UGASports.com has over 100 photos from yesterday’s practice offered as free content on their site today. Dive in:

• Gallery 1
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Then you can decide just what Damon Evans and Mark Richt were talking about here.

“So they’ll have the ankle bracelets put on after practice?”
(Photo Radi Nabulsi / UGASports.com)

Preseason camp is all about position battles. Even with most of the starters set, there are a couple of key starting spots still up for grabs, and some of the more interesting position decisions will come further down the depth chart. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting positional storylines we’ll see this year.

Center: It’s a bit scary when a sophomore is considered the candidate with the most experience. I’m not sure we appreciate how important the emergence of Fernando Velasco was to this team and to last year’s green offensive line. Chris Davis, a converted guard, is the current starter, but all eyes are on true freshman Ben Jones. Jones enrolled for spring semester last year, so he’s not a completely raw freshman, but his experience level is still the biggest knock on an otherwise promising player. Davis, a redshirt sophomore, is entering his third year in the program.

Massaquoi counsels Green (Radi Nabulsi / UGASports.com)

Receiver: Most are focused on the shiny new receivers Green and King, and they’re already making a splash. But the questions at receiver go deeper and involve many more people than Massaquoi and the freshmen. You have last-chance seniors Harris and Goodman. You have Wilson, Durham, and Moore also trying to emerge into larger roles. Then there are redshirts Hill and Troupe. The big question is sorting out the starter after Massaquoi, but there will also be plenty of opportunities in other formations. With the running game in good hands and Stafford poised for a big year, the guys on the other end of the pass seem to be the biggest question in Georgia’s improvement on offense.

Placekicker: It’s Blair Walsh’s job to lose. Much like 2004, a former walk-on will be replaced by a freshman on scholarship. That didn’t work out particularly well last time, but Walsh seems like less of a gamble. His quotes so far have been full of confidence, and now he’s determined to make #57 a kicker’s number. Let’s hope he’s kicking mostly extra points for now.

Running back: It seems strange (and welcome) to write about the Georgia tailbacks without hearing indecisive things like "co-starter". Knowshon Moreno is the returning starter of course, but the rest of the depth chart is up for grabs. Most assumed that Caleb King would challenge for playing time as a redshirt freshman, but true freshman Richard Samuel has been getting a noteworthy amount of mention over the summer. Coach Richt has taken a curious liking to freshman Carlton Thomas who, for lack of a better comparison, could be considered the next Tyson Browning.

Quarterback: Even if Stafford and Cox are set at 1 and 2, the presence of Logan Gray makes things a little more interesting. The comparisons to D.J. Shockley can’t be helped, but Gray’s play at G-Day stood on its own. Whether or not he’ll have his own package within the offense (doubtful), it is within reason that that he’ll see more playing time than the typical third-stringer. It’s unlikely that Richt will shake up the depth chart, but it will become a much bigger point of scrutiny if the backup has to see any kind of significant time this year.

Defensive line: You can’t really argue with the expected starters (Battle, Owens, Atkins, Lomax), but what a problem it is when you’re deciding what to do with players like Weston, Crawford, Irvin, and Wynn. Even those we haven’t seen yet (Dobbs, Ball, Houston) are getting some mention. We know there will be a heavy rotation along the line; the challenge during preseason camp is sorting out that rotation.

Cornerback: Asher Allen seems set, but does Prince Miller or Bryan Evans get the other spot? This competition has been going on for a few years, and neither has settled it yet. Ramarcus Brown wants to be a part of this conversation too, but he’s running out of time.

One thing we should know from this staff is that they’re never in any huge hurry to make these decisions. Some could linger on into the month and even into the season. Besides performance during practices and scrimmages, outside factors like injuries and suspensions will have a role. For example, Darius Dewberry’s suspension has opened up a spot (however temporary) on the two-deep for true freshman Christian Robinson.

As far as injuries go, they’re inevitable – the only questions are "who?" and "how bad?". Georgia has been relatively fortunate in this area during the past few preseason camps, and that trend needs to continue this year to remain a contender. If some amount of injuries are a given, all you can do is hope that the severity of those injuries is measured in days instead of weeks or months and that the word "tear" is only used to describe what A.J. Green is doing to the field on pass plays. For now the most serious injury facing the team is Brannon Southerland’s foot, and he’s expected to return a few weeks into the season.

Before we lose perspective on Georgia’s offseason troubles, let’s remind ourselves exactly what the situation is at this point.

