senior year.

He also played safety for the football team, but didn’t have any scholarship offers. Georgia offered a preferred walk-on spot, and since then Sailors has made it his goal to show coaches he deserves a scholarship.

He had a big moment in the Tennessee game, recovering a muffed punt. Richt also said Sailors was a big reason the Bulldogs ranked No. 1 in the SEC in kick coverage.

“Now he’s got to the point where he’s the guy they are trying to double team and harass and knock the heck out of,” Richt said. “He’s on a couple of the special teams where when we punt the ball, we have our gunners going down there trying to make those guys force the fair catch. He’s doing a great job of being in their face and forcing that.”

Sailors was asked if such praise was good to hear, considering his goal.

“Definitely. It’s great if he says something, just because I’m trying to get to that next level, try to get a scholarship and stuff,” he said. “But that’s not the only thing I’m trying for. I’m trying to make plays and get noticed by fans and him.”

A side note to the Green jersey story

There's a bit more news on Chris Hawkins, the former North Carolina football player who bought A.J. Green's jersey last spring.

According to documents released by UNC on Friday, and obtained by The Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News and Observer, Hawkins is considered a "runner" for agents or advisers. Hawkins was defined by the NCAA as an agent, then denied it in several interviews.

A runner is a common term for someone who helps recruits players to agents.

In addition, a letter to Hawkins from UNC alleged that Hawkins had "offered to purchase gear and memorabilia from University student-athletes with knowledge that it was impermissible."

UNC athletics director Dick Baddour ordered Tar Heel teams to "disassociate" from Hawkins for the next five years, according to a letter obtained by the newspapers.

Green said late last month that he only met Hawkins via Facebook, and sold him his jersey for $1,000 just for some extra spring-break money.

In addition, UGA school president Michael Adams has said he didn't think Green "knew this guy was an agent."

Hawkins, in an interview with The Observer, said he has not been paid by agents to secure any players.

None of this should have any further impact on Green or his eligibility. But considering it has emerged as the predominant story of Georgia's season, the new information adds to the record, which is why it's being passed along.

Behind enemy lines: Kentucky edition

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Greetings from Bluegrass country, where I spent this afternoon at the horse track, along with Uga, UGA president Michael Adams and a ton of red-clad Bulldog fans.

Adams, who used to be the president at nearby Center College, was honored along with Uga in a pre-race ceremony near the paddock at Keeneland. Georgia fans honored themselves by, as far as I could tell, drinking a lot of beer and spending 15 minutes each trying to figure out the automatic betting machines. (Hey, I found it kind of hard myself.)

Kentucky is one of the more underrated trips in the SEC. The horse track is one reason. Even if you don’t gamble much (this was only my second time betting on the ponies) the atmosphere and ambiance is pretty cool. Plus the track is literally a two-minute drive from the airport.

The town of Lexington itself, its bars and restaurants, also sometimes gets overlooked when people discuss the SEC’s best spots. Lexington is about the size of Columbia – but Columbia doesn’t have a race track.

One of my hosts at Keeneland on Friday afternoon was Mr. Brett Dawson, the esteemed Kentucky beat writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal. Brett’s among the best in the biz, and before we hit the track he was kind enough to answer my questions about the Kentucky-Georgia football game:

SE: What do more Kentucky fans care about at this moment: This football game, or whether Enes Kanter will be eligible? Or is that an extremely silly question?

BD: Not a silly question. I would say in the grand scheme of things more of them probably care about Enes Kanter. There are probably more ‘Free Enes’ shirts than there are “Cobb for Heisman’ shirts. I think people were disillusioned two weeks ago and at halftime of the game last week. But the way they came back re-energized people. They sold out this game. But if they announced that Kanter was eligible at halftime of the football game, there’d be more interest in that than the final score of the game.

SE: I’ll ask a football question, just for giggles: Is Kentucky ripe for an emotional letdown after the comeback win over South Carolina?

BD: You know, you’d wanna say no in the sense that they just beat a South Carolina team that everyone knew was a candidate for a letdown after the Alabama game. The Kentucky guys have said the right things this week, essentially, We’re not gonna let that happen to us. But yes, in some ways, I think they are (susceptible). They really had two straight games that I think have taken a lot of them. So if Georgia were to get out to a big lead, you wonder if Kentucky has another rally in it.

SE: Randall Cobb caused quite a stir on Twitter last Sunday, criticizing the fans. Joker Phillips talked about banning players from Twitter, but by Thursday Cobb was tweeting about whether he should see Paranormal Activity. That leads to the natural question: If Cobb went to see Paranormal Activity, and was so scared he had a heart attack and couldn’t play, would Kentucky lose to Georgia by 16 touchdowns?

BD: They would lose to Georgia. You know, 16 touchdowns may be excessive. But Cobb absolutely is, especially with Derrick Locke out of the game, the most important part of Kentucky’s offense by a wide margin. Let’s put it this way: Playing Georgia, without Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb, would be a terrifying movie for Joker Phillips to watch.

SE: How much does the loss of Derrick Locke affect Kentucky’s running game, and the offense in general?

BD: Well a lot. They haven’t really mustered much of a running game without him. Donald Russell had about 30 yards against Auburn. They have two guys, Russell and Raymond Sanders, that look like they have a chance to be good backs down the road. But they don’t have another Derrick Locke, they don’t have another guy that can beat guys to the outside, like Locke can. What it does to the offense: If they’re really gonna get anything going in the running game, the way they’re going to look to do it is with Cobb in the Wildccat – or the Wild Cobb, as thye like to call it.

