Richt and Johnson Ready to Practice

It's hot out there, but Coach Mark Richt is ready to start practice. And with an opener at Oklahoma State, his guys better match his intensity. Oklahoma State could blow the Dawgs out. Don't think it will happen, but that game is a tough one to have as the first of the season.

Coach Johnson over at Tech is chomping at the bit, too. Should be interesting to see what Tech does. I remember Georgia Southern running well against UGA a few years ago, and I thought then that if Paul Johnson ever got real D-1 talent, he would have a lot of success. I expect Tech to win the ACC this year.

Eager

Back in N.Y., Gaines Back in Rhythm

Sundiata Gaines spent some time in Hot-lanta at the Hawks mini-camp. He was considered a long shot to make the team, and I suppose he will not be offered a contract by the Hawks franchise.

Now Gaines is back in New York, and he went back to the same pro am team with whom he had been playing earlier in the summer. Gaines scored 28 points in his most recent game. Even hit 8 of 10 from the free throw line.

Gaines

Fresh Faces, Fresh Options

Richt says he is going to play all of his skill guys. The freshmen are going to see the field.

That's good news to me. If the guys are ready, let them play. But the bigger issue, more than the total number of guys that play, is the schemes we use with the 11 on the field.

Our offense needs a makeover.

The pro-style offense is good when it works, but stopping Georgia should never be about keying in on one runningback. That was Florida's focus last year on defense. By shadowing Moreno, they for the most part made us one dimensional and shut us down.

Now that we have strength on the offensive line, let's put in new packages. I want to see skill guys going in motion, confusing the defense, stretching the field horizontally and vertically. Let's insert Washaun Ealey at tailback, and let Caleb King take the snap. Go with 5 wideouts. Run the option with Logan Gray, Richard Samuel being the dive-guy, and Carlton Thomas taking the pitch.

With fresh faces, come fresh options for Coach Richt and staff.

KKK and AAU

AAU mom receives letter from the KKK?

Threat

Thompkins Focused on Leadership

Howard Thompkins talks more about the experience representing the U.S. in Auckland.

One interesting part of the article is that Thompkins is optimistic about Georgia's chances this year.

HT

Damien Wilkins Traded

Wilkins, along with guard, Chucky Atkins, has been traded from the Oklahoma Thunder to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Wilkins had his share of the playing minutes reduced this past year, and I figured it was only time before management would make some kind of move. We'll see whether Minnesota keeps Wilkins and his expiring contract.

Damien

Litterial Green Helps Out

Litterial Green assisted former coach Dale Brown with his basketball camp this past week.

Sounds like it was a pretty good event for young hoopsters, with really talented instructors.

Camp

Housekeeping

I cannot see the followers of the Blog at this point. I checked David Hale's site, and apparently his site has the same issue. I am pretty sure that there is some problem with Blogger.

I appreciate those of you who have signed on as followers, and just wanted to let you know that I have not intentionally gotten rid of your pictures.

As another note, remember that you can search on the Blog. Having a searchable database was one of the reasons for starting the Blog. If there is a player in whom you are particularly interested, say, Howard Thompkins, then you can put his name in the search criteria and pull up prior posts on him.

Thanks for being along for the ride.

Robey Commits to Richt

UGA missed on a recent runningback commit, but they were able to snag Nikell Robey, a top cornerback, recently.

Robey is the cousin of Carlton Thomas, a runningback at Georgia who is coming off of a redshirt year. Online Athens gives the details.

Robey