UGAHere is my look at what I project the depth chart to look like once the incoming class gets on campus. Lots can change in spring practice and as I see fit I will update certain positions, like right now Ealey dropping down the depth chart and possibly rising back up depending on how he handles his suspension and if he is able to get back from suspension before spring practice starts. Class will be according to what they will be come opening day
QB - 1)Aaron Murray rs so. 2)Hutson Mason so. 3)Christian LeMay fr.
This is the most set position on the team as far as the starter. After a very strong season as a first year starter Murray looks to not only improve upon the best statisical season any freshman qb at UGA has ever had but also looks to be the un-questioned leader of the offense. I would project LeMay to be #2 should Murray have miss any time due to injury but I think that Richt will redshirt him this fall so that there is a 2 year separation from Murray.
TB - 1)Isaiah Crowell fr. 2)Caleb King sr. 3)Ken Malcome rs fr. 4)Carlton Thomas jr. 5)Washaun Ealey jr.
Crowell has the best chance to start of any of the incoming freshmen for several reasons. First he is probably the most talented of a very impressive class. Second it is a position that clearly needs a spark after underachieving the last two years. Third the other players on the team that have combined for every start last year have both had their share of troubles off the field. Behind Crowell the spring will determine who gets to be the first guy off the bench.
FB - 1)Alec Ogletree so. 2)Bruce Figgins rs. sr.
Either of these two could start but I am going with Ogletree as the more athletic of the two. Bruce I expect to be in more in short yardage situations for his size. If he trims down he could be a big weapon out of the backfield just having converted from TE.
TE - 1)Orson Charles jr. 2)Aaron White sr. 3)Jay Rome fr. 4)Arthur Lynch rs so.
The deepest position on the field. I expect(hope?) to see some 2 te sets this season to take advantage of this depth. Also Charles and White could be split out to the slot to help create mismatches as well as provide some needed depth to the wr position. Bobo needs to take advantage of the talent and depth this position provides.
WR - 1)Tavarres King rs. jr 2) Malcolm Mitchell 3)Marlon Brown jr. 4)Rantavious Wooten jr. 5)Chris Conley fr. --- Israel Troupe rs sr., Michael Bennett rs fr., Justin Scott-Wesley fr, Sanford Seay fr.
Beyond King as the number one guy this is a very hard position to project. Several of the players have been on the team for a few years and while showing flashes of promise have had no real breakout game. I think behind King it will be WR by committee and expect to see a lot of guys in the 15-20 catch range. This is a position that needs more than one guy to step up and be productive for the team to turn around their W-L record from 2010
LT - 1)Trinton Sturdivant rs. sr
RT - position battle amonst AJ Harmon, Kolton Houston, Brent Benedict, Austion Long and incoming freshmen Xzavier Ward and Watts Danzler.
C - 1)Ben Jones sr. 2)Chris Burnette so. 3)David Andrews fr. 4)Ben Reynolds rs fr.
LG - 1)Cordy Glenn sr. 2)Dallas Lee rs fr. 3)Hunter Long fr.
RG - 1)Kenarious Gates so. 2)Ben Harden sr. 3) Jonathan Owens jr.
The biggest battle here will be for the RT position as the other positions are already set with returning starters and Gates who didn't start the whole season but did get a few starts under his belt. It is possible Glenn will move to RT if the players behind him at guard perform better than the group competing for the RT position. Look for Sturdivant to return to full form and be an all SEC LT.
Kicker - 1)Walsh sr. possible all-American
Punter - 1)Butler sr. best punter in country his so. year
KR - 1)Brandon Boykin sr. very dangerous return man
PR - 1) Branden Smith - probably fastest player on team and one of the fastest in the SEC
What it all means. The offense put up a lot of points in the second half of last season until the bowl game. Even in setting a record for most games in a row scoring 30 or more points by a UGA team the offense struggled within games to maintain. Putting up big first halves only to disappear in the second half or having slow first quarters looking unstoppable in the second and third quarters only to go away again in the fourth. The biggest reason for this was unexpected sub par play from the offensive line. Led by Murray there is a great amount of talent on the offense this season but none of that will matter if the offensive line does not find a way to maintain its play for a full 60 minutes. New S&C coach and a new OL could be just what the line needs to exceed expectations this year after failing to meet them last year. If this happens look for offense to be one of the best in the SEC.
Dude, welcome to blogdom. And dawg-dom blogdom at that! Good look at the offense. Any insight about Bobo getting more creative and/or Richt calling some plays this year? That's what the people want to see...
ReplyDeleteI do have some ideas on that as well. Going to post the defense outlook in the next few days. Then was going to do an article of why things will be different this fall versus why they won't. The simple answer to your question is I think that Richt sees that his conservative approach from his early days is no longer good enough week after week in the SEC. Teams still have great defenses but the offenses have become much more explosive meaning you can't start running clock at any point in a game. The days of winning many 17-14 games on a regular basis have pretty much done in the SEC.
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