What's left to work on?

With one week to go before the annual G-Day game which wraps up Georgia’s spring practice, what do the Bulldogs need to figure out for the upcoming season? One important issue that must be resolved is the defensive secondary. Brandon Boykin has graduated while Bacarri Rambo, Sanders Commings and Branden Smith are all not available for at least the season opener. Georgia’s best bet for a pair of starting corners are Malcolm Mitchell, who played wide receiver one year ago and Damian Swann, an incredible athlete that just made the switch to corner before his senior year of high school. The return of Shawn Williams at safety should help but he will be the lone returning starter from one year ago early on in the season. Corey Moore will be needed to make a play or two this season. The next week could also be telling as perhaps Devin Bowman gets some time out there as a player in the secondary. He could earn some playing time with a strong spring game as he certainly has the bloodlines to be successful.

While the running back situation and offensive line question will likely get resolved after the summer, backup quarterback is an issue that could be addressed in the next few days. The coaching staff and Hutson Mason would like to give the sophomore a redshirt season in 2012 to put one year in between Mason and starter Aaron Murray, but would the coaches really feel comfortable if Murray were to go down? Faton Bauta has been impressive during his short time on campus, impressing coaches and those familiar with the program with his work ethic. Christian LeMay will wrap up his second spring practice next Saturday after enrolling early in 2011 and taking a redshirt last year. Coaches are likely hoping that they can get by this year with Murray taking 99% of the snaps and LeMay, Parker Welch and Michael Tamburo taking the other 1% with Mason and Bauta redshirting. Bauta does have some potential as a Tebow-like wildcard which could lead to his finding some playing time.

There are plenty of other areas that need addressing, but those issues likely won’t be solved in the next week. The backup quarterback position and the defensive secondary are two problems that can be fixed.