2011 Georgia Bulldogs: Why I am Optimistic About the Dream Team

I cannot help myself. I have very strong feelings for this incoming class.

Why you might ask? Easy. This class filled almost all of the important holes.

For one thing, UGA has not had a consistent tailback since Knowshon Moreno, so Isaiah Crowell should fill that gap. Justin Houston, Georgia's leading DE left for the NFL Draft, but Ray Drew can step in.

UGA needed a nose guard and got John Jenkins. Now how do you replace A.J. Green? Obviously, his athleticism cannot be replicated by many, but Malcolm Mitchell should be a good enough replacement in the future.

There are other great additions to the team, including TE Jay Rome, that should help return UGA back to the SEC Championship game.

Now I cannot predict how these players will turn out further on in their career, so I can only hope. Thankfully this hope has a basis. The class was in the top 10 from all large sport organizations such as ESPN, Scouts and Rivals.

Mark Richt himself called it his best recruiting class. Although Richt's reputation has been tarnished in the past three years, he is still the dean of the SEC and knows a lot about recruiting.

Another thing that has me optimistic is the fact that the Dream Team is mostly made up of players from the state of Georgia.

I personally tend to be biased towards the Southeast, and with good reason. The South has always produced great players and great teams. Recruiting players from the area can help your cause, especially when they are highly touted.

The Dawgs' mission this past recruiting year was to focus on getting the best players from within the state, which they mostly accomplished. Many great players from the state have slipped through UGA's hands, which is something that should not happen. But now this past year Georgia got most of the top recruits from within the state. This is a big success.

Now about the coaching: Yes I do realize that Richt and company have not done the best job at squeezing all of the talent out a player, but I would not worry too much about that problem this year.

Richt has new vigor and is going to give more time to studying the game. Hopefully this shouldn't be too little too late, but we shall find out. Todd Grantham did a fine job in his first year, and this season I expect the defense will be even better. They tackled and performed much better from the previous year under Willie Martinez.

Bobo is a capable coach who coached the offense last year to eight straight 30+ point games. And this was with a freshman quarterback and some suspensions. This may or may not be Richt's last year at Georgia, but I believe he will coach with more passion and want.

Overall, I believe the Dream Team will live up to its name and make UGA a factor in the SEC again.