College Football 2011: 5 Georgia Bulldogs Who Will Have Big G-Day Games
Saturday, April 16th marks the University of Georgia's annual spring football game. With the departure of many key players either opting out of their last year of eligibility and entering the NFL draft or leaving due to graduation, the team is looking for returning players to step up and fill these holes.
These five players should have great G-Day games, providing excitement for the fanbase and carrying momentum into the fall.
This G-Day game employs a new way of determining the players on each team:
- Each team captain will partake in a draft, alternating picks until each team is full.
- Aaron Murray and Brandon Boykin are captains for the Black team, and Ben Jones and Christian Robinson are the captains of the Red team.
5. Shawn Williams
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By the end of the 2010-2011 season, junior safety Shawn Williams cemented himself as a viable option for the starting lineup.
The safety position has traditionally been a strong point for the Bulldog defense, and with the position change of highly touted freshman Alec Ogletree, moving from safety to linebacker, someone is going to have to step up in the fall.
The two candidates are JUCO transfer Jakar Hamilton and Shawn Williams. Both have shown great signs of maturity thus far this spring and are competing for the starting job.
Currently Williams is the only safety on the roster that is not nursing an injury. Williams will need to continue to build off his 2010 campaign and his strong spring if the Bulldogs want to make strides on the defensive side of the ball. Expect Williams to record close to seven tackles and one interception.
PS: Williams was the first overall pick by Black team captains Aaron Murray and Brandon Boykin in the G-Day draft.
4. Alec Ogletree
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In the 2010 recruiting class for the Dawgs, Alec Ogletree was the top-rated recruit that UGA landed. Alec came into the fall 2010 season as a safety, but shortly after the season concluded defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and the rest of the coaching staff opted to move him to inside linebacker.
This change was due to a couple of reasons.
First, and possibly the biggest reason for the change, was that if Ogletree had the option to fill out his 6'3" frame, he would be the ideal size for a linebacker (6'3" and 240 lbs.). Now he has the ability to fill out, and reports allegedly claim that he has gained this weight and has not missed a step out on the field.
Aside from this, the linebacker position was one of the positions that took the biggest hit from departing players. Graduates Akeem Dent and Darryl Gamble were pivotal for the Dawgs in 2010, so expect Ogletree to have a big spring game, recording eight tackles and forcing one fumble.
3. Michael Bennett
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Wide receiver is another position that took a hit for the Dawgs. A.J. Green opted to forgo his senior year for the NFL draft, where he is projected in some mock drafts to be the No. 1 overall draft pick, and No. 2 receiver Kris Durham graduated, so the receiving corps is relatively thin.
Standing 6'3" tall and weighing close to 215 pounds, Bennett has the potential to be a huge asset for the Dawgs. He first turned heads playing on the scout team during the 2010 season, receiving high praise from coaches and fellow receivers, including Green and Durham.
This spring, Murray has given him high praise, stating he has some of the best hands on the team, making a couple of acrobatic catches this spring.
Bennett has posted nice statistics so far this spring in scrimmages, and many credit his success to his great route-running and hard work in the weight room. Look for Bennett to break loose for a touchdown during the game this Saturday.
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2. Jarvis Jones
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Jarvis Jones has one of the most intriguing stories of anyone currently playing collegiate sports. Jarvis, an Under Armour All-American in high school, committed to the University of Southern California. At USC, he started the first eight games as a sophomore but then injured his neck. He was forced to sit out the rest of the year and was not cleared for spring ball.
Jones then proceeded to file transfer papers to a team that would medically clear him, thus transferring to the University of Georgia.
He was redshirted last year and is going to play a pivotal role for the Bulldog defense in 2011, replacing potential first-round draft pick Justin Houston. Jones is projected to start in the fall as an outside linebacker in the second year of the 3-4 scheme. Expect him to record seven tackles and at least one sack in the spring game.
1. Aaron Murray
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Murray's redshirt freshman campaign, in many people's eyes, could not have gone much smoother. Let's take a look at Murray's stats for the 2010 season:
61.1 completion percentage
24 passing touchdowns
Eight interceptions
Four rushing touchdowns
These statistics would be considered great by any quarterback, let alone a freshman quarterback. Many analysts regard Murray as a potential Heisman candidate in the 2011 season. Murray has the potential to be the best quarterback in the SEC and one of the top quarterbacks in all of America, potentially leading the Bulldogs back to a BCS bowl game.
Look for Murray to throw for well over 200 yards and two touchdowns in the G-Day game.
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