UGASports.com breaks the news: Elite 11 QB Logan Gray of Columbia, Missouri will attend Georgia. Mark Richt’s reputation as a developer of quarterbacks carried a lot of weight, and his impressions of Georgia made him feel right at home.

Gray knows that he’s coming into a crowded and competitive quarterback situation at Georgia, and he’s expecting to redshirt as a freshman. Assuming Matthew Stafford plays this year as a freshman, Gray could potentially start as a junior. Don’t expect Richt to sit still, though. The Dawgs seem willing to add a quarterback each year, and Richt has had success in attracting some outstanding prospects who aren’t afraid of the depth chart. Gray’s commitment marks the third consecutive year in which the Dawgs have landed an Elite 11 quarterback.

With Gray’s arrival on campus next year, it’s hard to imagine a time when Georgia has had more quality depth at quarterback. The mission now for Richt and staff is to find receivers who want to catch passes from elite quarterbacks and linemen who want to protect them.

Georgia’s offense has been decent but certainly not as productive as some others around the nation. I’ve maintained that it’s a talent issue, particularly at QB and WR. With few exceptions (Lindsay Scott comes to mind), Georgia hasn’t had better than third-round NFL talent at those skill positions. As much as we revere and respect guys like Greene and Zeier and Terrence Edwards, we’ve yet to see this offense in the hands of truly special talent.

Think of the defensive end position: Georgia took a nice step up with Josh Mallard, Demetric Evans, and Robert Geathers. They had solid college careers and went on to the NFL. But we hadn’t seen anything like Pollack, Moses, and Charles Johnson. Sorry to use a business buzzword, but that’s a paradigm shift. I’m hoping we’ll soon see a similar shift on offense. It looks as if the quarterbacks are in place. There is promising young receiver talent starting with Massaquoi, but the Dawgs haven’t had the recruiting success there that they’d like especially when contrasted with a haul like Florida had last year.

Will these quarterbacks become pied pipers for the best receiver talent? Can Georgia turn this abundance of quarterbacking talent (not to mention the tailbacks on campus) into a better offense? That’s Mark Richt’s job now. As playcaller and director of the Bulldogs’ offensive scheme, he has to fill in the surrounding cast around these signal-callers.

Josh Kendall caught up with Joe Cox and family and discussed his darkhorse position in the quarterback derby. The most important point for many of us is that Cox will remain at Georgia regardless of the outcome of the competition. But there’s a lot more to take away from the article:

• Cox’s attitude is outstanding, and you can see where it comes from. Lots of heads screwed on properly in this family.
• This is the reality of coming in to an elite program. There will likely be other quality guys competing for the same position. Georgia seems to be making that turn where the quality of the program outweighs concerns about competition for a starting job. Knowshon Moreno signed on this year despite Georgia’s crowded tailback position. Three quality quarterbacks have now signed on over the past three seasons, and (knock wood) a fourth could commit this week. It’s good that Cox recognized this reality, and he seems to be dealing with it fine.
• The perspective of Cox’s father is tremendous. Joe Cox really does have a great opportunity at one of the best programs under a proven developer of quarterbacks.

Cox has received a bit of a bad rap for his G-Day performance which is all most fans have seen of him. They don’t know that he received raves leading the scout team last year. They overlook the fact that despite the interceptions, Cox moved the offense better than anyone else on G-Day. He might not win the starting job and might end up as a career backup. That still means he’ll likely get his chance under center at some point. Every Georgia starter for as long as I can remember has missed a series or even a game, and I can think of several instances over the past decade alone when I wished we had someone with Cox’s ability coming off the bench.

Now to the fans: Blake Barnes had similar comments recently. Now Cox has said it. No one is transferring. They all want to play football for Georgia and are quality guys we want in the program. We need the depth. Can we please stop trying to pack their bags for them and push them out the door? What a blessing to have this kind of depth developing at this critical position.

