The Case for Hutson Mason

Everyone loves the backup quarterback. Unofficial surveys show that fan bases love QB No. 2, sometimes more than the starting quarterback. These “results” are always based on potential, recruiting rankings or the belief by fans that they know more than the coaches. The other guy should be starting!

At the University of Georgia, Hutson Mason certainly receives plenty of love. A “late bloomer” in the recruiting game, Mason’s recruiting process at Lassiter (Ga.) High School didn’t really take off until his numbers did his senior season. Mason put up video game numbers while leading his high school team to the first region title in school history as well as a spot in the quarterfinals. Suddenly offers from Mississippi State, Indiana and UVA were coming in left and right. When the in-state power UGA finally offered, Mason pledged to the Bulldogs faster than you could say “Sic ‘em.” 

Mason’s first pass as a true freshman came in the 2010 season opener, and it was a 26-yard touchdown. He would appear in four games as a true freshman, backing up Aaron Murray. Last year, Mason once again appeared in four games, including a stretch in the SEC Championship Game. 

Now the debate has turned to whether Mason should redshirt one year to create some separation between himself and Murray. The Georgia starting quarterback hinted that he is considering jumping to the NFL after this season, but most don’t believe the undersized Murray would make that decision. Should Mason redshirt he would watch as Christian LeMay and Faton Bauta moved ahead of him on the depth chart, and with Brice Ramsey committed to Georgia, it would be interesting to see if Mason would truly get the nod in 2014 for one season, ala Joe Cox. 

If I could, I’d like to make the case for Mason. In high school, people knocked his ability, saying he was merely a system quarterback. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Tim Tebow was a system quarterback. Danny Wuerffel was a system quarterback. Cam Newton was a system quarterback. Those three guys seemed to do well in a college system to the tune of a national title and a Heisman trophy. 

Mason can throw it all around the yard with an accurate arm. Mason may not have the cannon of a Matt Stafford, but in Mike Bobo’s offense, you don’t necessarily need a cannon. Hit your targets and move the chains without turning the ball over. It will be hard to unseat Aaron Murray, but consider Murray has thrown 22 interceptions with eight fumbles (three lost) in 27 games with Georgia. People make the case, and they are correct, that he needs to take better care of the ball. Mason has zero interceptions in 47 passes. Mason is also several inches taller than Murray, which could help him absorb some of the hits and see better over the line of scrimmage. 

If the correct system is put around Mason, he could flourish. Many groaned when DJ Shockley took over in 2005 after David Greene’s career came to an end. “Oh we’ve seen him, he isn’t good enough!” But Mark Richt designed an offense to play to Shockley’s strengths and the rest was history. Richt and Bobo couldn’t come up with a system that took advantage of Mason’s strengths? With the talent at receiver Georgia boasts, you would think a pass-happy system with Mason firing at will could work, especially with the question marks at running back. 

But for now, Mason will likely redshirt and let LeMay and potentially Ramsey pass him on the depth chart. Pretty soon, I may be making the argument for either of those two, because, hey, don’t we always love the backup quarterback?

Jurrjens trying to bounce back

Everything appeared to be clicking right along in the career of Braves starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens in July 2011. The righthander was 12-3 and was a strong candidate to be the National League’s All-Star starting pitcher. After Jurrjens was skipped over for the honor it was more than one month before he earned another win for the Braves, and he was shut down for the year after his Aug. 30 start.

  After struggling through spring training, Jurrjens was sent to Class AAA Gwinnett after racking up an 0-2 record with a 9.37 ERA in just four starts. 

“When you struggle, it starts playing a little bit with your mind,” said Jurrjens. “I think most of my problems were a lack of strength in my leg, and it was enabling me to make my delivery over and over and over and that was making me leave a lot of pitches up in the zone and fall behind hitters.”

During his time in Gwinnett, the 26-year-old Jurrjens was able to get his body right and return to his pre-2011 All-Star break form in his fifth year with Atlanta. 

