The Georgia Bulldogs should simply reload in ‘06

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, March 02, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Georgia Bulldogs
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University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt is probably relieved, as well as excited, that spring football will be starting in Athens on Saturday.

It may stop Georgia fans from talking about a recent revelation that some of the security guards at Sanford Stadium last fall turned out to be mental patients from a nearby unlicensed facility. Or about the head coach's January contract extension -- $2 million a year for eight years.

Not that Richt hasn't earned a raise. Since he arrived in 2002, the Bulldogs have won 44 games and two Southeastern Conference titles. And as this spring demonstrates, the program has become one of those that reloads rather than rebuilds.

Last season, the Georgia Bulldogs lost two games by a total of five points, captured the SEC title with a convincing 34-14 victory over LSU, then suffered a 38-35 upset at the hands of a surprisingly-potent West Virginia squad in the Sugar Bowl.

Seven offensive and six defensive starters have graduated from that team. Yet Richt believes in playing his backups as much as possible, and so there is plenty of experience to shuffle in.

"Our players and coaches believe that we'll be challenging for the (SEC) title every year," Richt said. "That's the goal."

And 2006 appears to be no different. The biggest offensive loss was QB D.J. Shockley - MVP of the SEC title game - but the spring will feature an intriguing two-way battle between veteran Joe Tereshinski III (son of a Bulldog coach) and freshman Matthew Stafford, who enrolled early for spring drills (perhaps so that his sister Page, also an UGA student, could show him around).

The 6-3, 225-pound Stafford threw for 4,018 yards and 38 touchdowns for Class AAAA Dallas Highland Park last fall, ranking him as one of the nation's top three prep passers. Still, Tereshinski warmed the hearts of Bulldog fans with his courageous performance in relief of Shockley in the University of Florida game -- a challenge he didn't win, but didn't back down from, even catching a touchdown pass on a razzle-dazzle play.

Stafford arguably has more natural ability, Tereshinski more experience -- the classic coaches' dilemma.

Elsewhere on offense, the 'Dogs return their productive three-headed running back -- Thomas Brown, Danny Ware and Kregg Lumpkin, who split the position in 2005 and produced 1,500 rushing yards. Meanwhile, wide receiver Mohammed Massaquoi (from the same Charlotte, NC high school that produced Florida QB Chris Leak) should be one of the nation's best as a sophomore and Martrez Milner was a productive backup (14 catches, 291 yards, 2 TD's) for Leonard Pope at tight end.

Only two starters return on the offensive line, and one of them -- Nick Jones -- is being moved from guard to center. The anchor and leader will be 6-7, 319-pound tackle Daniel Inman.

The defense will be led by DE Quentin Moses, an All-America candidate who managed 11.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss in 2005, and LB Jarvis Jackson, the team's leading tackler last season.

Question marks will include the defensive interior, from which three starters departed, and the secondary, now led by undersized (5-11, 176) but tough (71 tackles) Tre Battle.

If they can overcome those alleged weaknesses, the Georgia Bulldogs should be poised to compete for the SEC crown yet again.
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