No, not in Stegeman.  Georgia will be the host team for the 1st and 2nd round games at the Gwinnett Arena in 2009.  Gwinnett is a great arena for the women’s game…it has all of the amenities of a modern arena, it’s moderately-sized enough to sell out yet still seat a good number of fans, and there’s plenty of parking.

Georgia is starting to make better and better use of the Gwinnett Arena, and that’s a good thing.  It’s not a matter of Gwinnett vs. Athens as much as it is Gwinnett vs. Atlanta.  The arena and the Sugarloaf area has things that Stegeman and Athens just don’t – hotel space among them.    Georgia’s promotion of the Gwinnett Arena means that UGA is now coordinating events that might have otherwise been hosted in Atlanta by Tech or Georgia State.
There have been gymnastics events there, the men’s basketball team played there last year, and the Lady Dogs play there annually since the Russell Athletic Shootout moved from Philips Arena to Gwinnett.  UGA will also host the 2007 women’s SEC tournament at the Gwinnett Arena.

Georgia’s basketball program is under incredible scrutiny after the wake slimy trail of the Harricks.  They certainly don’t need news like this threatening the program.  While there are a ton of regulations that everyone involved in a program must keep track of, this seems more like a communication and oversight problem with an assistant coach and head coach.  I would expect that staff members in the current climate be overzealous to a fault about decisions involving prospects, players, and benefits.

In February (or three years from now, whatever amount of time you wait to evaluate recruiting classes), we can hold Mark Richt to this statement in today’s ABH. “There’s no question that’s the most critical position that we have to recruit this year, offensive lineman and in particular offensive tackles.” Coaches often talk about general recruiting priorities, but you don’t often see someone put it out there like that. This class, for all of the quality players Georgia will get at other positions, will be judged a success or failure based on the quality of its offensive line signees. The two present commitments are an outstanding start, but there are a few prospects in the state who could really make or break this class. From the fan perspective, a recruiting class often becomes distorted based on the success of the staff to win one high-profile recruiting battle. This year, that one battle might be the one for offensive tackle Chris Little.

Aside…it’s encouraging to see the news from the same Marc Weiszer piece that Sean Bailey is coming along in his rehab. Of course there’s still a big gulf from straight-ahead sprinting to SEC-quality receiving, and we’ll see over the next two months if Bailey can make those strides. He might have quite a decision to make: does he redshirt and come back for a completely healthy senior season in 2007, or does he take the risk and come back this year if he’s cleared?

Shandon contributed to Miami’s success in the NBA Finals and now has a championship ring. He’s put in a lot of time in the league since leaving Georgia as a star and the face of the success that Georgia had in the mid-1990s. He’s played for four teams in his NBA career and as a free agent might find himself on another roster next year. His tough defense off the bench makes him a pretty valuable reserve, and Miami’s bench was a big part of their ability to hold off Dallas. Congratulations Shandon!

Yep, the Diamond Dawgs made a quick exit from the CWS. There’s no need at this point to run down individuals, but many of the familiar names that propelled the Dawgs to Omaha didn’t have much to say once they got there. It’s not that they played poorly or were dominated. They played two quality teams very close and had to feel good about their chances of winning at least one of them. Described by Coach Perno as a team that relied on the big inning, Georgia managed only one multi-run inning in their two games and immediately gave those runs back.

Rice and Oregon State did what many teams over the past two months couldn’t: prevent Georgia from stringing hits and runs together in overwhelming scoring bursts. Such explosive innings helped Georgia avoid elimination against FSU and South Carolina in the postseason. In the final game of the season, three double plays were key in killing any momentum the Dawgs tried to create. The double plays “ripped our hearts out,” said Perno. “We had three big double plays at the worst times.” The final double play came on the last at-bat of the game in which Georgia had the winning run at the plate. Even down to the end, they were still in the game but just couldn’t come up with the big plays. Against the level of competition in Omaha, that’s the formula for a quick trip home.

