This years John Jenkins?

During last year's season it was obvious that one of the biggest immediate fixes for the team needed to be at the nose on defense and running back on offense. Richt and company recruited two of the best possible fixes for that by bringing in a top running back as well as a top junior college transfer to fill the holes needed to win right away. This off season we again have a hole at running back and so Richt again has brought in one of the nations best at running back in Keith Marshall. Another huge need for next year is along the offensive line as Georgia lost three starters including both tackles. Georgia had already gotten commitments from Chester Brown, Greg Pyke and top rated offensive tackle John Theus. Many believe that Theus will be ready to come in and compete for a starting position as a freshman. Tackle however is a very hard position for a freshman to excel at in a freshman season. Richt in order to provide more competition and depth at tackle went out and got one of the best junior college tackles in Mark Beard. The advantage of a juco player is that their bodies have had time to mature more and while juco strength and conditioning programs are not as good as a division 1 programs they are a step ahead of most high school programs. With a huge number of players returning for next year if Beard can have half the impact that Jenkins did last year it could be another huge step forward for Georgia. One advantage that Beard will have over Jenkins is that he will be enrolling in January giving him longer to learn the schemes and be a part of Georgia's strength and conditioning program for an entire off season.