SE: Is Mike Hartline’s performance, ranking second in the SEC in passing yards and just three interceptions, a bit of a mirage, or has he been that good?

BD: He’s been good. It’s not a mirage, but it is a product of what he’s got around him. His receivers are playing much better. Chris Matthews is coming into his own. They’ve got a third guy in Laron King who knows what he’s doing. Hartline, as much as anything else, he’s been a victim of some poor execution the last couple years and I think they’ve cut down on that other stuff.

SE: Georgia has a guy named A.J. Green, whom no one has stopped yet. Kentucky’s run defense has been not-so-good. Given that, should Georgia’s offense be salivating?

BD: I would say yes. Except, if Kentucky plays the way they’ve played they have in the last two firest halves, absolutely they should be salivating. If they play the way they have the last two second halves, Georgia should be worried.

SE: Finally, what are the two or three things Kentucky would have to do get a victory?

BD: I think they’ve gotta get some kinda running game, whether it’s Cobb or one of the backups to Locke. They can’t turn the ball over. And I think the most important thing is they’ve gotta get off to a good start. They’ve been almost hopelessly behind the last two weeks, and again I don’t know if they have a comeback left in them, because the last two comebacks have taken so much out of them.

Ye Olde Mailbag

No small talk. No jibber-jabber. Just time to get right to your questions, my answers and -

Wait, can we talk about "Mad Men" yet? Has everyone caught up?

No? Sigh ... OK, maybe next week.

On to the questions.

Branden Smith gonna play against UF? Rest of season?
- Dylan Stafford (via Twitter)

Smith was jogging on the side the last few days of practice this week, so he’s getting closer to returning. It would be hard for me to guess whether he’ll play, and suspect it will be tough-and-go next week. Given all the (deserved) attention that concussions are getting, don’t be surprised if Georgia plays it extra cautious with Smith.

What are your postseason coaching changes predictions? (Or lack thereof)
- John Younker (via Twitter)

I still think it’s too early to speculate. We’re going to have to let the season play out.

What do you make of CMR telling the coaches to simplify the gameplan and then CTG stating that they hadn’t done that?
- John Younger again(via Twitter)

I’ll get to the question, but am I the only one extremely annoyed by the ‘CMR’ abbreviations and the like? It’s become the du jour think to do everywhere. I guess I understand it on Twitter, but elsewhere it’s a bit unnecessary. But anyway …

I’m addressing the ‘simplifying’ issue a bit in a story for Friday’s paper. It’s not the first time Richt has said one thing, then a coordinator has another. (Witness Bobo and the idea of opening up the offense for Murray.) In this case, I’d be speculating if I got too much into it, but Grantham’s answer was that the players are probably understanding it a bit more because of repetition. Richt agreed with that. It’s possible that Richt meant the defensive play-calls themselves were simplified, not the schemes. Grantham was pretty adamant that nothing schematically has been altered.

What is your honest opinion of the Chris Rainey situation and what are your thoughts about Urb's " 1% of 1%" only when it is convenient for him?
- Tripp Kearley

I suspect we’ll be hearing a lot more about this issue next week. I don’t know Rainey well enough to be able to comment on Meyer’s statement that Rainey is not a violent person. (Even if he did say, or text, a violent thing.) Really, neither Georgia or Florida fans have much room to defend the off-field behavior of their teams.

Has UGA ever had 2 players on All-SEC 1st team in basketball either
pre or post season? If so, when was the last time?
- Bryan Grantham

Whoa, a basketball question! I don’t think they keep any definitive list of the preseason All-SEC teams. I do know that Georgia has NEVER had two players on the AP’s first team at the end of the season. The coaches All-SEC team, which usually takes about 10 players, last put two Georgia players on there in 1990: Litterial Green and Alec Kessler. (That year Kessler made the AP’s first team, and Green was second team.)

Is Arthur Lynch redshirting?
- Bryan Grantham, getting greedy

Yup, and it’s a smart move for the sophomore. Third-stringer Bruce Figgins is having trouble getting on the field, with Orson Charles and Aron White ahead of him, so this probably would have been a lost year for Lynch.

Is there really a photographer at the Telegraph named Jason Vorhees? That’s unfortunate.
- Peter Sanford (via Twitter)

Yes but Jason’s last name is spelled differently. Voorhees was the killer.
That reminds me of the “Seinfeld” episode where one of the plot premises was Elaine dating a man with the same name of a serial murderer. I thought it would've been funnier if they'd gone with Jeffrey Dahmer, but instead they went with the less-renowned Joel Rifkin. (Dahmer was more famous nationwide, while Rifkin was localized to New York city. East Coast bias.)

"Seinfeld" was still a great show, however.

With all the talk of concussions it seems my question (has UGA redesigned their helmets because it seems that a lot more helmets are coming off after hits this year than in years past) a week or so ago provided a bit of foreshadowing. It seems though the answer is that maybe opposing players are aiming higher.
- Anonymous (via le blog)

You know, I’ve seen this mentioned before, and I’ve actually seen it at other schools too. It doesn’t seem limited to just Georgia. But I'm not sure that helmets coming off are the biggest sign of worry. When’s the last time you saw a guy knocked out on the field with his helmet off? I don't know, I'm not really sure.

This has nothing to do with Georgia football, but what are your thoughts on the Georgia Sports and Music Halls of Fame leaving Macon?
- Anonymous (also via le blog)

I don’t know how close any of that is to happening. I’m told the music hall of fame is more likely to move. Macon seems like a good central location in what’s a very big state, but Atlanta is obviously where most of the people are. As I live in Athens, I guess I’m good either way.