The future? Georgia will have a good bit of turnover. That’s just the nature of college baseball. There is a nice core in place, and guys like Beckham and the freshman pitchers will be experienced vets next year. While Georgia should be proud of its second trip to Omaha in three seasons, the goals for next season should be humble but very clear: return to the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. For all their success since 2001, Georgia has only made consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament once in program history (2001-2002). The CWS trip in 2004 was followed by a disappointing 2005 that was just a game or two away from the postseason. The highs have certainly been good, but it’s time to level out some of the lows and establish some consistency in the program. Even without knowing the makeup of the team heading into next season, I don’t consider those goals to be unreasonable for a program with Georgia’s recent success.

Given the limited scholarships and turnover due to the professional draft that completely changes college rosters from year to year, establishing continuity and sustaining postseason-quality success from year to year is one of the toughest jobs a college coach has, and it’s what separates the very best.

Joe Tereshinski surely knows that he’s in a very tough fight to keep the starting QB job in 2006.  But in Sunday’s interview with the AJC, he comes across as nothing but calm, humble, and everything else you’d expect a guy to be after spending a few years under Mark Richt’s guidance.

Joe T. gushes with praise for those who came before him, knows how to approach the senior-led summer workouts, and talks about playing for the Dawgs as a true honor and priviledge.  With his family’s history, you might could excuse him seeing this opportunity as routine and his birthright, but he seems to relish each snap as one of us might if we were plucked off the street and given the chance of a lifetime to lead the Bulldogs.

Without even knowing what’s going on in Athens this summer, I’m encouraged knowing that seniors like this are getting the team ready.

Chad Simmons of UGASports.com reports that Georgia has added two defensive commitments to the football recruiting class of 2007. S John Knox and DE Justin Houston chose Georgia over offers from such schools as Auburn, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and LSU. Each is rated among UGASports.com’s top 25 players at any position in Georgia.

The pair have known each other since third grade and wanted to play together. I especially liked that Georgia held its own with a few kids who were comparing academics with Georgia Tech. Word is getting out.

Quite a day as we watched this story evolve.

First, the AJC reports that UGA relief pitcher Stephen Dodson has been arrested for underage drinking and theft. Bad, but not quite hanging out with hookers the night before the Super Bowl. But his fate will be the same.

Using data from the UGA Police Dep’t., we learn that Dodson and former UGA pitcher Johnny Dobbs tied one on over the weekend and tried to take a few souveniers from Foley Field. Their haul? Dodson got a $75 NCAA Tournament banner for his room and Dobbs got nailed for a $2 baseball. Priceless.

But as stupid as this prank was (and as we all remember that traffic sign or banner in our dorm rooms), it has cost Dodson a chance to participate in the College World Series. Coach David Perno has suspended Dodson, and he won’t make the trip with the team.

That’s a pretty harsh consequence for a drunken prank, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this decision came from a bit higher up the University food chain and might have even overruled Coach Perno. Given President Adams’ current crusade against student drinking, the alcohol part of the story probably cost Dodson infinitely more than the “theft”.

Sometime around the middle of the season the names Moreau, Holder, Dodson, and Leaver became as familiar to Georgia baseball fans as Westphal, Brown, Warren, and Fields. The emergence of those four freshmen gave Georgia real pitching depth, and suddenly they had the arms to sustain them on their late-season winning streak.

The advantage of that depth was obvious in the super regional against South Carolina. Though pitching didn’t matter much in Saturday’s game, it played a large role in the final two games of the series. Both nights, South Carolina was forced to stick too long with their starter because of a shaky bullpen. Georgia capitalized both nights as the Gamecock starters tired and then vulnerable relievers came in. Meanwhile, Georgia was able to turn to several dependable arms out of the bullpen to keep the games in hand before the Georgia offense took over each night.

I am especially happy to see the role that Bobby Felmy played in the two Georgia wins. Felmy has had his moments this senior season, including a huge game-winning RBI against Georgia Tech at Turner Field. But to be honest, he was struggling on offense by his standards. His two homeruns ignited Georgia’s biggest innings on Sunday and Monday, and his five RBIs were all critical to Georgia’s success.

