Working through these position groups I’m constantly struck by the depth we have at several spots, most spots for that matter. Well, WR might have the most depth of any position on the team, and that’s really saying something. At this point I think LB probably takes it, but WR ain’t far behind.

The likely starters at WR are seniors Mohamed Massaqoui (Munson’s favorite last name…Mass-a-kwa!) and Kenneth Harris who has emerged from Fall practices as a solid option. After his solid freshman year and somewhat ragged sophomore campaign, Massaqoui bounced back last year with a solid effort, making some key big plays. While he’s not really a pure deep threat, he’s nevertheless developed into a consistent option and seems to have a connection with Stafford. Opposite him will be Harris, a larger, more physical WR who hasn’t yet seen big results born out on the field. He certainly doesn’t have the deep speed of the guy he’ll be replacing (Sean Bailey) but he does bring significant size and decent athleticism.

Behind those two experienced starters will be a large field of potential contributors, each bringing their own particular skills or talents to the table. Kris Durham is currently listed behind Harris on the depth chart. Given his status as the lone white receiver on the team, he’s pretty much assumed to be the “possession” receiver who doesn’t have deep speed. Actually Durham has pretty solid speed and presents a great target at 6-5. He’s still lanky but has made great strides at filling his frame out. On the other side is the phenom, freshman AJ Green. Green is a freakish blend of size, speed and hands but his best trait might very well be his coachability and willingness to practice hard. Normally I’d be worried about a true freshman taking over a spot this high on the depth chart this early but Richt’s comments about him have been very straightforward and eye-opening. I fully expect him to have a big year. He doesn’t have Randy Moss level speed (who debut he does possess incredible body control for a receiver his size and could emerge as a true stretch the field type deep threat, which, coupled with an arm like Stafford and a ground game with the likes of Moreno, is a welcome addition.

The depth chart kinda loses form around there, with several different players legitimately vying for PT. Tony Wilson brings speed and some shiftiness to the game. He’s struggled with injuries but looked ready to break out last year during the Vandy game. Mike Moore had a breakout G-Day but in two non-redshirt years has yet to really make an impact. Could this be the year? Israel Troupe dodged an injury bullet earlier to his arm and after a redshirt year is ready to add his speed and overall athleticism to the mix. Walter Hill was ready as a more dynamic Kenneth Harris but is out with an injury for a few weeks and is missing key reps in the meantime. “Other” freshman Tavares King hasn’t received near the hype of Green but is a special player in his own right. He compares very favorably to Sean Bailey in terms of size and skillset. The somewhat forgotten man of the group is senior Demiko Goodman who has off and on battled injuries his whole career. At times over the past few years he has emerged for 1-2 game stretches as a #1 receiver type talent. If he can bring that talent consistently this group becomes scary deep indeed.

At TE we’ve got a 5th year senior stud in Tripp Chandler. After a rough outing in Tuscaloosa, Chandler really came through the rest of the season and with defenses keying on other parts of our O, Tripp could have a big year. Very big. Behind him is the blocking machine that is Bruce Figgins. He’s the prototype blocking TE and he showed off some decent hands last year, catching a TD in his first career game. Behind those two is a developing pass catch threat in Aron White. Still a bit undersized to be an every down TE, White will provide a matchup issue for defenses a la Ingram at UF. He’s got receiver skills in a frame that’s pretty close to Randy McMichael…if he pans out like that I think we’d all be pleased.

The next spot up is the secondary. A real concern area last year due to some serious youth in the depth chart has developed into a ton of seasoned depth this year. The secondary has become a strength and sshould see some improvement over last season.

At CB, a pair of juniors will be entering their second season as full-time starters in Asher Allen and Prince Miller. Allen is a tough, physical corner that shows up often in run support on sweeps, etc. He’s not the biggest CB in the league at 5-10, 198 but he plays much bigger. He received some preseason all-conference nods and I fully expect him to make several of those to end the season as he is still making a name for himself. Opposite him is Prince Miller, our token undersized DB from South Carolina. At barely 5-8, Miller plays well above his size and does a good job getting his hands in their and breaking up passes against bigger receivers. Depth at CB is excellent with Bryan Evans and Remarcus Brown both upperclassmen that have considerable experience including multiple starts apiece. Both bring incredible speed to the table. Sophomore Vance Cuff returns and alongside freshman Brandon Boykin forms an excellent nucleus of the future CB roster. Boykin has received rave reviews for his athleticism and potential.