• OG Clint Boling: One game. Impact: minimal. The line won’t miss a beat against Georgia Southern.
• FB Fred Munzenmaier: Two games. Impact: significant. This suspension along with Southerland’s injury has left Shaun Chapas as the only regular fullback for the first few games. The staff has had to shuffle some reserves around just to have enough practice bodies behind Chapas.
• LB Darius Dewberry: Two games. Impact: moderate. Dewberry is one of the top linebacker second-teamers, and the Dawgs will have to look a little more critically at their SLB depth chart. This suspension might get Akeem Hebron on the field sooner than expected.
• SN Jeff Henson: Indefinitely. Impact: minimal. Bo Fowler has stepped in at the long snapper position before and will do it again.
• DB Donavon Baldwin: Indefinitely. Impact: minimal. Depth is always important, but Baldwin is currently listed third on the free safety depth chart.
• DE Michael Lemon: Dismissed from team. Impact: moderate. Georgia fortunately has some depth at defensive end, but Lemon was supposed to be in the mix. His departure isn’t the end of the world, but it isn’t insignificant either.

In case you’re wondering, Georgia’s high-water mark for suspensions entering the season was 2003 when 8 players were suspended for the season opener at Clemson. Defensive starters Will Thompson and Kentrell Curry were also injured for that game, and things were so bad in the secondary that a freshman walk-on named Tra Battle was pressed into service.

Sunday evening reports that there would be no more fallout from the weekend’s arrests and incident at St. Marys hospital weren’t exactly right.

Mark Richt announced this morning that linebacker Darius Dewberry would be suspended for the first two games for his role in the vandalism at the hospital.

Dewberry…was seen overturning trash cans and causing other damage. Dewberry was at the hospital while teammates Donovan Baldwin and Marcus Dowtin were being treated for injuries suffered in a bar fight earlier Sunday morning

The NFL preseason began last night with the Hall of Fame Game between Indianapolis and Washington. Newcomers have the most to prove in these exhibitions, and one Bulldog made the most of his chance. Former Georgia defensive end Marcus Howard got off to a great start and was credited with 1 1/2 sacks.

Colt Brennan came in during the second half and led Washington to a couple of touchdowns only after making sure that Howard was properly restrained on the sidelines in compliance with the court order.

Yeah, that’ll sound pretty good coming over the Sanford Stadium PA on August 30.

Uga VII will debut as the mascot of the nation’s #1-ranked team according to the preseason USA Today coaches’ poll. Next week we’ll begin to see how the Dawgs go about staying on top of the mountain.

At least one AP voter agrees.

Sammons celebrates winning the 2004 Athens Regional.

Sammy set the standard for Georgia catchers in the early part of this decade, and his defense behind the plate was a big part of Georgia’s run to the College World Series in 2004.

Sammons made his major league debut last season for the Atlanta Braves, and he recorded his first career MLB hit.

He was brought back up to the majors this week after Braves’ catcher Brian McCann suffered a concussion. Though he’s known for his defense, his offense broke through Thursday evening, and he notched both his first RBI (with a single in the 4th inning) and home run (2-run shot in the 6th) as a big-leaguer (see video). Sammons finished the night 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and a home run to lead the Braves past St. Louis 9-4.

Congratulations to Clint, and hopefully we’ll see lots more of him in the majors.

The silver lining of attrition is that scholarships often become available for deserving walk-ons. Senior punter Brian Mimbs is such a player, and his effort over the years has been rewarded with a football scholarship. Mimbs handled both punting and holding duties for the Bulldogs last year. If you’re contributing that much on the field, you’ve earned your keep, and it’s great to see him recognized this way.

Last season Jeff Henson received a scholarship.

My favorite Mimbs play is still the perfectly executed onside kick against Virginia Tech that sparked the comeback win. Mimbs not only kicked the ball – he had to dive at the ball and snatch it away from a Virginia Tech player.

Then again, there’s always this:

After alcohol-related charges against him were reduced to reckless driving, Mark Richt today cut offensive lineman Clint Boling’s suspension in half from two games to one.

“With the change in the charges and the attitude that Clint has demonstrated I have reevaluated his situation and decided on the one-game suspension as a fair penalty,” said Richt. “Clint has been remorseful and pro-active in handling all his responsibilities in a mature manner with a good attitude. He’s learned a strong lesson that I’m sure will serve him well from here on.”

I’m not sure which Georgia fans Mark Bradley is talking about. What in recent history has given Georgia fans a reason to take the Tech game lightly?

Don’t worry guys…we’ll be ready.