11-0 all-time in Athens in elimination games for Georgia. Incredible. These cardiac canines found new life midseason after a weak SEC start left them in a big hole. From the SEC Tournament to both rounds of the NCAA postseason this far, Georgia has shown the same spirit to keep fighting and emerge on top. Now this show goes to Omaha, and there is no reason why they can’t win there also. One of the keys to surviving the double-elimination test in Omaha is having the pitching to get through that second and third game and advance to Championship Weekend. This year, that factor might finally be on Georgia’s side.

This is really an incredible time for Georgia baseball.  There have only been eight trips to the NCAA Tournament in program history, and four of those have come since 2001.  The program has made five trips to Omaha, and three of those have come since 2001.  The Dawgs were probably a single SEC win from making the tournament in 2005, so even the “down” years lately are better than the historical norms.  With a strong showing in Omaha, not many SEC baseball programs can claim as good a start to this decade as Georgia.

CFN has their Georgia preview up (written by Pete Fiutak), and of course the message boards are all over it. It’s not a bad read actually. There are a few things I’d take issue with, but many of them come from being waaaaaaaay too familiar with the team. For someone at the 30,000-foot level, he’s got it more or less right.

I appreciate that he remembers the rebuilding challenge that Richt had in the 2003 season. At some positions, the issues in 2003 were even more severe than they are now. No one can deny that Georgia is turning to some inexperienced players to fill needs, but at least there are talented players we expect to step in there. In other words, I don’t think any of these positional situations are as dire as the running backs in 2003. I’m also glad to see the national recognition starting for Quentin Moses.

One opinion he has that I question is a common one, even among our own fans. We talked about this on the DawgVent the other day in fact. It’s the notion that the three running backs “have to carry the load” this year. It’s easy to forget in hindsight, but that was the line last preseason too. It’s actually a testament to the transformation of DJ Shockley over the past year. At this point a year ago, Shockley was seen as a talented guy who had shown some flashes but was still shaky and had never shown enough consistancy to make people think he’d be anything but a dropoff (however slight) from David Greene. While Shockley got adjusted to the starting role, the trio of young backs were going to have to be the strength of the offense.

Never happened. Oh, of course the backs were a key part of the offense last year (though, as Fiutak points out, not as productive as you might think), but there was no question that this was DJ Shockley’s team from the season opener. We got a Georgia offense that was similar in scheme and flow to the 2003 and 2004 units (with the occasional Shockley run of course).

I think we’ll see more of the same in 2006. Richt’s not afraid to use a good tailback – see the explosion of Verron Haynes at the end of 2001 or the 1,300+ yards of Musa Smith in 2002. But until we see otherwise, he just doesn’t seem to trust this current group of backs to be the focus of his offense. Will that change now that they are upperclassmen? I hope so. It would make life much easier for a new quarterback. Until they show otherwise though, I expect that the new quarterback will have a much larger role in the offense sooner than many seem to think. For that reason, I hope that we settle on someone before the season starts and get him adjusted to that role as soon as possible. It might also make the receivers and the ability of Mohamed Massaquoi to become a serious playmaker much more of an issue than this preview indicates.

I say “trust” above with Richt and the running game, but it might be something else. With one clear established tailback, you know whom you want in the game. You have almost no choice about playing time. With the three capable tailbacks not really separating themselves, it’s more difficult to push the right button. There were several examples last season. In the Florida game, Danny Ware had been on a tear, and the Dawgs were moving. We put in Thomas Brown who lost eight yards on the next play, and a promising drive was over. In the Tech game, Kregg Lumpkin was playing well early and had some nice runs on the first scoring drive, but he disappeared in the second half.

