HOT READS: WARM UPS ARE OVER

HOT READS: WARM UPS ARE OVER

Competition is vital. In the game of football, competition between players is an absolute must. It must be whole hearted and fierce, driven by a burning desire that cannot be doused by the self-doubt of benchwarmer reasoning. After the challenge, what is left is only the very best a group has to offer, but there really are no losers. No. The right to play has been won and as a result, the second option has been proven worthy of the right to join the winner in that great, common challenge that lies ahead.

Coach Richt as made it clear that competition and effort among this year’s DAWGS has not been lacking. The latest word from the practice fields only serves to validate that statement. Offensive line coach Will Friend has already issued a battlefield promotion to freshman David Andrews, moving the first year player up to the back-up role at center. If Andrews continues to progress, this should bode very well for the future.

Competition shows you who your “players” are, regardless of class. One thing that has apparently become abundantly clear over the first few days is there is a lot of athleticism on the practice fields, especially in this freshman class. Secondary coach Scott Lakatos raved about the physical talents of the new defensive backs and it seems the staff intends to find a spot for them saying, “We’ll put them out there and let them play.” This leads me to believe that several of these guys will get every chance to play immediately on special teams and possibly more. I say that’s a good thing.

I’m really feeling the attitude that I hear coming from the coaches too. When asked about his short numbers on the O-line, Friend said “All you need is five, nobody’s fretting.” That’s right. Man ‘em up, coach. Let’s play.

Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham has a singular target for his men: WIN. When asked for five goals for this year’s defensive unit, Grantham only offered one. WIN. Every situation. Every one on one battle. Every drill. WIN. I hear ya, coach! Keep it simple. Grantham went on to say, “If you’re on our team and play defense, you have to know how to compete.”

You have to compete to have any chance to win. Once you’ve won enough battles to earn the right to step out and compete again, on Saturdays between the hedges with that G on the side of your helmet, then you will know that you are ready to take on all comers.

It appears that Kwame Geathers is down for the challenge. Big John Jenkins is on campus and competing hard, but Geathers has met every advance so far. Jenkins will have an impact on the field this year for the DAWGS, but at this point Jenkins is “…a very talented big man that’s very inconsistent,” coach Rodney Garner said. “He’s going to have to improve his fundamentals to play at this level.” Two anchors in the center of a defensive line, rotating to assure that they will always have a little bounce in their step. Yes, please.

Running backs coach Bryan McClendon is making me feel better and better every time I hear him talk about Isaiah Crowell.

“It’s easy for him, but the great thing that you see with him is you see a guy that doesn’t necessarily accept that ‘Hey, I’ve been doing this good so far.’ He’s constantly working, constantly trying to get better so that’s very encouraging.” McClendon continued, “He’s doing a good job of studying. He’s doing a good job of learning it. That stuff comes pretty quick to him. And that happens when you have a guy that, one, wants to be as good as he wants to be; and, two, is serious about football. Football is serious to that kid.”

That is exactly the type of focus and dedication it will take for Crowell to meet his own goals and lift his team to meet the expectations and hopes of the DAWG Nation.

Four practices down and the warm ups are over. It’s time to hook it up and get after somebody. I can’t wait to get the reports from the first practice in full pads and then the first scrimmage later this week. Just like Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo said, “I want to see who will strike somebody, who won’t flinch. That’s the biggest thing.”

Glory, Glory.

KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR GRANTHAM’S D: CORNERBACK

Georgia’s had one, everybody wants one and anyone that tells you they don’t is a liar. I’m talking about that unique and rare species known as…the lock down corner.

They are game changers, swagger-oozing dominators and impact players that can shut a player down, blow up game plans and take away one half of the football field.

I’m a life long RAIDERS fan, so I guess it’s no surprise I am so enamored with the in-your-face and aggressive style that a shut down corner brings. Mike Haynes, Willie Brown and Lester Hayes…game changers all. There are a few in the NFL today…NNamdi Asomugha, our very own former DAWG Champ Bailey and the man currently dominating the New York media, Darrelle Rivas and there have been some others in the NFL’s recent past like the poster boy for the term Deion Sanders and Darrell Green. But moreover, I am a fan of what having a dominant cornerback as part of your defensive 11 allows you to do as a defense. Knowing that a player of that caliber is patrolling the secondary gives you the freedom to bring that extra pressure and speed up the clock in the opposing quarterback’s head on every play. You can take more chances, disrupt the offense and that commonly leads to more big plays on defense and more turnovers.

Coach Grantham has brought his version of the 34 defense to the University of Georgia for the 2010 season and we in the DAWG Nation can’t wait to see the results. Grantham has been teasingly verbose about how aggressive we can expect to see his defense play this fall, promising an attacking style that he hopes opposing offenses won’t soon forget. In my view, the only way this vision of the DAWGS defense can become reality is if the players lining up at cornerback are up to the task.

I am not suggesting that there is a lock down corner on the roster, but I’m not saying there is not either. I don’t believe that the players currently at UGA at that position were asked to lock up in man coverage that often in the previous defensive scheme, so I don’t think it’s fair to say who will and who will not be up to the challenge.

Brandon Boykin appears to be a lock to start at one corner and now that Branden Smith is back in the fold, along with Vance Cuff, the DAWGS possess the athletes to have the fastest pair of starting cornerbacks in the nation and speed is the first ingredient when building a lock down cornerback, so there is the possibility that Georgia could develop at least one player to that lofty status. However, there is so much more that is required for a player to be considered a shut down type cornerback….instincts, aggression, hands, technique and conditioning. Whatever raw talent there is to work with on that unit, it falls to Coach Scott Lakatos, the rest of the defensive staff as well as the strength and conditioning coaches to help a player reach his full potential. With Jordan Love, Sanders Commings and true freshman Derek Owens also drawing praise during fall camp, the DAWGS edges appear to be in good shape heading into the season.

The bottom line is that if the DAWGS are going to have the level of success on defense that we all hope they will have, the cornerbacks will have to sparkle in the harsh glare of the bright lights of the Southeastern Conference.

Do the young men lining up at cornerback for Georgia have to be lock down corners? No, they do not, but they will have to be able to square off one-on-one out there on that island and rise to the challenge several times during the course of a game if that “junkyard dawgs” defense that we all want so badly to see is to return to Athens.

Glory, Glory.