• 2004: An injured David Greene has to come off the bench to get the win. Still, it took the infamous 4th down blunder to seal it.
• 2005: A tie game was broken in the final minutes when Shockley found McClendon on a bee-yoo-tiful play action pass. Again, it took a play by the Georgia defense (INT by Jennings) to escape.
• 2006: Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown! Massakwa. The pull-a-fumble-from-the-pile touchdown will ranks as one of the all-time WTF?!? plays in the rivalry.
• 2007: The widest margin of victory since 2003, but it was a 2-point game at halftime and took Thomas Brown’s 4th quarter score to open it up.

If it comes down to Tech standing in the way of a BCS bid, Georgia and Georgia fans will be plenty ready and into the game. Even if that scenario comes to pass, will the attention on Paul Johnson and his offense overshadow a more important key to the game?

In these rivalries, we tend to focus on personalities, and that sometimes leads us to look at the wrong things. Sometimes not – Cutcliffe really was a factor in some frustrating losses to Tennessee. But take Florida. We obsess over Spurrier, Meyer, and Tebow, but Georgia’s biggest problem against the Gators lately has been on the other side of the ball. While everyone frets over stopping the offensive geniuses, breaking 20 points has been the real challenge in Jacksonville. Though Georgia is 3-15 against Florida since 1990, the series is 3-3 (with Georgia winning three of the last four) over the same period when Georgia scores at least 20.

The same applies and I think will continue to apply to Tech. For a while, it was all about Calvin Johnson, but Georgia was barely able to scratch out 14 and 15 points. The four times Georgia has managed 30+ in the current seven-game winning streak, they’ve beaten Tech by at least 14 points.

Now we’re on to Paul Johnson and dwelling on the impact he’ll have on the Tech offense. Bradley reaches back to 2005 to note Georgia’s difficulty with the spread option against West Virginia, but Georgia did adjust and allowed only ten points over the final 44 minutes of the game. Additionally, Georgia will have seen at least three teams (LSU, Florida, and Auburn) who will run elements of an option offense. The flexbone isn’t the same as the spread option of course, but they test defenses similarly.

So while Paul Johnson is a quality and accomplished coach with an effective contrary offense, yada, yada, yada, recent history tells us that if Tech is going to end the streak any time soon, Dave Wommack will have as much or more to do with it than Johnson.

• We’ve mentioned that the Chapel Bell was sent off for repair during the offseason. It’ll be ready for the season opener, and Travis Fain of the Macon Telegraph has a feature on the work that’s gone into it. Bonus: “It might be a little more melodious.”
• Season parking passes remain: If you want to have parking taken care of before you head to Athens, there are still spaces in the North Campus and Carlton St. (Coliseum) decks. A season pass is $120.
• Mark Richt is all over ESPN radio this afternoon. One nugget – it sounds like the black jerseys are almost a certainty at some point during the year. My guess: Tennessee.

There are two topics that seem to get Georgia fans going more so than other fans: 1) identifying our biggest rival and 2) agreeing on the optimal start time for a home game.

We’ll leave the biggest rival (Tech) for another day, but a news item from Mississippi has stirred the kickoff time pot and has started the discussion back up once again. It doesn’t take much.

Ole Miss has announced that it will move its season opener against Memphis to 6 p.m. It’s not a huge change – the original start time was 5:00. The school mentioned the heat as a driving factor behind the change.

"The heat factor played a major role in this decision," said Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone. "We have experienced exceptionally hot weather in Oxford this summer, and we hope to provide as much relief as possible for our fans in the early-season games."

Not paying $50 to see Ole Miss vs. Memphis would seem like a good starting point for fans seeking relief. There are still tickets remaining – surprised?

Anyway, the news from Oxford was enough to get the attention of Georgia fans who are facing a 12:30 kickoff for their opener against Georgia Southern and a 3:30 start for the Central Michigan game a week later. It’s easy to see why many Georgia fans are steamed. The graph below from the National Weather Service shows a typical summertime temperature forecast. The hottest part of the day is between noon and 6 p.m. (no kidding!) with a peak temperature and heat index around 3:00. After 3:00, the temperature and heat index drop gradually and then begin to fall off after 6:00.

If there’s one weather benefit to an earlier start time, it’s that we should miss any rain. Summer storms usually develop later in the afternoon and into the evening. A 12:30 start should keep things dry unless there’s an organized weather system.

A 12:30 start puts fans in the seats at the beginning of the hottest part of the day and then turns up the heat as the game goes on. A 3:30 start puts fans in the seats at the hottest part of the day and provides only slight relief towards the end. A 6:00 start keeps fans out of the stadium for most of the hottest part of the day, and there’s quite a bit of cooldown by the game’s conclusion. If heat is a concern, Ole Miss’s decision seems to make good sense.