“Going down and working on my full body conditioning and strength ... definitely (helped) being stronger and fix my delivery,” said Jurrjens. “I’ve been trying to work on the small stuff in my delivery and make it more consistent and that’s helped me make more quality pitches.”

Jurrjens has compiled a 50-35 record during his tenure with Atlanta, which could last at least one more season if the Braves’ front office wants to offer arbitration for 2013. He is in his second arbitration-eligible year making $5.5M in 2012. The results have been mixed so far.   

  Jurrjens has pitched just 45 innings, allowing 31 earned runs (34 overall) and 62 hits with just 19 strikeouts compared to 18 walks. He has allowed six home runs, but it has taken this recent hot stretch to whittle his ERA down to 6.20 for the year. Despite giving up eight runs Tuesday, Jurrjens has been back on his game since being recalled from Gwinnett. Before Tuesday, his shortest outing was five innings in a 10-3 win over Chicago on a steamy July 3 appearance. 

“I just take it day by day,” said Jurrjens. “I’m just trying not to get over my head.”

His most recent outing has Braves fans burning up the message boards and radio phone lines, demanding Braves GM Frank Wren make a move for a starting pitcher. However, if Jurrjens can continue to go to the bump every fifth day and pitch like he did in Boston and Philadelphia since returning, perhaps the Braves’ easiest move to place an All-Star caliber starting pitcher at the top of the rotation is simply to juggle the order. Jurrjens is pitching for a spot in the postseason rotation and a contract, either with the Braves or with another contender.

“You still need to win the games before you get to the postseason,” said Jurrjens. “We need to take care of the regular season before we starting thinking about the postseason. I’m just working for every start as hard as I can to prepare myself better to go out there and give my team the best job I can do. Take it day by day.”

If Jurrjens stays healthy down the stretch, expect the Braves to make a run at a pennant, perhaps with Jurrjens leading the way. 

Biggest impact redshirt freshman in 2012

Each February people become enamored with the latest signees who will help put their football team over the top that next season. Interestingly enough, many of these same prospects that excite fans each February seem to drop off their radar if they decide to redshirt their true freshman year in order to bulk up, recover from injury or just take the year to get up to speed with the college game. Fans tend to forget about them and move on to the next hotshot recruit that “should start from Day 1,” something they said about they guys that just finished redshirting.

The recruiting class that Mark Richt brought in on February 2011 was dubbed the “Dream Team,” and while some players such as Isaiah Crowell, Malcolm Mitchell, Watts Dantzler and Chris Conley contributed early, many redshirted to better prepare themselves for their college career. Several of the redshirt freshmen seem poised to make the same impact Michael Bennett and Ken Malcome did one year ago. 

Jay Rome came to Athens with greater hype than Valdosta High School teammate Malcolm Mitchell did, but Rome was redshirted behind Orson Charles and Aron White while Mitchell was a superstar his true freshman season. Watch out for Rome to really make his mark opposite Arthur Lynch in the two-TE sets. At Valdosta he was a true tight end, one that could run down the field but also stay in to block on running plays. Sanford Stadium fans got a chance to see his ability on his long touchdown reception at the spring game. Look for the 6-foot-6, 254-pound tight end to be an animal in the SEC.

Everyone is making a huge fuss over John Theus, and rightly so, but before Theus’ name was bantered about, Zach DeBell was the stud lineman prospect from Florida that everyone was talking about. DeBell is 6-foot-6, close to 300 pounds and was a star in high school. He could challenge for playing time at either of the tackle positions.

Finally, the redshirt freshman that could have the biggest impact in 2012 is wide receiver Justin Scott-Wesley. The former GHSA 100- and 200-meter track champion is just the player to step in at receiver for Mitchell, who is seeing time at cornerback. Scott-Wesley caught three passes for 46 yards during G-Day and could have taken one to the house had the quarterback thrown the pass over the correct shoulder. Scott-Wesley has game-changing speed and actually looks bigger than his 5-foot-11, 218-pound frame suggests. If he can provide the deep threat while Conley, Bennett and Tavarres King haul in everything else, Mike Bobo’s offense won’t miss a beat without Malcolm Mitchell.

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.