With the hot topic of hard hits and concussions, I curious to hear what Murray had to say about his hit during the Vandy game. The video look bad, and then I saw the picture showing his helmet nearly coming off.
- David not Hale(yet another via le blog)

(I’m not David Hale either, as many of you keep pointing out.)

Honestly, Murray wasn’t asked about it this week, at least while I was with him. I do know that Bobo said it was “alarming” how many times Murray is putting himself out there to get hit, although Bobo said it with a bit of a smile. It seems Georgia’s coaches are still getting used to the idea of Murray being a dual-threat quarterback; They need him to be able to run and open up the field, but with only Hutson Mason behind him, they’re going to cringe every time a defender comes near him.

Fair to say Bobo lacks grace n dealing w/ media, his comments are often obtuse and this adds to his lack of favor among fans?
- Amy Elizabeth (via Twitter)

I guess fans would have to speak to that. Is that your impression? My dealings with Bobo have been pretty positive. He answers pretty much every question directly, and has come up for interviews every week, knowing he's under fire from fans and some media members. Believe me, I've dealt with some obtuse coaches who made it clear they thought the media and anybody questioning them were vermin; I haven't gotten that impression from Bobo.


What’s the deal with Dexter? He’s a serial killer, right? He IS Kyle Butler?
- Detective Joey Quinn

I’ll let you figure that out. When this storyline began, my first reaction was ‘Hey we’ve been through this one already, with Doakes in Season 2. Are the writers officially running out of ideas?’ But I’ve reconsidered, and now believe the writers are making it more realistic: It makes sense that, working around detectives all these years, a serial killer would arouse the suspicion of more than one person in that office, right?

Also, very intrigued to see the Julia Stiles storyline, and happy she’s on the show. Is her character going to fill the void left by Rita? Hmmm...

Coaches preseason top 25 hoops poll is out

Another sign that basketball season is nigh: The first coaches poll is out. Georgia is not in the top 25, but did get votes.

I'll do the math for you: Georgia is 36th, with nine votes. (Or points, depending on what term you use.)

A few quick observations:

- Kentucky, at No. 10, is the top SEC team in the poll, but Florida is one spot behind. The Gators were picked by us media hacks to win the SEC East, and Kentucky was second.

Tennessee was No. 20, and Vanderbilt joined Georgia in the "also receiving votes" section, two spots ahead of the Bulldogs.

That grouping mirrors my thinking on the matter: Kentucky and Florida are the favorites, while you can put the other three in any order between 3-5. But you could also make an argument for any of the three to win the division: Tennessee has a great lineup with freshman Tobias Harris joining the show, Vanderbilt could have two of the league's top players in Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins, and Georgia has the league's preseason player of the year, Trey Thompkins.

- Mississippi State, the favorite in the West, was the only other SEC to receive votes, and it got less than Georgia. Need we say more about the perception of each division. (Sort of opposite of football, eh?)

- Duke is first, as it should be. Maybe the Blue Devils won't repeat, but given what they return, not voting for them would be grounds for having your head examined. And that's coming from a Maryland grad.

- A few miles down Tobacco Road, North Carolina may be a bit too high at No. 9. Freshman Harrison Barnes is good, but this team did struggle quite mightily last year, so voters are taking a leap of faith.

Morning reading

There are a smorgasbord of stories out there, so here come some links. In addition, today is mailbag day, so if you have any questions, send me an e-mail (semerson@macon.com) or leave a question in the comment section below.

Onward and upward, or forward, or whatever:

- Herschel Walker has weighed in on the state of the Georgia football program, with some critical words on all the arrests this year. Strange timing, you might say, considering the two-game win streak has everyone feeling good for awhile.

But Walker, during an appearance on ESPN's "College Football Live" on Wednesday, said the losses "concern" him, but the off-field problems are worse.

"Because (if) they’ve got off-the-field problems, there’s something going on with that program, and I think Coach Richt has got to get a hand on it. I love Coach Richt. He’s a great coach, and there’s no doubt: I do not think Coach Richt should be fired. We’ve got to find out what is going on within that program when you’ve got 11 guys since March that have been in off-the-field problems.”

- Things are moving towards Chris Rainey being on the field when Florida plays Georgia in a little more than a week. Gators head coach Urban Meyer said on Wednesday's SEC teleconference that Rainey would be "eligible" for the Georgia game, but didn't come out and say he would play.

- You don't often have coaches calling out each other in public. So the comments by Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer on Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino are priceless.

Zimmer was Petrino's defensive coordinator during Petrino's abbreviated stay with the Atlanta Falcons. Zimmer called Petrino "gutless" and a "coward" for leaving the team early. Zimmer also used some colorful language you can't use on a family blog.

Petrino clearly doesn't make many friends in the coaching business. It started in 2003 when, as Louisville's head coach, he agreed to a covert interview with Auburn, which was still employing Tommy Tuberville, who had hired Petrino at that school.

So I'd be curious if Tuberville sent Zimmer a fruit basket Thursday morning.

- Finally, a bit of shameless plugging for my stories in Thursday's papers:

Bacarri Rambo, Shawn Williams and Richt weigh in on the NFL's hard-hitting issue of the week. Rambo, as both a safety and someone who has suffered a concussion, has an interesting viewpoint.

In my other story, I delve into just how and why A.J. Green's presence has lifted the Georgia offense. Derek Dooley and Robbie Caldwell talk about how they tried different coverages and didn't work, and Aaron Murray suggests other teams start worrying more about Kris Durham and Tavarres King.

