Georgia Football 2012: What You Need to Know About Bulldogs Special Teams Unit

 Georgia was solid on offense and even better on defense in 2011.

But the special teams for the Bulldogs was in a league of their own, and not in a good way. 

If there was a glaring weakness for the Bulldogs last season, it would be their kickoff and punt coverage, as they were ranked 112th and 88th respectively.

Both units also gave up two touchdowns each, which is the most for any Georgia team coached by Mark Richt in one season.

But with more focus on kick coverage during summer camp and the addition of new kicker, punter and return specialist, the special teams for the Bulldogs have a chance to be much improved from last year.

Here's what you need to know about the special teams unit this season.

No Pressure for Marshall Morgan

Odds are that Marshall Morgan will be the starting kicker when the season begins and odds are he won't have very high expectations.

The reason is Blair Walsh, who was one of the better kickers in SEC history, missed a school record 14 field goals including a costly one in the Outback Bowl against Michigan State, which cost the Bulldogs the game.

Morgan is a very accurate kicker who is strong enough to hit a 50-yarder if needed. He also has the ability to punt in case of an emergency.

Photo Credit: Scout.com

A Little More Pressure for Colin Barber

While Morgan won't be expected to be the savior for special teams, Colin Barber will have some tough shoes to fill as Drew Butler was arguably the best punter in Bulldogs history.

The funny thing is when Mark Richt discovered Barber, he thought he was Drew Butler at first glance because they kick the same way.

Unlike Butler, Barber has a chance to be used as an emergency field goal kicker, because he hit a 54-yarder when he was in high school.

Photo Credit: Natesdawgs.com

Who Will Return Kicks?

With Brandon Boykin gone, Branden Smith looks like the candidate to return kicks and punts for the Bulldogs this season.

However, Smith is suspended for the first game of the season, and when he comes back he may not doing any type of special teams because the depth at secondary is razor thin.

While Brandon Harton has some experience returning kicks, they can also use some one like Justin Scott-Wesley or Malcolm Mitchell if they are looking for more explosion.

The most reasonable choice would be Blake Tibbs, who specialized in returning kicks in high school.

Got to Cover Kicks

As mentioned earlier, the Bulldogs have to do a better job of returning kickoff and punts.

It cost them in the SEC Championship game against LSU, it nearly cost them in the game against Vanderbilt and they had their share of issues with kick coverage against Florida.

What has to happen is Richt needs to have the best 11 cover guys on the field, no matter if the player is a starter or not.

If they are not going to hire a special teams coach, they are going to have to think outside the box and having starters play more special teams is a start.

2012 Projection

The special teams for the Bulldogs will have a bounce back year.

They will not be the best unit in the SEC, but because they have nowhere to go but up, they will be better than last season.

Morgan and Barber will be solid and Branden Smith has the speed to be a very special return man. He should have a huge year if he plays there full-time. 

But the reason the special teams will be better is the fact the Bulldogs know they need to be in order to take that next step. If they don't make the necessary changes, they won't go any further than they did last year.