But things are never that simple at Georgia. TV is almost always a factor. Ole Miss’s opener is not televised, so the kickoff time is much more flexible. Georgia’s opener is televised pay-per-view, so you’d still think there could be some flexibility. The Central Michigan game has been picked up by FSN.

Even when you take the heat out of it, there’s still plenty of disagreement about the optimal starting time. It usually breaks down along the lines of age and geography. Older fans are used to the traditional 1:00 kickoff before television began putting games at all hours of the day on every day of the week. There’s also a good chance you’ll be home at a reasonable hour. Younger fans like night games and the all-day tailgate, but the University administration doesn’t appreciate the condition of campus after those late games.

Fans who live in south Georgia have been very vocal in opposition to later kickoffs, and the athletic department does listen to them. That bloc is probably the reason why Georgia has showed restraint in moving kickoff times, but can you blame them? Unless you shell out for a hotel room, you’re arriving home just a few hours from sunrise.

Personally, I’m still of the age where I appreciate a later start. I’m not going to follow up a 7:45 game with a trip downtown anymore, but there’s nothing wrong with a nice, long tailgate. On the other hand, I’m starting to see how tough it is on families the later a game is. I wouldn’t want to keep up with a gaggle of kids through a day-long tailgate and a game that ends after 11:00. It seems as if CBS has it just right with their 3:30 starts…I’ve rarely seen complaints about games starting in the mid afternoon.

Don’t count on Ole Miss’s change to affect any Georgia start time. We’re stuck with 12:30. We’re not the only ones – Florida’s game against Hawaii is also set for 12:30 (due to TV), and they’ll likely have it even worse than we will.

Oh nooooooooooo…

Is the 5th Quarter show a thing of the past?

At the Atlanta Bulldog Club meeting tonight they talked about a few changes to post-game programming. First will be a shorter segment of 30 minutes or so of the same highlights, coaches’ comments, etc. that we’re used to right after the game. After that there will be a new network-wide call-in show hosted by Eric Zeier and Neil “Hondo” Williamson. (Thanks to Jim from Duluth for filling in the holes in my recollection.) I’d be surprised if any network affiliates would run their own postgame show over that one.

Hey – maybe this will just give the Macho Man and the regular 5th Quarter callers a bigger stage. It just won’t be the same without the local WNGC production and the bar glasses clinking at Applebee’s.

CORRECTION: It looks as if the 5th Quarter show will live on. So, yes, that means there will be two call-in shows going on after the game, but, personally, the 5th Quarter is a tradition for our crew as the day and tailgate winds down. I know where our dial will be set. There should be more details as we get closer to the season.

Media Days got it going last week, and tonight’s Greater Atlanta Bulldog Club meeting is the unofficial start to the season for most of us. We’re less than five weeks to kickoff, practice starts next week, and it’s time to start talking about this season in detail. We’ll start with a reminder of the important dates over the next month:

Greater Atlanta Bulldog Club: July 28
Road Tour in Columbus: July 29
Road Tour in Chattanooga: July 31
Practice begins: August 4
Two-a-days: August 9-15
Tickets mailed: First week in August
Picture Day: August 16 (3-5 p.m., Sanford Stadium)
First college game: August 28 (Thurs.)
Georgia Season Opener: August 30 (12:30 p.m.)

Note: if you’re getting a refund on tickets, they’ll be mailed by July 31. We got ours over the weekend.

The coaches’ preseason selections were announced earlier in the week, and this morning the media named its All-SEC teams.

Georgia had five players on the media’s all-conference teams: Knowshon Moreno and Dannell Ellerbe (first team), and Mohamed Massaquoi, Matthew Stafford, and Asher Allen (second team). Geno Atkins, a second-team selection by the coaches, did not make the media’s list. It’s a little odd that the media announced their All-SEC defenses according to a 3-4 format when the 4-3 is the prevalent alignment in the conference.

LSU had the most All-SEC selections by the coaches, but Auburn led the way among the media with nine players. LSU had eight, and Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina each had five players selected. All five of Florida’s selections were first-teamers.

There were no unanimous first-team selections, though Percy Harvin came close with 68 out of 70 votes. This guy will surely be calling for an investigation after his bold prediction earlier in the week:

What’s the biggest certainty at SEC Media Days? That Tebow will be a unanimous first-team pick at quarterback this week at SEC Media Days….The names of the voters aren’t released, but they do have to put their name on the ballots they submit. No one would risk the embarrassment of being ratted out as the person who omitted Tebow.

Make that six persons, slick.