Rambo: Tentative no more?

Has Bacarri Rambo fully shaken off the effects of the concussion he sustained late last year?

Early this season, Georgia head coach Mark Richt would have answered no to that question. But now Richt thinks his starting safety is back to playing full-speed.

“And he’s playing very physical in my mind. I don’t see him looking hesitant at all,” Richt said. “I thought there was a little bit of that in the spring and fall. I was a little concerned.”

Rambo had to be carted off the field near the end of last year’s Auburn game, and missed Georgia’s final two games. He earned a starting job in the spring, but even when the 2010 season started Richt sensed that Rambo was a bit hesitant from a “physical nature, a striking point of view.”

Rambo seemed to confirm that.

“The only time I was kind of shaken up about it, or real worried about it, was probably the spring,” Rambo said. “But when I went through the spring, and when I got to summer camp, and I didn’t show any symptoms of it, I just thought I was over it and I just kept on going.”

Rambo is Georgia's second-leading tackler this season, with 44, and is tied with Akeem Dent for first with 28 solo tackles.

There are times, Rambo admitted, he still thinks about the concussion, but puts it behind him and returns to full-speed. He’s adopted a philosophical view on concussions, having gone through one himself.

“If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen,” he said. “You could fall out of the bed, or you could get hit in the head with a basketball or something.”

Rambo, Richt and another Georgia safety had more to say on the helmet-to-helmet issue, which is raging in football this week. I’ll have a story on it in Thursday’s papers.

Q &A: Stacey Searels

The offensive line and the running game were two of the most disappointing units on the Georgia football team the first half of this season. That led Stacey Searels, the O-Line coach and running game coordinator, to do a bit of tinkering on a unit that was supposed to be the team's most stable.

So far it's worked, as the pass protection and run blocking have both improved. After Tuesday's practice Searels answered a few questions about the state of the line:

SE: A couple weeks ago when you all decided to tinker with the starting unit, and put in freshman Kenarious Gates, how much of it was the run blocking?

Searels: I think it was just overall we weren’t performing up to the level we wanted to perform up front. And he had been doing really good in practice. I had wanted to play him more a couple weeks before and he had got held out of a practice, and I’m not gonna play them if they don’t practice. The kid had shown that he could perform at a high level and was ready to play. We had a couple kids that were dinged up, and they were playing with some issues that they’ve had in the past and weren’t performing the way we wanted them to play. So we got a healthy body out there.

SE: Coach Bobo said after the Vanderbilt game that the run blocking had been good all year it just hadn’t been noticed. Would you agree with that?

Searels: No, because … (Pauses and laughs). I’m not gonna disagree with Bobo but I guess I will. You know, it’s our job to block. It’s our job to make room for the backs and it’s our job to protect the quarterback. And we haven’t done that well enough for us to win, that’s the bottom line. We haven’t blocked good enough to win.

SE: Josh Davis rotated in a lot –

Searels: He played more this past week than Gates did, actually. Josh was dinged up a little bit, and that’s part of the reason that Gates played, plus I thought Gates was ready to play. So I wanted to see what he could do, and he’s done a pretty good job.

SE: Was it pretty much those six (five starters plus Josh Davis) until the fourth quarter?

Searels: I tell you what, this past game everybody played. I’m talking about the first five that started, that included Gates, and Josh Davis played, and Chris Davis played, and Tanner Strickland played. Dallas Lee played and A.J. Harmon played. They all played probably 20 snaps, close to 20 snaps, all of them. So I was pleased to be able to do that. They all competed. The more competition, a guy can’t take plays off because a guy’s gonna take his job.

SE: Did it surprise you that had to end up doing this with such veteran guys going into the season?

Searels: Well you look at the history of this deal, we’ve had a lot of guys beat up. And I’m not making excuses, but Josh Davis last year comes off two shoulder surgeries, Chris Davis comes off hip surgery. Tanner Strickland comes off shoulder surgery. So you tell me where the depth is. There hasn’t been a lot of depth. If everybody was healthy and we had everybody playing, we might have some depth. But we haven’t had everybody healthy at one time.

Everybody wanted to talk about that crap but in reality we still had a lot of people banged up that couldn’t go through the whole camp, and therefore we haven’t had the depth I’d like to have. And we haven’t competed the way I’d like for us to compete early in the season. I think it’s improved over the last couple weeks and we’re looking for consistency.

SE: Is it possible that some of these guys read their press clippings a bit too much and relied less on their effort than they should have?

Searels: No, I’m not gonna say that. It takes us all, and we all didn’t play well together early. We didn’t have the results that we’d like to see early.

SE: I suspect I know the answer, but do you feel like you’ve turned the corner here, or if guys still don’t perform their might be more personnel changes?

Searels: You gotta go out every Saturday and compete. If you think you’ve arrived because you’ve won two games in a row, you’re not very smart, I’ll say that. So we gotta go out and compete every day. We’ve gotta go out and compete every day in practice: Tuesdays and Wednesdays when we’re hitting, we gotta compete. And then it’s gotta go over to the field and compete at a very high level on Saturday in the SEC. Playing at Kentucky, at night, we better be ready to really get after it and compete.

Green checks up on Massaquoi, weighs in on big hits

By now most everyone has seen the hit laid down on former Georgia receiver Mohamed Massaquoi last Sunday. Massaquoi, who may miss Cleveland's next game, was nailed by Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison, whom the NFL fined $75,000 a day later.

