2012 back could cost Dawgs in 2013

We are approaching the 11-month mark of Derrick Henry’s commitment to the University of Georgia, but whispers are now circulating that the commitment won’t make it to 12 months. Alabama is putting on the proverbial ritz to sway the pledge of the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Florida product that 247sports has listed as the No. 1 athlete prospect in the country. Alabama already has the commitment of Walton (Ga.) High School running Tyren Jones for the 2013 class, but Nick Saban is always looking for stud backs. 

But if Georgia does lose Henry, it won’t be Saban’s fault; instead it will be Todd Gurley’s fault. The incoming freshman chose to come to Athens and join fellow freshman Keith Marshall to compete with Isaiah Crowell for carries this season. While Gurley was viewed by some to be an athlete coming out of high school, one recruiting service had him as a top 15 running back. After a tremendous senior season, Gurley will certainly get plenty of looks in the backfield at Georgia. Marshall has raved about Gurley’s skills, and the Bulldog Nation should be thrilled to have him.

When Henry committed last July, the field was wide open after Isaiah Crowell. Even if just Marshall had come along, Henry probably would have stuck to his commitment. Now that Gurley is in the fold, though, Henry has every right to look around and no one should blame him. He is rated as the top back in the 2013 class and the depth chart looks to be full in Georgia. He could certainly help the Bulldog running game, but if he doesn’t step foot on the Athens campus, it is likely because Todd Gurley decided he wanted to come to play between the hedges. It will be interesting to see how it plays out and whether the second running back from Georgia’s 2012 class cost the Dawgs the No. 1 back from the 2013 class. 

Damian Swann can cover anybody

With several projected starters in the defensive secondary suspended for at least the first two games, the University of Georgia will be plugging in a pair of players with little to no college experience on the defensive side of the ball into the starting lineup against Buffalo and Missouri. Malcolm Mitchell was quite the offensive surprise one year ago for Georgia, racking up 665 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a wide receiver. His reward for a dynamic freshman season was a move to defense. This spring he has been trotted out as a cornerback, a position he played in high school at Valdosta. Mitchell’s speed and 6-foot-1 frame should help him when matching up against some of the Mizzou receivers.

Damian Swann, meanwhile, is a player that started one game last year for Georgia that should slide out to cornerback from safety to make a real impact. Swann was a two-sport star at Grady (Ga.) High School that decided to move from safety to cornerback before his senior season.

Before he made the switch, Swann said “I feel I can cover anybody on the field and that’s going to be an advantage to the team.” Swann made the transition with ease and earned many accolades including a spot in the Army All-American Bowl, where he declared he would be going to Georgia. Now Swann will need to take his swagger and get ready for the likes of Dorial Green-Beckham, one of the top recruits from this past signing class. DGB and Missouri will be amped up for the Tigers’ first SEC conference game and the pressure will be on Swann and company to pull the Bulldogs through. Many people are writing Georgia off in this game due to the suspensions and the road atmosphere, but Georgia should be considered the favorite in that game. Swann was a highly-prized member of the 2011 Dream Team. His confidence and ability earned him playing time one year ago. He believes he can cover anybody on the field.

He’ll need the confidence but don’t be surprised if Georgia’s defensive secondary doesn’t skip a beat without Bacarri Rambo, Brandon Boykin, Sanders Commings and Branden Smith. Mitchell and Swann are simply the next wave of standout athletes that the Georgia coaching staff is working to turn into standout corners. Expect big things from Swann because he expects them from himself.

Richt Helped by Petrino's Ousting

As weird as it sounds, Bobby Petrino’s accident was the best thing to happen to Mark Richt this offseason. True Richt came off of the hotseat with a new contract, but it wasn’t until the Head Hog was let go by Arkansas that Richt’s life got easier in the SEC.

Everyone knows that Nick Saban and Alabama and Les Miles and LSU rule the SEC roost, but there was much debate last year about who the third best team in the conference was. Was it Arkansas, who lost to both LSU and Alabama but who climbed as high as No. 3 during the year? Or was it Georgia, winners of ten straight during the year en route to the SEC East championship.

The debate was raging on over the offseason until the Razorbacks’ year hit a bump in the road, perhaps the same bump that derailed Petrino’s motorcycle. Richt was recently voted by The Sporting News as the fourth-best coach in the SEC, No. 14 in the nation, but you’d think that Georgia would have the nod over Arkansas this year, based on everything that gone on in Fayetteville and with John L. Smith at the helm.

South Carolina also lost a boatload of talent despite having TSN’s best coach in the SEC East, Steve Spurrier on the sidelines. Mark Richt is clearly in control of the best team in the SEC East and now can say the third-best team in the SEC overall. The two top teams will once again battle it out with Georgia awaiting the winner in Atlanta in early December. Petrino’s accident helped Georgia float a little higher in the pecking order. Now the fourteenth-best coach in the game needs to help keep the Dawgs climbing.

Bring it ON

Some people throughout the Bulldog Nation are concerned about early prognostications that have Mark Richt’s team ranked in the top ten. Some polls have the Dawgs ranked as high as No. 6. Georgia has not received this much preseason hype since the Sports Illustrated cover in 2008. Joe Cox’s lone squad was ranked in the middle teens while Aaron Murray’s teams have never received this much preseason love. Many Georgia fans groan when high expectations are placed upon them as they prefer to start somewhere in the 14-20 range and move up, ala 2002, 2005 and 2007. Fly under the radar and move up after the teams ahead of you fall. It happens every year, a team seemingly “comes out of nowhere” to challenge for a BCS bowl. Why couldn’t Georgia be the team that comes out of the shadows to challenge for a big bowl? Many Georgia fans would be happy for this to take place this year. Not me. I like the expectations. I want the Dawgs to be ranked No. 6 preseason, the favorite to take the SEC East and face Alabama or LSU for the SEC title. I want Murray to be up for the Heisman. I want Jarvis Jones to sweep all of the defensive player of the year awards. I want Richt to be up for coach of the year honors. Why bring it on? Because if Georgia is going to be elite like the program strives to be, then Georgia needs to live up to high expectations. When the media puts Alabama near the top of the rankings, Nick Saban doesn’t bat an eye, he goes to work. When USC was preseason No. 1 in the mid-2000s, Pete Carroll ended up hoisting trophies. Bobby Bowden led FSU to championship game after championship game in the late 1990s and early 2000s. And they did it by living up to expectations. If Georgia is to break into Auburn/LSU/Ohio State territory, Georgia must do it by embracing a high ranking and shining in the spotlight. With the team Georgia has this year and the recruiting class Richt is putting together, it could be the start of a golden age for the Bulldogs. Expectations will be high for the next few years. Georgia had better get used to lofty preseason rankings. What better time to start living up to them than this year? Bring it on I say. I am not scared of the bullseye. Let’s hope Richt’s squad isn’t either.