Every season brings its share of new faces, but for some reason this year’s Georgia team seems to have more than usual. With so much of the two-deep sophomores or younger, it’s likely that there are several 2007 contributors we haven’t seen much of – if at all.

It’s a good time to become familiar with some of the names we’ll be hearing about in the next couple of weeks. This is by no means an exhaustive breakdown of the entire team, but these are several guys who could be thrust from obscurity into key roles this season.

Offense

• Tailback Knowshon Moreno (RFr.): If there’s a newcomer who needs no introduction, it’s Moreno. The New Jersey native had a strong year of practice and turned heads at G-Day. Though the running back depth chart seems solid with Lumpkin and Brown returning, Moreno will push for carries.
• Offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant (Fr.): Some are calling him one of the keys to the season, and that’s an awful lot to put on a true freshman’s broad shoulders. But the job of protecting Matthew Stafford from the important left tackle position will likely fall to Sturdivant.
• Offensive guard Scott Haverkamp (Jr.): Haverkamp is another newcomer to the program (via JUCO) who might find himself in a starting role. He chose Georgia over Arizona State, Illinois, and also had interest from FSU.
• Offensive guard Chris Davis (RFr.): Davis will be new on the field, but he at least has a year in the program. That experience gives him the edge over several of the other young linemen.
• Tight end Tripp Chandler (Jr.): Chandler takes over the legacy of Georgia tight ends from Martrez Milner. Chandler had 2 receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown last season. His first career catch was memorable: he caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in traffic on a 4th-and-1 play against Mississippi State. Chandler will be suspended for the first game of the season, so Coleman Watson and NaDerris Ward will get an opportunity.

Defense

• Defensive end Marcus Howard (Sr.): Howard is hardly a newcomer, but it couldn’t be easy to make a splash alongside former defensive ends Moses and Johnson. Howard began his career at linebacker but has since made the move to the line. He might still be considered undersized at 235 lbs., but he has speed and strength to compensate. It’s true that Howard might be used situationally, but that will depend on the progress of the younger ends.
• Defensive end Roderick Battle (So.): Battle is the other likely starter at defensive end. He, too, is a little undersized for the typical SEC defensive end. JUCO transfer Jarius Wynn could push Battle before long.
• Defensive tackle Geno Atkins (So.): Atkins saw limited time as a true freshman last season, but he’ll be placed in a much larger role this year as a possible starter on the defensive front. Sophomore Kade Weston and JUCO transfer Corey Irvin will compete here.
• Linebacker Akeem Dent (RFr.): Though Dewberry, Miller, and Ellerbe seem established as the starting linebackers, Dent might be the reserve most ready to step in if necessary. I see him in a "Danny Verdun-Wheeler" role where he might be the first off the bench at any linebacker position.
• Safety C.J. Byrd (Jr.): Byrd is a known name to more serious observers of the team. He has contributed for several seasons on special teams and saw more time at safety last season. He’ll step in as a starter this year replacing Tra Battle.
• Safety Reshad Jones (RFr.): Everyone saw Jones at G-Day, so he’s hardly a secret anymore. The only question will be finding a spot and playing time for this playmaker.

Which other new faces will you be watching during the preseason?

I can’t remember it happening before. Usually, there are at least one or two signees (sometimes many more, unfortunately) who fail to qualify academically.

Not this year.

For once, we can say that all 23 men from Georgia’s 2007 signing class are eligible. We learned today that safety John Knox had made a qualifying test score. The news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that cornerback Vance Cuff had met eligibility requirements.

Vance and Knox join a deep defensive backfield, so neither was counted on for immediate playing time. Regardless, the value of a freshman year spent developing inside the program is far greater than the alternatives.

Hopefully years like this will become the rule rather than the exception.

Just a couple of months after leading Georgia to the collegiate national title, it didn’t John Isner long to find success at the professional level.

In just his second professional event, Isner reached the finals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic before falling to superstar Andy Roddick. He beat three top-ten seeds along the way with his dominant serve and clutch performances in tiebreakers. His finish earned him a $43,700 paycheck, and he will move up into the top 200 in the ATP rankings.

The finals had a decidedly Georgia flavor. Roddick’s brother John was a former Bulldog standout himself.

No news is usually good news in preseason practice. There will eventually be some hard news as the depth charts take shape, but much of the real information coming out of the first few weeks of practice is often bad – injuries, suspensions, and so on. So take it as a good sign that Bryan Evans’ hamstring injury is the only update of substance to come from the weekend.