Georgia star receiver A.J. Green, expected to join them in the NFL soon, said he texted with his former teammate Massaquoi a couple days ago, after seeing the play.

"I was like, 'You all right?' He said, 'Yeah I'm all right,'" Green said. "I said, 'Man I thought you were gone!' But he said he was all right."

The issue of hard hits has been a hot one this week in the NFL, which has indicated it will increase fines and perhaps suspensions for illegal hits. A lot of attention is on defenders going after receivers.

Green was asked what he thought of the issue.

"I hope I don't ever get to experience one of those, especially in the head like that," Green said. "But you know it comes with the game, you've just got to be prepared. I'll just try to cover up, whatever. I know I'll get a couple licks, it's the NFL. You've just gotta get up from it."

Green said he also saw the hit Atlanta's Dunta Robinson, an Athens native, laid on Philadelphia receiver DeSean Jackson. The hit knocked Jackson out of the game and drew a fine on Robinson, who went to South Carolina.

"That one definitely had me cringing, thinking about going across the middle," Green said. "Dunta, he's a small guy, but I don't know man, it's crazy out there. You just can't think about it."

Spurrier lauds Georgia

Georgia all of a sudden looks like “the best team in the SEC” according to one interested observer. Yes, your old favorite and mine, the Ol’ Ball Coach.

Steve Spurrier spoke about resurgent Georgia during his weekly news conference Tuesday. Then the South Carolina head coach pointed out that basically everybody is resurgent in the SEC East.

“Yeah, Georgia played very well, ran the ball, threw the ball (against Vandy). They looked like the best team in the SEC probably last week and the week before against Tennessee. They got their act together,” Spurrier said. “They are still in the hunt in the East. Heck, everybody is in the hunt.

“Well, heck Vanderbilt is still in the hunt. I think in the conference they are 1-2, yep, they’ve only got two losses. That Eastern side, Tennessee is a little bit in a hole I guess at 0-3, but anyway most of us have just played four games, a few have played five. It’s pretty much wide open.”

Georgia head coach Mark Richt said he has noticed an improved mood around the team, but didn’t ascribe it to being back in the the SEC race.

“I’m sure it’s in the back of everybody’s mind that things could get more exciting,” Richt said. “But it won’t be more exciting if we don’t win this game.”

Force turnovers = avoid shaving

There are a lot of scruffy faces on the Georgia football team these days, and there’s a good reason for that.

Head coach Mark Richt has a rule: If the Bulldogs win the turnover margin every week, the players don’t have to shave. If the margin is even, but the Bulldogs are plus for the season, they still don’t have to shave.

The Bulldogs are plus-four this year, so the hair is a-growing.

Richt was asked Tuesday how long the rule has been in place.

“We actually started last year,” the coach answered wryly, and the room started laughing.

Obviously no one noticed last year, when they ranked 118 out of 120 FBS schools in turnover margin.

“They were clean-shaven,” Richt said. “This year they’re getting a little furrier.”
Fred Munzenmaier is one of the fastest-growing beard-growers, according to Richt and some players.

“It must be his Italian roots,” receiver Kris Durham said.

Tight end Arthur Lynch also got a few votes.

“A couple manly-men guys on the team,” freshman quarterback Aaron Murray said. “I grow it in patches. I’m obviously not fully-developed yet.”

The rule is enforced every Friday, before players get their travel gear. Joe Tereshisnki will pull players off the bus if they get on with impermissible facial hair.

“You won’t even make it to the bus,” said linebacker Akeem Dent, who was sporting a slightly scruffy chin. “He inspects that.”

Dent said Richt’s rule is meant for the player’s good.

“Later on in life, when you get a job and things like that, you have to be clean-shaven,” Dent said. “Coach Richt’s just trying to prepare us to be men, learn about responsibility.”

Samuel feels it would be 'beneficial' to redshirt

Last week, as Georgia was searching for running backs, there was a player on its bench who ran for 104 yards in one game last year, and was a top-rated tailback coming out of high school.

But Richard Samuel wasn’t called upon for a variety of reasons. He’s a linebacker now. He’s hardly practiced because of a preseason injury. And he may end up redshirting anyway.

Samuel, a junior, suited up for the first time against Vanderbilt but did not play. At this point, with five games left in the regular season, he would be willing to save himself for another year of eligibility.

“I think it’d be beneficial if I got (the redshirt), if it happened,” Samuel said.
Samuel spent his first two years at Georgia as a tailback, gaining 133 yards as a freshman and 395 as a sophomore. In fact last year he started six times, and had an 80-yard touchdown run against Arkansas.

But he was moved to linebacker last spring, and feels comfortable at the position.

Samuel was a five-star running back prospect in high school, the fifth-rated running back by ESPN.com.

Last week, with Caleb King suspended and Carlton Thomas dealing with a hamstring injury, the Bulldogs were thinking about taking the redshirt off freshman Ken Malcome. (They did not.) Instead fullbacks Fred Munzenmaier and Zander Ogletree got work there.

Samuel was not an option, though it did cross his mind.

“I was thinking about is I was healthy again, depending on how many reps I was getting at my position, I could probably contribute on that side of the ball,” Samuel said.

He played linebacker in high school, and had the option before he came to Georgia. He chose running back, but says now linebacker would be his preference.

Samuel said he feels more comfortable at linebacker, and likes the physical side of it.

“At first it was hard (to switch positions.) I would always sit back and watch our running backs and think the things I would’ve done if I was there,” Samuel said. “It was difficult. But I just feel like linebacker is for me.”