My point isn’t to second-guess Richt or criticize the backs. But the trio makes the decisions more difficult. If you have Garrison Hearst or even the senior Musa Smith, the decision is made for you. Run him, run him some more, and take him out of the game only if necessary. Substituting Brown for Ware against Florida might seem like a reasonable case of interchangable fresh legs perfectly suited for the three tailback rotation, but put another way, Musa Smith or Verron Haynes probably don’t come out of the game at that point. Lumpkin and Brown seemed to be moving into a class of their own during the spring, and that’s helpful. Fewer options might be bad if the emerging choice is a poor one, but that’s not what’s happening here. One running back emerging as the best option from a good group makes it more likely that the coaches will trust that guy to “carry the load”, and he can become a focus for the offense while a young passing game gets established.

South Carolina (40-23) at No. 7 Georgia (45-20)
11 a.m. (ESPN2), 4 p.m. (ESPN/ESPNU), 1 p.m. (ESPN/ESPNU)

Looks like an early morning on Saturday. Monday’s game, if necessary, would be a day game. That hurts those of us who would drive up after work.

Times, matchups, and TV for all Super Regionals

Reminder – tickets are on sale at georgiadogs.com or over the phone at 706-542-1231. Only all-session tickets are sold now. Individual game tickets, if available, won’t be sold until Friday night.

Anyone should know better than to count these Dawgs out. Facing three elimination games to win the Athens regional, Georgia put together a string of wins that had everything from power hitting to shutdown pitching. Monday’s tight 3-2 win over FSU concluded a tremendous regional and a three game series with one of the nation’s most storied programs. FSU had a lot on their side after winning Saturday night’s game, and they had never failed to advance from a regional. Typically you’d expect a high-scoring game in a situation like this, but both Georgia and FSU found strong performances waiting down their pitching depth charts. Georgia’s Trevor Holder just got better and better, and regional MVP Joey Side made FSU pay for one of their few pitching mistakes with his third home run of the weekend.

For the regional Side batted .455 with six extra-base hits and twelve RBI. Side joins Jeff Keppinger in 2001 and Will Startup in 2004 as Dawgs who used the postseason to elevate already-solid reputations to lead Georgia to success.

“I felt like I was pretty much in the zone as a hitter,” Side said after Monday’s win. You don’t say.

Side wasn’t the only story of the regional of course. You have Morris tying the single-season HR mark. You have the trio of freshman pitchers who stepped up in the final three games to make sure that Georgia was playing on top most of the time. You have Georgia fighting out of the elimination round at home for the third time this decade. So many contributions and big plays. Kudos to FSU for an ultra-competitive series.

Now it’s the super regional, and South Carolina will return to Athens. Georgia has swept all four meetings to date with South Carolina this season, but of course none of that matters now. South Carolina obviously has to be playing good baseball to advance from the Charlottesville regional, and they bring one of the more dangerous offensive teams remaining in the tournament.

Super regional tickets are already on sale at georgiadogs.com, and the series will be a best-of-three beginning on Saturday.

Many Georgia fans know that Andy Landers’ frontcourt was decimated before the 2005-2006 season even started. Four forwards and centers were wiped from the roster through injury and attrition. Out of desperation, Landers turned to Georgia volleyball player Maria Taylor after the volleyball season had ended. Taylor had been an accomplished basketball player at Centennial High School but was on volleyball scholarship at Georgia. Because Bear Bryant (and I suppose others in that era) abused athletic scholarships from other sports and stockpiled football players, the SEC (and only the SEC) has a rule that prevents football and basketball teams from using players who are on scholarship in another sport. Landers’ plan to use Taylor (who had even begun practicing with the team) was stopped in its tracks after an appeal to the SEC fell through.

Now at the SEC spring meetings, Landers is promoting a rules change that would remove women’s basketball from the rule, and the suggestion has been well-received. Landers obviously has a specific motivation for suggesting this rules change, but he also presents the idea as an issue of opportunities for female student-athletes. “To limit those (opportunities) for any reason at this point in the evolution of women’s sports is I think wrong and counterproductive,” he said.

What Landers attempted to do with Taylor last year was entirely above-board and not against the spirit of the “Bear Bryant rule”. It wouldn’t have received a second thought in any other conference. It’s a little too late to help, but I hope he’s successful in this campaign.