The Front 7 Will Shine In 2011

  I will never deny the fact that I am a homer when it comes to the Dawgs, and I have expressed that over and over on my blog. There has been pretty long leave of absence lately because my wife gave birth to our second little girl last spring. But now, it is time to start talking UGABlog in full force once again!
  Most Dawg fans can't help but smile when we think about how greatly improved our front seven will be to start the 2011 season. Yes, we lost Justin Houston, but it appears that Jarvis Jones will be a dang good fit to fill that role. The likes of ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and others have  talked repeatedly about our front 7, so why not get PUMPED up Dawg fans?! Chris Low reported a few of my favorite articles; here's some quotes:

LB Christian Robinson, LB Jarvis Jones, LB Alec Ogletree -- Alabama might have the most intimidating group of linebackers, but Georgia could have the fastest, most athletic. Robinson is the leader in the middle and Ogletree will be a tackling machine alongside him. Jones should help lessen the blow of losing Justin Houston outside and could be a more complete player than Houston. 

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John Jenkins has been a name bandied about by Georgia fans since the end of last football season.By the end of this week, he'll be more than just a name. He'll be a member of the Georgia football team and one of the more important recruits Mark Richt has brought in since coming to Athens as head coach in 2001.
Jenkins, considered one of the top junior college defensive tackles in the country, is on his way to campus and scheduled to begin summer school classes on Friday. The Bulldogs plan to plug the 340-pound Jenkins in at nose guard. He's from the same junior college, Gulf Coast Community College, that produced Terrence Cody, and Georgia is banking on Jenkins having a similar impact as Cody.
While Cody might have been a tad bigger, the book on Jenkins is that he might be a little more athletic.
He also brings the kind of sheer size and power the Bulldogs were missing up front last season. In fact, Kwame Geathers, who's also beefed up to the 350-pound range, improved enough this spring that the Georgia defensive coaches think there's a chance they might be able to play Jenkins and Geathers together.
DeAngelo Tyson, who was undersized at nose guard a year ago, is moving to end in Georgia's 3-4 scheme, and Abry Jones will also play end.
That's four guys right around 300 pounds or bigger up front for the Bulldogs, who should be greatly improved across the board in their front seven on defense.
Of course, if Jenkins is the game-changer the Bulldogs think he is, he's going to make everybody around him look at lot better.

My 3-4 Defense Fear For The Dawgs

Monday morning seems a little bit sweeter than usual today. I got to watch some quality high school football Friday night in the Gainesville versus Buford match-up. As I watched Buford man-handle a quality Gainesville team, I couldn't help but worry about how the Dawgs will implement the 3-4.

Gainesville is in their 3rd year running the 3-4 defense, and Friday night proved that you better have 3 studs on the D-line if you plan to stop a power team like Buford. That, and your coaches better have a plan to adapt to a hardnose running game. I couldn't help but sit in the stands in shock as Gainesville lined up 3 guys on the defensive line of scrimmage with huge 3-5 foot splits, and linebackers that were a good 3-4 yards behind the line. How in the heck any team plans to stop a power running game with that alignment is beyond me. On a positive note, the Freshman quarterback (Deshaun Watson) from Gainesville is going to be a STUD.

How does this relate to the Dawgs you ask? Well, I fear the way our 3-4 is going to perform against a power running team such as Alabama, South Carolina, etc. The good thing is that I have faith in Todd Grantham, and I think he will adapt to the situation or team at hand, unlike the Gainesville coaches did last Friday night.

Go Dawgs!

Biggest Worry For The 2010 Dawgs

Everybody has their opinion of the weak points for this year's Bulldogs. From day one when I learned the news that the Dawgs were switching to a 3-4 defense, I have known that the linebacker positions would be key.

Today I learned that Akeem Dent will be out for the next 4-6 weeks with a toe injury. This news really concerns me since we are already fairly slim at that position. The key is going to be staying healthy from here on out, and hopefully some of these young guys can step in and pull their weight as young backers. Obviously there is a big difference between the inside and outside backer spot, but maybe some switching will be necessary.

