University of Georgia FB: Aaron Murray, A.J. Green, and Others Impress

The preparation for the home game against Louisiana-Lafayette on September 4th begins now.

The University of Georgia Bulldogs had their first scrimmage session of the still-young college football season this Tuesday. 

As Aaron Murray, A.J. Green, Washaun Ealey, and others took the practice field, head coach Mark Richt watched intently from the sidelines. They eagerly took notes to see who impressed in this first major form of competition.

While the first team slaughtered the second team, as should be expected, Richt was quoted as saying "that's what you want to see, and our number two offense and defense were competing out there. It was a hot, humid day, probably the hottest and most humid of all our practices so far." 

In light of the preseason No. 21 ranking that UGA received, fans should take comfort in the performances of many players. 

A.J. Green dominated the competition, as did many others who fans would have expected to.

Read on to see just how well the Bulldogs' offensive stars did in the first scrimmage of the season.

A.J. Green

After being placed on the 2010 Maxwell Award Watch List, AJ Green went right out to the first scrimmage of the year and began to validate his selection. 

The Maxwell Award goes out annually to the most outstanding collegiate football player and has only been won once by a UGA player, Herschel Walker in 1982.

If Green continues what he just began in what many expect to be his final season in red and black, he just may end up holding the hardware at the end of the year. 

Prompting Richt to say "when in doubt, throw it to No. 8," Green reeled in five catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

The touchdowns weren't just dink and dunk passes into the endzones, they were long plays of 63 yards and 50 yards. 

And no, Green wasn't flagged for excessive celebration penalties after the scores. 

Aaron Murray

The hopes for the Bulldogs' season rest squarely on the right arm of redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray. 

Highly recruited, the product from the state of Florida passed the first test on Tuesday.

Murray completed 12-21 passes for 237 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception that Richt didn't think was a wise decision. The touchdowns were both to star wideout Green, starting a trend that Dawgs fans hope will continue throughout the season. 

After the scrimmage, Murray told reporters "I know I have to continue to work hard, watch film and improve. Today, I felt comfortable in the pocket, I trust the line, and I had time to throw. From watching film, I know I can trust the guys up front, and I don't have to rush and can look down field. I did force a couple throws today trying to make plays, and I will learn from that."

He then cracked a grin and happily explained that he likes throwing to Green.

His coach agreed with Murray's self assessment: "He has a very good command of the system, he was getting us in the right plays, and overall, he's done well. . . He knows he doesn't have to be a hero, and it's all right to throw it out of bounds some times."

Hutson Mason

The true freshman from Lassiter High School impressed in his first live action.

Now that Zach Mettenberger has been booted from the team, Mason is going to be thrust into the backup role and not redshirted. 

He began to prove that the jump from the Georgia high school level to the SEC level is manageable after all. 

Mason, while only completing 9-23 passes, did throw for 78 yards and one touchdown. He also avoided turning the ball over to the defense, a very encouraging sign. 

Washaun Ealey

Washuan Ealey really turned on the jets at the end of the 2009-2010 season. He rushed for 183 yards against arch-rival Georgia Tech and averaged 105 yards a game over the final five contests of the season.

Joining Green on the 2010 Maxwell Award Watch List, Ealey's success in the late goings is expected to carry over into this season. 

In the first scrimmage, Ealey averaged 13.2 yards per carry as he totaled 66 yards on just five attempts. 

As the preseason favorite to be the primary ballcarrier on the Georgia team, the Bulldogs both expect and hope to see this carry over into the real games.

Caleb King

The other back in the Bulldog's potent backfield duo is Caleb King.

Now finally healthy after missing three games due to injury last season, King is eager to pick up where he left off. 

In the Tuesday scrimmage, King carried the ball 14 times for 63 yards. Although he received almost three times as many carries as Ealey, running back coach Bryan McClendon said that the difference in carries was purely incidental and a result of how the plays were called.

After the scrimmage, McClendon talked about the competition between King and Ealey.

"I think it’s a very healthy competition," he said. "Those guys compete at everything They can come out here and try to throw something away, and they’ll say, ‘Hey, mine went in cleaner than yours.’

“I think it’s healthy. I think they enjoy it. . . . I don’t think it has split a wedge in anything. In actuality, I think it has grown our room closer together."