After The Loss Of Stafford and Moreno, Who Will Pick Up The Pieces?

As the Georgia Bulldawg Football team officially reports to campus this week they will obviously be missing two key players that carried the load last year.

The day Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno declared for the NFL Draft was certainly a dark day for UGA fans, coaches, and fellow teammates. They all knew it certainly was not going to be easy next year without their two stars. Being a UGA fan myself it certainly was a tough pill to swallow.

But, that being said the I do believe ranked at 13th this year in the pre-season polls that they could surprise some people.

The question is who is going to pick up where Stafford and Moreno left off. 

Obviously there is not any Knowshon Moreno that we no of at least, hiding on UGA's depth chart, but Redshirt Sophmore Caleb King can certainly get the job done. An excellent back up to Knowshon, he definitely showed signs of being a potential starter this year after last year coming off the bench to give Moreno a break occasionally. Rushing for 278 yards on 61 carries he didn't blow people away but when he was in he showed what he could do. At 5"11 210 pounds he is nearly the same size Knowshon was a year ago, the question is does he have the same speed, agility, and strength that Moreno has. We will have to wait and see. 

Then of course there is that quarterback position, again like Moreno, Matt Stafford is a tough act to follow. But being a senior backing up Stafford for two years I think Joe Cox is up to the challenge. Filling in for Stafford at the end of games he like Caleb King showed signs of potential. Cox played in 3 games last year and threw for 2 touchdowns and 151 yards and didn't throw any interceptions. Cox without a doubt does not have the arm strength that Stafford has, I 'm not sure many players did, so that should be the least of Cox's worries. What he needs to focus on is winning games and beating the Gators most importantly, but that's besides the point. His most important care right now should be Oklahoma State that will be the biggest test yet for Joe Cox in his career. 

But of course those aren't the only two players that need to step up, there are definitely a few more players that will make an impact for the Dawgs this year. By far the best player or at least the most athletic on the team is AJ Green the 6"4 207 pound true sophmore phenom will hopefully have just as successful a year if not more than last year. With 56 catches for 963 yards the biggest target Cox has and one of the best in the red zone will certainly have an impact this year. Michael Moore will be the next best target for Cox this year. 

Defensively UGA is always stout and always one of the top in the SEC. This year i have my eye on two guys in particular on the defensive side of the football. Reshad Jones the 6"2 212 pounds redshirt Junior Safety had 5 picks and 76 tackles this year. He should definitely give opposing quarterbacks fits this season. Lastly Junior Linebacker, 5"11 222 pounds, Rennie Curran the teams leader in tackles last year should be called upon to stop opposing running games. 

Overall UGA looks good coming into camp this week, but there is always room for improvement. But come September 5th in Stillwater I believe they will be ready to take on Mike Gundy and his Oklahoma State Cowboys. 

GO DAWGS!