Hoops rule of three: Georgia picked third, picks up third recruit

The Georgia men’s basketball team’s season of higher expectations is starting with the Bulldogs being picked to finish third in the SEC East.

A media panel (which included myself) has voted Georgia third in the East, and Trey Thompkins as the preseason SEC player of the year.

Thompkins and Leslie each also made the All-SEC first-team.

Florida was picked to win the division, and was first on 13 of the 20 ballots. Defending champion Kentucky was second, followed by Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

The Bulldogs received two first-place votes. Illustrating how competitive the division is expected to be, four of the East teams received multiple first-place votes.

(Yes, Georgia ended up a spot higher than I voted it, and I didn't have Leslie on my All-SEC team. Feel free to call me names. The only thing the media agreed on was South Carolina, which was sixth on all 20 ballots.)

Mississippi State was the overwhelming choice to win the West.

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Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have reeled in their third commitment for the 2011 class, this time a 7-foot junior college center.

John Florveus of Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., committed after making his official visit over the weekend.

Murray honored again, which means ...

For the second straight week, Aaron Murray is the SEC freshman of the week.

The Georgia quarterback was so honored Monday morning, two days after passing for 287 yards and two touchdowns, rushing for 36, and once again being responsible for absolutely no turnovers.

On the season, Murray has thrown for 1,653 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions, with no fumbles lost. He's also completing 61.9 percent of his passes.

Which leads me to two thoughts:

1) Marcus Lattimore still has to be the leader for SEC freshman of the year. But if the South Carolina running back has to miss any more time with a sprained ankle, or his production just dwindles, Murray could make a run for the award.

2) Obviously Mike Bobo has received a lot of heat from fans and others for his play-calling. But Murray has exceeded expectations as a rookie, and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Bobo also the quarterbacks coach?

Just sayin'.

By the numbers

It’s another beautiful Monday morning in Athens, though a bit nippy. It’s also a beautiful day in the Don Draper household, where for some reason (deleted for those of you who haven't watched the Mad Men season finale yet. Hey, I didn't think it was that major a spoiler, but apologies to those who thought it was.)

(By the way, Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father.)

Wherever you are this fine morning, here are some stats, numbers and rankings for you as you begin your week:

- Georgia is moving up the defensive rankings, thanks to its shutout on Saturday. It ranks third in the SEC in yards allowed (290.1) and fourth in points allowed (18.7 per game.) Nationally, the Bulldogs rank 14th in total defense.

Georgia entered the weekend ranked last in the SEC in third-down defense. After allowing Vanderbilt just one conversion, Georgia moved up to 11th in that category, with South Carolina falling into last place.

- The offensive numbers: Georgia ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring offense (29.7 points per game) and fifth in total offense (395.3.) No surprise here, the pass (244.9 per game, fourth in the SEC) is better than the run (150.4 per game, eighth in the league.)

The Bulldogs also lead the league in time of possession, holding the ball for 31:30 per game.

- Nobody is covering kicks and punts better in the SEC than Georgia: It ranks first in the league in kickoff coverage, and second in punt coverage. Nationally the Bulldogs rank 13th in kickoff coverage, with Georgia Tech five spots ahead of them.

- Blair Walsh is tied for the league lead in field goals, with 13. Nationally, Walsh is tied with three others for third.

- Justin Houston is still your SEC sacks leader, with 6.5. Next up, with five, are three different players. Nationally, Houston is in a tie for 13th. (Clemson’s Da’Quan Bowers is second with nine.)

- Akeem Dent is fourth in the league with 62 tackles.

- Kris Durham ranks seventh in the league in receiving yards, and that’s while missing one game, and a portion of another, with a neck stinger.

- Georgia’s pass rush will have a tough task this weekend: Kentucky has yielded the least amount of sacks this season, six. Mississippi, which has played one less game than the Wildcats, has also yielded six sacks.

- Remember how turnover margin was an issue for the Bulldogs? They’ve improved that, and currently sit at plus-four. They still aren’t forcing many turnovers (11) but Aaron Murray has only been picked off three times, and there have been four fumbles. (You can probably remember them off the top of your head.)

- Penalties have also quietly slipped away as a major issue: Georgia is averaging 44 yards of penalty yardage, which is middle of the road in the SEC. Its opponents are holding their emotions in check too, committing just 32 yards worth of penalties per game, the second-least in the league.

- Aaron Murray is still third in the league in passing yards, but he’s the only freshmen in the top 10. In fact there aren’t even any sophomores on that list. Murray trails only Ryan Mallett and Mike Hartline, the Kentucky quarterback.

Hartline, like Murray, has only accounted for three interceptions this season.

- Cameron Newton, a quarterback, is far and away the SEC’s leading rusher with 80 yards. That’s just incredible. He also ranks first in pass efficiency. Newton has to be the Heisman leader right now.

Smith still doubtful, and so is Kentucky's Locke

Branden Smith is doubtful to play Saturday at Kentucky, which could also still be without its top offensive player.

Smith, the Georgia cornerback, punt returner and occasional offensive weapon, missed the Vanderbilt game with his second concussion of the season.

“We know he had two concussions relatively close together," Richt said. "So there’s not gonna be a mad rush to get him in there until we fell really good about it.”

Reserve S-LB Nick Williams (hamstring) is getting close to returning, however. Williams hurt the hamstring during the Tennessee game and didn't suit up for Vanderbilt.

Meanwhile, Kentucky tailback Derrick Locke, the SEC's third-leading rusher, is also doubtful to play because of a shoulder injury. But Kentucky head coach Joker Phillips said Locke's injury had improved Sunday, so there was still a chance.