One of the reasons why I appreciate listening to press conference audio is that you can get a sense of how different writers will try to establish themes that will become the basis of future articles. There’s nothing wrong with it – writers need an angle and perspective for their stories. After a while, you can tell who the regular beat writers are, and you can tell who the infrequent visitors are. The visitors are pretty easy to spot: they’ll already have their storyline decided, ask a few questions that seem completely random to get some quotes for that storyline, and they won’t ask anything else. We saw that Saturday when Mark Bradley started asking Richt about the importance of a single back getting 100+ yards per game.

There were some good table-setting features this weekend. Thomas Brown is 100% back. The receivers claim they have something to prove.

When the first couple of days are dominated by a disciplinary non-issue and "Scooter 101", you can relax a little. Let’s hope the long-term injuries continue to stay away.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Frank Beamer was accusing Georgia of spying on Virginia Tech’s Chick-fil-A Bowl practices:

“We practiced out at Georgia Tech and we let all kinds of people through there … people we didn’t really know,” Beamer said. “And I thought it hurt us in the bowl game. I’m not blaming anybody … but I thought Georgia knew exactly what we were doing in several situations.”

The plan was masterful:  allow Virginia Tech to get up 21-3 in order to maintain the illusion of a close game.  It didn’t matter that Virginia Tech constantly let the tight end slip past them.  It didn’t matter that they tried to block NFL-bound Charles Johnson with a freshman tight end.  Never mind film study and preparation.  “I’m not blaming anybody…”  Sure, Frank.

Virginia Tech has now closed “team” part of practices to the public.  It’s a policy that most schools use, including Georgia.  Now when his quarterback implodes in the second half, Beamer will have to look elsewhere for an excuse.

Citing “medical reasons”, Mark Richt announced Friday that Georgia center Ian Smith has left the team.  He will remain enrolled at Georgia.  The sophomore was one of only three returning linemen with playing experience.

Smith was in the middle of a season-spanning suspension that would have placed him on the bench for the first five games of 2007.  Following his second alcohol-related arrest during 2006, Smith was placed on University probation for the remainder of his academic career.  Smith, once a likely starter at center, now will try to hang on and earn a degree.

In other disciplinary news, Richt announced that quarterback Blake Barnes and starting tight end Tripp Chandler will receive one-game suspensions for their alcohol-related arrests in June.  They will miss the opening game against Oklahoma State.

The preseason USA Today Coaches’ Poll is out this morning, and the Dawgs check in at a respectable #13.  That’s third-highest for any SEC team (LSU and Florida are #2 and #3).  Too high?  Too low?  Who knows?  We do know that poll position matters when it comes to the national title race, and the Dawgs aren’t far away from cracking the top 10.

The preseason top 10:

• Southern Cal
• LSU
• Florida
• Texas
• Michigan
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Oklahoma
• Virginia Tech
• Ohio State

Six SEC teams are ranked:  LSU (#2), Florida (#3), Georgia (#13), Auburn (#14), Tennessee (#15), and Arkansas (#20).  South Carolina, Kentucky, and Alabama also received votes.  Out-of-conference opponents Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State were also among the “others receiving votes” category.

As a reminder, here’s Georgia’s consensus preseason position over the last decade or so:

This came via e-mail today.  You probably got it too.

The 2007 football season is rapidly approaching, and the anticipation of another successful year continues to build.  Season tickets are scheduled to be shipped the week of August 10th.  We would, however, like to make you aware of a revision to the originally scheduled single home and out-of-town shipment date of August 10th.  The University of Georgia Athletic Association Ticket Office is awaiting delivery of ticket allotments from two institutions before fulfillment of all orders is reached.  The traditional mail date will be delayed until the week of August 20 in order to include these tickets with the single game ticket shipment. We appreciate your patience, and thanks for supporting the Dawgs.

Considering the news last week that Tech and Florida point total cutoffs are still unknown, I think we have a pretty good idea which schools and games are holding up the second shipment.

A pair of Bulldogs, one a veteran and the other a newcomer, received news within the past day that they’ll be playing football on scholarship for Georgia this fall.

First, incoming defensive back Vance Cuff learned this morning that his academic credentials were finally accepted by the NCAA.  Cuff had been denied eligibility based on a disputed core class,  but he got a call from an athletic administrator letting him know that his appeal was successful and a waiver had been granted to allow Cuff to count that class.  Cuff will be able to enroll later this week and join the team as preseason practice begins next week.  Safety John Knox is the only 2007 signee whose qualifying is still in doubt.

It’s the dream of every walk-on to contribute to the program and eventually earn a scholarship in recognition for his efforts.  From Billy Bennett to Verron Haynes to Brandon Coutu, some very famous recent Bulldogs have taken that path.  Snapper Jeff Henson of Gainesville is the latest to realize this dream.  He won the job last year, and he’s now on scholarship as a junior.  “Jeff has done an outstanding job handling this very difficult position,” said head coach Mark Richt. “He’s provided stability at an important spot and we feel he’s well-deserving of the scholarship.”