At safety we trot out a considerable starting pair in Senior C.J. Byrd and sophomore Reshad Jones. Byrd has been a solid contributor and starter for years now and is a leader in the back 4. With the departure of Kelin Johnson, Jones step in and brings an incredible combination of size, speed and ball skills. He’s bulked up 50 pounds from the 165 he reported at 3 years ago and now stands an impressive 6-2, 215. He’s going to be that blend of Thomas Davis style enforcer and Sean Jones type cover safety that we’ve been looking for. Of all the guys on this defense he’s the most likely to have a huge breakout year. He’s an animal. Behind these two guys are a Quntin Banks, the headhunter of the group, and Redshirt freshman John Knox, who was incredibly impressive at G-Day. Behind those two are Donavan Baldwin, a career depth chart guy whose off-field issues have put his season in doubt. Several talented true freshmen are in the mix for playing time as well in Baccari Rambo, Nick Williams and Sanders Commings. Commings has gotten some work at CB and will be in the mix at nickel. Rambo seems to have moved into the void created by Baldwin’s issues and Banks’ injury into the 2-deep until either of those issues are resolved. Richt recently stated that all of the freshmen skill players (including all the DBs) would play this season so they are obviously a talented bunch.

Despite the immediate depth concerns at safety, the UGA secondary is still a strength. Given Martinez’ background as a DB and his chosen style of play, look for more consistent play from our DBs this season given their overall increase in experience. They are loaded with talent and form one of the strongest secondaries in the SEC so it shoudl be fun watching them go to work. Of course their job is made considerably easier by the group of LBs and DLs in front of them. The only major question mark right now is depth at safety but once Banks returns from his injury that’ll go back to being a strength.

Well, the announcement that UGA was #1 in both polls has spurred some interesting thoughts and comments in the media about the validity of that lofty mark.  To me, preseason rankings should be a measure of how good you think teams are and nothing more.  The team you feel is the best team should be ranked first, and down the line until the top 25 is filled out.  It’s that simple.  I know that seems to be a simple exercise in common sense but unfortunately with many pollsters that’s not the case.

Now I don’t know how all the pollsters vote by any stretch and I certainly am not implying that all voters should vote UGA #1.  If a pollster feels that USC, OSU, OU or even UF is better than us right now, by all means, rank them #1.  My beef is when said pollster comes out and says that he ranked a team ahead of another because one team’s schedule was simply too tough to go through unscathed.

Here’s where that logic breaks down…if you bump a team down because they have a difficult schedule, do you then not drop them when they lose?  I mean, if you dropped them preseason because you expect them to lose, then when they fulfill your expectations you shouldn’t penalize them again, correct?  It’s like double jeopardy.  You can’t penalize a team twice for having a difficult schedule.  Rather, if you feel the team is good, start them where you feel they rank (right now) and let that schedule work itself out.  Makes sense to me.

Sorry about the absence…out of town all weekend…now back to the newly minted blog…

The QBs are essentially unchanged from a year ago with the exception of the transfer of Blake Barnes and the addition of Logan Gray off his redshirt year. Most UGA fans with an inkling of what’s going on with the team could likely recite the depth chart, but in the interest of preserving this for posterity (and to get me back into the habit of typing) I’ll go through with it.

Starting is a kid from Dallas, TX that is beginning to emerge into the all-everything player his naturally given talents have always pegged him for. Moving into his junior year Matt Stafford has emerged as a team leader while polishing those skills that had scouts like Mel Kiper pegging him as a future NFL 1st rounder before he even graduated high school. He doesn’t have the gaudy stats of a Tim Tebow or Graham Harrell but he has quite possibly the strongest arm in the country and a good ability to manage the team, drawing praise from Richt for his ability to check into the correct plays at the line. In his 3rd year in the system, look for a more confident, polished Stafford as the natural progression continues from the slightly confused, over his head freshman to the calmer, more efficient passer we saw last year tha twas able to protect the ball better. Look for marked improvement this year.

Behind Stafford is a guy that has already proven that when called on can produce in the clutch. A team player that has forged a solid friendship with Stafford, Joe Cox is pretty much an ideal backup QB. Cox doesn’t have the arm strength of Stafford (few do) but he’s got great leadership traits and he has managed to pull off coming into a game down by 13 and pulling out a win late in the 2nd half. That’s about the best you can hope for out of your backup.

The future (for now) rests in the hands of redshirt freshman Logan Gray. Gray’s athleticism is reaching storied status as he appears to be legitimately in the thick of the race for starting punt returner duties. An extremely fast, athletic kid, Gray provides that extra threat from in and out of the pocket that Stafford and Cox don’t have. Look for him to contribute on special teams and in the case of emergency until one or both of the QBs ahead of him leave and he’s afforded a shot at the 2-deep.

I’m not the first person to point this out but I find it really funny how quickly the media is willing to start knocking Georgia down a few notches because of the loss of Sturdivant when they hardly gave him any notice at all in terms of preseason recognition. I’m not one of these black helicopter conspiracy theorists but it does seem like the pundits are looking for a reason to bump teams down. UF has suffered 5 season ending ACL injuries this offseason (I think), including 2 to starters but something tells me it won’t affect their preseason ranking. I guess Urban Meyer just told them that wasn’t a big deal. I’m so glad that guy tells us which things are going to be big deals. So thoughtful.