Spring Practice Update 3/28

It’s about halfway through spring practice, so let’s revisit what has happened so far:

Offense

Stafford continues to amaze everybody. I notice Coach Richt is starting to temper his praise, but you can tell he’s excited about #7. Coach Richt had that same enthusiasm for DJ Shockley, he just didn’t hide it because so many moronic fans were worried about how DJ would do.

While Thomas Brown sits on the sidelines rehabbing his knee, Kregg Lumpkin and Knowshon Moreno are turning heads. We all tend to forget about Lumpkin, but his blocking skills are those of a senior and Moreno’s are those of a freshman. Still Moreno is very aware he needs to improve that part of his game.

There’s some buzz about the new fullbacks, Shawn Chapas and Fred Munzenmaier. With all due respect to Jason Johnson, who is 5’9” and 203 lbs, Shawn and Fred are more the size and power of Brannan Southerland, who oh-by-the-way is still a junior.

Sean Bailey is back and doing everything we thought he could. But before you get excited about Mikey Henderson (who’s only slightly bigger than my twelve year old daughter), remember that there was a lot of talk about him this time last year. And in 2006 he had seven catches for 44 yards. I know it’s been a year since he converted, but it will be difficult for me to believe that AJ Bryant won’t put up better numbers this year.

Tripp Chandler is the only one making strides at tight end, but they all somewhat injured. At least he is making strides.

The O-line looks like Sturdivant/C. Davis/ Velasco/Haverkamp/Adams. Obviously that could change a few more times, as Coach Stacy Searels is really pushing those guys. Coach Richt is no longer calling Fernando Velasco “Bubba”. He originally called him “Bubba” because you can’t call a guy who is 6’4” and 330 lbs ‘Fernando’. He said he changed his mind because Velasco has become quite a leader. And he has been getting daily praise from Coach Richt. I wish Chester “Cheese” Adams would get some praise. It would be nice to hear things like, “Cheese was ON today”, or “we got great effort from Cheese today”. One more note on the line. 17 year old freshman OL Tanner Strickland was busted for having a fake ID, part of a larger sting. He won’t be suspended, but Coach will make him run until he pukes. Then he’ll run some more.

Defense

As to the DE’s, I hear different names pop up from time to time, but the one name I hear over and over is Marcus Howard. Howard is 220 lbs and very undersized for an end, but apparently he gets after it. I guess I like it because it will make all the freshman work that much harder to get in the line up.

Kade Weston and Jeff Owens still own the DT starting jobs, but Geno Atkins is making a move and Brandon Wood has moved to tackle from the end.

The move-Brandon Miller-to-MLB project has been a success so far. It looks like he has found his spot. He has also taken on some leadership. And we were all so excited about the incoming speedy LB’s (Dent/Hebron/Dewberry) that we forgot about Dannell Ellerbe. Ellerbe has kept his nose clean and is making his presence known. We could conceivably have Dewberry/Miller/Ellerbe as the starters and none of them would be new. So I’m not going to worry about the linebackers any more.

Cornerbacks. Paul Oliver. Bryan Evans. Enough said.

While Kelin Johnson and CJ Byrd will probably start at safety, Quintin Banks and Reshad Jones are learning and learning. They have the physical skills, but when you add the knowledge – look out.

Special teams

Brandon Coutu. Kicker. Period.

Brian Mimbs won’t have any competition (though Coutu was punting some) until Drew Butler gets there in the fall, so I hope he’s staying sharp.

The offensive line and the defensive ends are still the biggest question marks. But with the way Coach Searels has plunged into his new OL job, there’s reason to hope that we won’t have a repeat of 2003 (47 sacks). And the defensive ends may prove to be a deeper bunch, if not a more talented bunch than last year.