Congratulations to both of these guys.

The Georgia-Florida game as-is still has at least three years left. All it took was a mention from Coach Richt to get opinions flying again on the subject. Nearly every Georgia fan has a pretty strong opinion on the issue, and variations on alternatives are about as numerous as playoff proposals. As we get closer to the decision, just think how much more heated this discussion will become.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that any change to the Georgia-Florida game, especially if initiated by the Georgia side, will have as divisive an effect as the Dooley-Adams flap of 2003.

A limited number of single-game Georgia football tickets are still available for upcoming home dates against Oklahoma State (Sept. 1) and Kentucky (Nov. 17).

Beginning on August 1 @ 8:00am, these remaining tickets can be purchased online www.georgiadogs.com or by calling the Athletic Association’s ticket office toll free 1-877-542-1231. There is no limit per order.

Tickets are $40 each plus a processing fee and orders will be mailed out beginning August 20.

Last night’s Atlanta Bulldog Club meeting was the typical preseason pep rally, but the nagging topic of Florida naturally came up.

Coach Richt didn’t back down to the challenge and matter-of-factly stated that the Gators stood in the way of Georgia’s goals. "If we are going to win an SEC East title, and that is our plan – to win it, we are going to have to beat them," he explained. "If they are in the way, then so be it." That sounded great until the topic of the venue came up.

"Do I truly think it is a neutral site?" Richt said. "No, I don’t. That doesn’t feel very neutral to me. If you want to have a neutral game, let’s have a neutral game in Atlanta. I would not be against rotating the thing around."

Forget about defending the tradition of the Cocktail Party for a second. We’ve got a bigger problem.

Florida is a tough enough opponent without things like the location becoming a mental block for the head coach. In a game of this magnitude with not only a rivalry but often an SEC East title on the line, that’s not good news. When the Top Dawg gets off the plane thinking, "neutral my left toe," you’re at a disadvantage before the game is ever played. The game has been decided by a touchdown or less in the past five meetings, so you can appreciate the significance of the mental advantage when two pretty evenly-matched quality teams play.

I don’t think it’s a reach to suggest that this mental block has manifested itself in Georgia’s offensive performances in Jacksonville. For all of the attention paid to Spurrier and Meyer and their offenses, Georgia’s biggest impediment in Jacksonville has more often than not been on the other side of the ball. In Richt’s six games against Florida, the Dawgs have scored 10, 13, 13, 31, 10, and 14 points against the Gators. It hasn’t exactly taken Norm Chow on the other sideline to beat those meager point totals, and it’s not an accident that Georgia won in the only year in which they broke 20 points. Mike Bobo was under center for a big loss and a big win in Jacksonville, and we’ll see if his promotion to coordinator can do anything to snap Georgia out of this funk on offense.

Maybe I’m wrong for dwelling on this point on a night where Richt confidently praised his quarterback and said "I don’t think we are too far away" from bringing a national title to Athens. It’s just that any national title run in the near future is going to go through Jacksonville. The Dawgs need a dose of that same mental toughness that they bring to Columbia, Knoxville, and Auburn, and dwelling on the neutrality of the site isn’t a positive first step towards building that attitude.

Richt is resigned to play the game in Jacksonville for the time being, "Whatever Damon says goes. The bottom line is we have got to win the game." That conclusion, while true, doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence when we’re reluctant to be there in the first place.

One of the themes coming out of the Georgia camp from SEC Media Days was the relative absence of Bulldogs in preseason media honors. As Ching wrote,

The Bulldogs were shut out of the first-team balloting for the first time since the Media Days event started in 1992. Only two Georgia players – place-kicker Brandon Coutu and linebacker Brandon Miller – earned second-team honors, tying Georgia with Mississippi State and Ole Miss for the fewest all-conference players in the league.

Georgia was the only SEC team without a first-team player. Sounds pretty ominous, right? Yet the same media also picked the Dawgs to finish third in the tough SEC East, and they were a lot closer in the voting to second place Tennessee than they were to fourth place South Carolina. That apparent incongruity could mean any or all of these:

• The press is going out on a limb that a proven coach like Mark Richt will put a good team together despite the lack of stars.
• The press believes that the Dawgs have a lot of above-average-but-not-quite-great players.
• The press acknowledges that Georgia doesn’t have many all-SEC players based on previous production, but they expect a few to emerge this year.
• Georgia will be hurt by their lack of star power, but the press isn’t ready yet to move teams like South Carolina or Kentucky into the top half of the division.

Take your pick – you could make a case for any of them. If you ask Coach Richt, the answer might be the third option. "Whether we rise or not is the big question,” he admitted at Media Days. “But I believe in this team. I think we’ve got a chance to do as well as any team that we’ve had since we’ve been here.”