“I talked to him during the game actually and he thinks it’s getting better,” Richt said.

In other news, Richt said he believes Christian Robinson’s called-back touchdown was ruled correctly when it was overturned on replay.

But he did think that A.J. Green caught a touchdown pass near the end of the first half. It wasn’t ruled a catch, and play was not stopped to review it.

“My guess is A.J. had a hold on that one right away,” Richt said.

Richt was also asked about the muddled SEC East picture, and whether he planned to say anything to his team about it.

“I don’t even know if I have to say anything to them," Richt said. "I think they’re kind of keeping an eye on it. But I think the one thing we had to do to win these last couple games was just focus on the process of becoming a better football team rather than where we are in league play.”

Fleeting thoughts: After Vanderbilt

Near the end of Saturday’s game, I approached a Georgia official, whose surname may have rhymed with the word “McFarity”, and informed him that hard questions needed to be asked about why Uga VIII was not introduced earlier in the season.

“Now those are the questions I like to get asked,” said the official, whose first name may also rhyme with “Freg.”

So the new Uga is 1-0 and unscored-upon as the official mascot. Russ, it was a short and wild ride. Enjoy retirement and all the milk bones that entails.

Actually, Georgia fans would be forgiven for thinking back to that Colorado game, and saying that if Caleb King didn’t fumble, and Blair Walsh followed up with a field goal, the Bulldogs would be 3-0 since the return of A.J. Green.

As it is, the Bulldogs are coming off a second straight dismantling of an opponent they should have, well, dismantled.

(My favorite stat: Going back to last year’s games against Vanderbilt and Tennessee Tech, Georgia is outscoring opponents from the Volunteer state by a margin of 156-24. Bring on Sewanee!)

Mark Richt said his team is improving, just as he felt it was during the losing streak. He has every right to think so. This week’s grades:

QUARTERBACKS: Aaron Murray just keeps going. In fact, he’s getting better. Through seven games the freshman has still only turned it over three times, which is amazing in itself, but he also threw for 287 yards and a couple touchdowns. You could say it’s easier to do so with Green in there, except Murray is finding other receivers, especially Kris Durham. … A-.

RUNNING BACKS: Yes, Vanderbilt had the league’s second-worst run defense, but Georgia’s tailbacks had struggled against everybody, so it counts for something. Washaun Ealey finally had the kind of game that was expected of him, and his 58-yard burst was not only the team’s longest run of the season, but the first by a tailback of over 30 yards. Carlton Thomas had touchdowns on half of his four carries, fulfilling the change-of-pace role to which he’s best suited. … A-.

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: Durham has remained a key part of the offense even after the return of Green, who chipped in his own touchdown. But the most hopeful sign for Georgia may be Tavarres King’s four catches for 70 yards. Opposing defenses are sliding a safety over to spy Green, and now have to worry about Durham, which leaves the field open for King. The tight ends (Aron White had three catches for 50 yards and Orson Charles had a nine-yard catch) also continue to benefit. … B+.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Murray wasn’t sacked and the team rushed for 232 yards, nearly 100 over its previous season average. What’s their bad to say? The coaches seem to have found a rotation they like, with Clint Boling sliding between right guard and tackle, Kenarious Gates starting and Josh Davis entering on some series. I found it interesting that Mike Bobo said after the game that he thought the run blocking was good all along, it just didn’t show until Saturday. He may have been just being nice, or saying the tailbacks weren’t hitting the holes. Either way, the results for once were what people expected before the season. … A-.

DEFENSIVE LINE: This unit almost could have joined Uga in the doghouse for a good nap. When Georgia jumped to a lead, Vanderbilt almost abandoned the run, or called a lot of misdirection plays to the outside. I doubt any of the linemen complained. … B+.

LINEBACKERS: Regarding the aforementioned misdirection plays, Georgia’s linebackers were not fooled very often. Justin Houston had yet another sack. Akeem Dent and Christian Robinson had touchdowns called back, but it wasn’t their fault. Marcus Dowtin is quietly becoming a pretty good contributor. (My fellow Marylander had five tackles.) … A-.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Hey, what’s this? A game without a single pass coverage breakdown that allows the offense a big pass play? That didn’t even happen against Louisiana-Lafayette! Even better, the Bulldogs got off the field 10 out of 11 times on third downs.

The game didn’t start too well for the secondary, as Vanderbilt QB Larry Smith completed a 28-yarder on the game’s second play. But that only took it to Georgia’s 45, and things were largely bottled up from there. The insertion of Sanders Commings into the starting lineup seems to have really paid dividends. When Branden Smith is healthy, he and Vance Cuff may have to be satisfied with nickel and dime situations. … A-.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Not to nit-pick, but Blair Walsh’s miss in the fourth quarter cost us writers a good note: Largest-ever margin of victory over Vanderbilt. Yeah, he hit two other field goals, and it was only his second miss of the year. Fine. Meanwhile, Drew Butler is back to being fantastic, and Georgia’s kickoff coverage (which got a lot of action) held Vanderbilt to under 20 yards a return. … B+.

COACHING: Richt’s decision not to have a second straight week of physical practices didn’t cause any drop-off. Bobo deserves credit for keeping Durham involved, even with the return of Green. Todd Grantham’s defense is starting to fix its issues. And since almost every assistant has a hand in special teams, they deserve a collective ‘A’ for that. … A-.

The wacky (and winnable?) SEC East

The Georgia football team woke up Saturday morning just trying to salvage something out of what seemed destined to be a lost season.