Will Richard Samuel make his presence known? Can freshmen step it up? Was UGA right in giving a full ride to the Vasser kid out of Hall County? These are all questions that I can't wait to find out the answer to come this fall!

3-4 Domination Here We Come

I have been a huge fan of football video games since I was about 8 years old and I became obsessed with 10 Yard Fight. 20 years later, I have furthered the obsession and am eager to purchase my 14th straight version of NCAA Football (I have switched from XBox to PS3).

Not until I started coaching high school football did I actually see how much one can learn about the X's & O's of football if you really get serious with modern video football games. They have come a long way, and computer simulations are now surprisingly accurate when mimicking game situations.

Now, I am no fool, and I DO REALIZE that video games are NOT THE REAL THING. That being said, I found some cool 3-4 defensive simulations on Youtube today that get me fired up when I think about the athletes we have learning this system!

GO DAWGS! GATA!

The 3-4, and Why I Hated It...till now!

I often expressed my hatred for the 3-4 defense to fellow coaches when I was a high school football coach. The more I learned about it, the more I hated it. The problem was mainly in the fact that it is so difficult to run a true 3-4 with high school players because of their physical limitations. The other big factor was that most teams in high school rely heavily on the run, and without 3-4 personnel, you will struggle to stop the run unless you abandon the 3-4 for pretty much a 5-2 type defense.

At UGA next season, I feel we do have the right players to make Grantham's style work! The athleticism, size, and strength are all there. The only question that remains is if we can put it all together, and from what I am hearing and seeing this spring...YES WE CAN!

All this being said, I found a pretty interesting and informative article online today that breaks down most aspects of the 3-4 and even converting from a 4-3.

Click here to read the article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/598227/nfl_draft_basics_34_defense.html

Richard Samuel Will Shine

When I thought of writing this post, I knew it was going to be similar to several other posts people would write on Richard Samuel, but maybe I have a little different perspective than all of the others. If you haven't heard, Mark Richt officially announced Wednesday what many knowledgeable fans have hoped for since Samuel signed to play with the Dawgs; #22 is going to make the jump from tailback to linebacker!

Anyone that knew about Samuel coming out of high school was surely aware of the fact that he was a dominating defensive & offensive player while at Cass High. I had the pleasure of scouting against Samuel when he was a senior. When I was coaching football at Gainesville High School, we knew we were going to play either Cass or Carrollton in the first round of the state playoffs, so I watched a ton of film in which Samuel was starring.

Any coach/fan/person could see about 15 minutes into a film involving Cass that Richard Samuel was the heart and soul of that football team. I remember thinking to myself "without that Samuel kid, we would destroy this team". The reason I am so excited about Samuel moving to linebacker is because of all those games I watched with him dominating. Yes, he was an impressive tailback, but his instinct and ability on the defensive side of the ball was unmatched by any linebacker I had seen play that year, and he was maybe even one of the best high school linebackers I have ever seen in person.

I remember the first time I heard that he was going to be playing running back at UGA, and I was a little sad at the loss we would be taking by not having him line up at linebacker. Now, I am not saying he was a bad running back, but at linebacker, I think the guy has the potential to be an All-SEC or even an All-American.

Maybe I am wrong, only time will tell. While you are thinking about this change of position for Samuel, keep in mind that the kid was only 17 when he started playing for the Dawgs. I'm sure his physical maturation will only enhance those God given talents!

Jeff Whitaker Coulda Been A STUD For UGA

Every year or so, I jump on a recruit and boast that the future Dawg will be a stud. I don't have the blogs to prove it (because UGABlog.com is only 1 month old), but I have been pretty darn accurate over the past few years.

I drooled over AJ Green for a year and a half, Knowshon and Stafford before that, and I couldn't wait for Ben Watson back in the day. I'm not always on target, but I think Jeff Whitaker could have been a force in Coach Grantham's 3-4 scheme in a year or two.

Whitaker is not only a perfect physical fit, but he seems to really have his head on his shoulders too. Give it some time, and defenses across the SEC will be figuring out how they are going to double team him every time they try to run between the tackles!

Say it ain't so Jeffrey!!!!!!!!!
He chose Auburn..