Under the radar.
That’s how Georgia head coach Mark Richt described his team at SEC Media Days last week in Birmingham. Heading into the 2007 season, the Bulldogs are a little bit of a mystery. Quick! Name four Bulldogs on this year’s roster! Can’t do it? Neither can I. Richt will have his hands full with a young team that returns just three starters on defense and seven on offense.
At quarterback, Georgia returns sophomore Matthew Stafford, the winner of last year’s quarterback carousel. There’s no question Stafford matured as the year went on last season but his numbers are still troubling. The first true freshman to start at quarterback at Georgia since Eric Zeier completed just 52.7 percent of his passes while throwing twice as many picks as TDs (13-7) and struggled at times with his touch and accuracy. Stafford will need to learn to play within himself, as he did toward the end of last season. If Stafford is to be successful, he’ll need some weapons at wide receiver — weapons he doesn’t currently have. Stafford, Richt and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo will need some playmakers to emerge from a pack of underachieving wide receivers that include Mohamed Massaquoi, Sean Bailey, Mikey Henderson, A.J. Bryant and Demiko Goodman. The Georgia ground game should be solid as senior Kregg Lumpkin and much-hyped redshirt freshman Knowshon Mereno (ESPN.com’s SEC Newcomer of the Year in the spring) will split time in the back field.
Of the seven early enrollees on campus this spring, five of them are offensive lineman. Seniors Fernando Velasco and Chester Adams will anchor an offensive line that looks like it will feature three lineman who will be playing in their first collegiate game when the Bulldogs play Oklahoma State on Sept. 1. The line will need to mature in a hurry if this offense is to be effective.
Willie Martinez’s defense returns just three starters, having lost six of his front seven, including all three starting linebackers. Thankfully, the defensive backfield looks like it will be a fast, ball-hawking unit that may be able to make up for some of the mishaps up front. There are certainly no superstars on this unit.
I don’t think anyone really knows what to make of this team. Certainly the return of Matthew Stafford, Kregg Lumpkin and the emergency of Knowshon Moreno certainly makes the offense intriguing but the loss of 8 defensive starters has to make even the most faithful Bulldog fan concerned.
Bottom Line Prediction: 9-3. This could very well be the most underrated nine-win team in college football this year. I see the Dawgs dropping their road contests at Alabama, at Tennessee and their annual tilt against the Gators in Jacksonville. But their nine wins are certainly volatile. If they go on a slide like they did last year, they could easily be a seven-win team especially given their games at home against Auburn and South Carolina.
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