It woke up Sunday morning a half-game out of first place in the SEC East.

Now, in reality the Bulldogs are more like 1.5 games out, considering it owns a loss to first-place South Carolina. And with a trip to unbeaten Auburn still on the schedule, any division title chances are still long.

Still, after a crazy night of upsets, they now have a glimmer of hope.

Here are your new (and if you’re Georgia, improved) standings, and their remaining schedule:

South Carolina (2-2) – at Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Arkansas, at Florida
Georgia (2-3) – at Kentucky, vs. Florida, at Auburn
Florida (2-3) – vs. Georgia, at Vanderbilt, South Carolina
Vanderbilt (1-2) – South Carolina, at Arkansas, Florida, at Kentucky, Tennessee
Kentucky (1-3) – Georgia, at Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, at Tennessee
Tennessee (0-3) – Alabama, at South Carolina, Ole Miss, at Vanderbilt, Kentucky

Georgia would probably need to win out to have a realistic chance. But as crazy as it seems, there’s still a chance of a four-loss team winning the division, in some sort of tiebreaker.

Georgia’s best hope would seem to rest on beating Florida, and having the Gators beat South Carolina, to create a three-way tie at 4-4. If head-to-head tiebreakers are a wash it then goes to division record, and the good news for Georgia is two of its three SEC losses are to West teams.

The division title is still likely to come down to the South Carolina-Florida game on Nov. 13, in The Swamp. But Georgia and Kentucky can’t be ruled out, meaning their tilt on Saturday is a loser-out scenario.

Yeah, the whole idea of Georgia winning the East is still far-fetched. But not as much as it was before Saturday night.

From the locker room

Here's some quick reaction from Georgia head coach Mark Richt following his team's 43-0 rout of Vanderbilt.

"A shutout in any level of football is not easy to do, and I'm really proud of not only our defensive coaches and players, but the entire team," Richt said. "Because you don't get a shutout if you throw a pick-six. You don't get a shutout if you fumble it on a kickoff return, you don't get a shutout if you don't play really well, all the way around our football team.

"But the majority of the credit goes to our defensive coaches, led by coach (Todd) Grantham, and our defensive players, to really play the game the way it should be played. I'm really proud of them."

- Richt on the team:

"It looks like we're playing a little better. It looks like we're playing with a little more passion ... We're improving. I thought we were improving when we were losing. But hopefully we'll keep going and keep getting better."

- The team knew Carlton Thomas (who had two touchdowns) would be able to play on Thursday.

"I wasn't really interested in playing Ken Malcome for just a short amount of time," Richt said. "And then Caleb comes back and Carlton gets healthy and all that kind of thing. More than likely we won't play Ken unless we absolutely have to. I think he was happy it turned out that way too."

- Last week it was Boss Bailey, the honorary captain, ripping into his former team. Despite coming off a win, ex-players Thomas Davis and Geno Atkins also came back and delivered rousing speeches before the game.

"I didn't have to say a word, I just said 'Let's go' when he was done," Richt said.

- Richt addressed the use of the three timeouts early in the first half.

The first came because of a substitution error. The second was the result of having the wrong play called for the personnel grouping, which Richt called a "mix-up."

The third one, taking the field goal off the team so they could go for it, Richt said "that was me, just deciding."

Richt later sort of made light of the situation, when talking about a possible replay of A.J. Green's near-catch in the end zone at the end of the half.

"I didn't have a timeout anyway, so I couldn't do anything about it," Richt said, to laughter.

(You can afford to make light of that when you win 43-0.)

- While they rotated on the offensive, Richt said the starting five is looking good. Josh Davis and Chris Davis played a lot, especially Josh Davis.

"But the starting lineup we like," Richt said. "It takes a little pressure off of Gates, (and) I think it takes a little pressure off Sturdivant not to have to play every snap."

Fourth quarter blog

3:32 left in fourth quarter, Georgia clinging to 43-0 lead

Vanderbilt just failed on fourth down, so if Georgia can run out the clock, it should have its shutout.

So on that note, I'm heading down to the field. I'll have reaction from the locker room on here later.

A very good win for Georgia, along the lines of last week: Even if the opponent is weak, a good team wins convincingly. Georgia didn't look like a good team losing four in a row. It's back now to looking decent, and can build on that in the coming weeks.

7:33 left in fourth quarter

I'm running out of things to say. That might please some of you.

Everyone seems happy to just run out the clock here, except perhaps the Vanderbilt offense, if it wants to avoid a shutout. We'll see, as the Commodores take over at their own 34.

The Bulldog offense is just emptying the bench (except for redshirting freshmen) and calling short-yardage run plays.

And Josh Murray - yeah, the quarterback's older brother - just saw action on the punt return unit.

10:54 left in fourth quarter, Georgia still leads 43-0

Thee stands are clearing out, and we're entering garbage time, with just a bit of drama.

The first bit is whether Georgia will achieve the shutout, which would be its first of an SEC opponent since 2006.

The second is whether Georgia will have its largest-ever margin of victory over Vanderbilt. The current record is 45, in 1976.

Blair Walsh just missed a 31-yard field goal, which would have made it 46. If that ends up being the difference, well those of us who really want to use that note will be very displeased with you, Mr. Walsh.

Actually Walsh is having a good day regardless: He made his 115th consecutive extra point, setting a new Georgia record. And the field goal miss is only his second of the year.

So yeah, it's a laugher here at Sanford Stadium: Note to downtown Athens business-owners: Prepare for an onslaught of customers.