The Dawgs are facing a double-whammy: not many teams have fewer returning starters, and those returning starters are either young or have had average production to this point. Florida, on the other hand, has only eight returning starters, but six of their key contributors are on the preseason all-SEC team. To illustrate the point, think back to 2003. Georgia’s offensive line was decimated after 2002 and gave up over 40 sacks in 2003. At least the Dawgs had a stout defense with proven playmakers on which to lean. In 2007, Georgia has no such glaring strength to carry the team. Instead of Pollack, Davis, Thurman, and Jones, the 2007 Dawgs will lean on guys like Stafford, Massaquoi, Lumpkin, Sturdivant, Owens, Miller, and Johnson.

Those guys are hardly stiffs, but almost all have inexperience to overcome or have spent careers out of the spotlight to this point. Richt’s "whether we rise" question hits the story of the 2007 season dead on. Some talented guys will be thrust into key roles by necessity, and Georgia’s fortunes will turn on their ability to turn preseason anonymity into postseason glory.

Though most of the NFL spotlight was focused on Michael Vick today, the NFL announced that Odell Thurman’s request for reinstatement to the league was declined. Thurman missed the entire 2006 season after missing a drug test and an arrest for DUI.

After two seasons on the shelf, one wonders if Odell Thurman will ever see an NFL field again.

It’s not necessarily a good feeling to look at the Georgia wide receiver depth chart and alternate between "he’s a senior now?" and "he’s still on the team?"

When we last left the receivers: It wasn’t exactly a banner year for Georgia wide receivers. Blame whatever you like – coaching, talent, new quarterbacks, or the granite bulldog – Georgia receivers had a grand total of four touchdowns last year. Four. Mohamed Massaquoi and Mario Raley had two apiece, and no other Georgia receiver found the end zone. You can point to a diverse offense that spread the scoring to tight ends and even fullbacks, but only Ole Miss and Mississippi State had fewer receiving touchdowns last year. The stigma of drops and a lack of big plays continued to haunt the position.

What’s happened since: The biggest news at the receiver position is the return of two upperclassmen from injury. Sean Bailey tore his knee after a two touchdown performance in the 2005 SEC Championship game and missed the entire 2006 season. Demiko Goodman was finally starting to turn it on late last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury at Kentucky. Senior T.J. Gartrell is also back after missing 2006 with a torn patella tendon. Gartrell has yet to find his place, but as a senior he could have a limited but productive role similar to Raley last year. Mikey Henderson stood out in spring – enough to rocket past most others on the depth chart and challenge for a starting spot.

What to look for in preseason practice: The Dawgs have a lot of upperclassmen receivers, and at times you want to make all of them and none of them a starter. The depth chart and rotation is very much up for grabs. Massaquoi is the most likely starter, but anything could happen after that. Will Bailey step back into a prominent role? Goodman was pushing the starters before his injury last season; will he pick back up at that level?

You also have the question of some veterans who are hanging around, occasionally making plays but never quite breaking through. We’ve touched on Gartrell. A.J. Bryant came into the program as the #1-rated "athlete" in the nation, but his success at receiver has been spotty and slowed by injuries. Kenneth Harris likewise has had his moments but has not been a consistent standout. You’d like for one of these upperclassmen, especially Bryant, to make a move forward before their eligibility runs out.

There are also a group of younger guys looking for playing time. Kris Durham made a name for himself with several clutch catches as a true freshman. Michael Moore also looked decent in his first season. Tony Wilson looks to join the fray this year after being named Most Improved Receiver in spring practice.

While the receiver class of 2008 is already building hype, we forget that Georgia signed two good receivers last February. Israel Troupe was probably the best receiver in the state and will play for Georgia despite being selected in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft. Walter Hill is a football/basketball star recruited for both sports. At 6’4", he’ll be a tall talent with great leaping ability. Last year Durham made an impact as a true freshman. Unless there is improvement from the upperclassmen, Troupe and/or Hill could likewise see time in 2007.

Concerns? Optimism? Challenges? With so many names listed above, you’d think that Georgia has more than enough depth to field a decent or even above-average receiving corps. So far, the production hasn’t matched the recruiting hype. Massaquoi began to shake off his sophomore slump in the Tech game, and that must continue. The opportunity is there for any receiver ready to step out of the shadows. The good news is that Georgia’s receivers have one of the best passers in the league under center. The stability at the quarterback position should help a great deal.

Since the departure of Gibson and Brown in 2004, the Georgia receiver position has been largely anonymous. Massaquoi emerged quickly as a fan favorite, but the praise hasn’t resonated far beyond Athens. With the window of opportunity in the Matthew Stafford era entering its prime, the receivers must step up to keep up.