2012 Statistics

ASST. COACHES

Off. Coordinator/QB Coach: Mike Bobo (13th season)
Previous: Jacksonville State QB Coach

Def. Coordinator/OLB Coach: Todd Grantham (4th season)
Previous: NFL Cowboys DL Coach

Running Backs: Bryan McClendon (5th season)
Previous: Georgia Graduate Asst.

Receivers: Tony Ball (8th season)
Previous: Virginia Tech WR Coach

Tight Ends: John Lilly (6th season)
Previous: Florida State TE Coach

Offensive Line: Will Friend (3rd season)
Previous: UAB OL Coach

Defensive Line: Chris Wilson (1st season)
Previous: Mississippi State Def. Coor.

Inside Linebackers : Kirk Olivadotti (3rd season)
Previous: NFL Redskins Def. Asst.

Defensive Backs: Scott Lakatos (4th season)
Previous: Connecticut DB Coach

    QUARTERBACK  

• The biggest boost for 2013 was the day Aaron Murray decided to skip the NFL Draft for one more year and return as a senior in Athens. He will be a legitimate 2013 Heisman Candidate. Murray already holds the school record for career touchdown passes and last year he set the school marks for single-season passing yards and touchdown passes.
• Murray is the NCAA active leader with 95 career touchdown passes.
• Backup Hutson Mason redshirted last season in hopes of getting his day in the sun after Murray is gone. He has appeared in eight games in his career, but none of them when the game was in doubt. Mason has a commanding presence in the huddle and at the line, boasts a strong arm (as evidenced by the fact he set the Georgia High School passing record for single-season passing yards and passing touchdowns). He just hasn't gotten a chance to show that off at UGA yet and has considered transferring twice before. He will wait one more year.

• This backfield is stacked when the back up tailback situation is healthy. Otherwise depth can be a concern.
• The only All-American selection on this team is Todd Gurley and after being on campus for just six months, he may be the best running back in the country at this juncture. Gurley rushed for 1,385 yards last fall – the second-highest total by a true freshman at Georgia trailing only Herschel Walker. Gurley has bulked up to around 230 pounds in the spring but it's been quality weight and grizzled muscle.
• With Ken Malcome transferring to Southern Illinois and Keith Marshall nursing a hamstring injury in early spring depth has become a sore issue. When Marshall is healthy he gives this offense a deadly one-two punch in regards to pigskin handlers. Marshall added 759 yards and eight touchdowns to this potent ground attack last year.
• At fullback Merritt Hall started six games in 2012 while Quayvon Hicks received solid praise from coaches through out the entire spring. Both will see action this year.

• Receiver remains the deepest position on the offense, and probably the entire team.
• Malcolm Mitchell is known around the SEC as one of the toughest receivers to face although the post-season accolades have yet to be a part of his resume due to the fact he missed three games his freshman year and spent the first four games of last year as a cornerback out of necessity. He is unquestionably the top option at receiver now that Tavarres King has graduated.
• Departed receiver stalwarts Tavarres King and Marlon Brown will be sorely missed. But the rise of Chris Conley in the Capital One Bowl victory on New Year's Day that has continued through out this spring has made their departures easier. Conley has demonstrated he can be a leading receiver through all of the simulated spring games.
• Big 6'5 junior college transfer Jonathon Rumph will factor into the rotation immediately with his long arms. Rumph was the "wow" of the spring game snaring four passes for 98 yards.
• Michael Bennett is still recovering from a torn ACL that sidelined him after the fifth game of 2012. He is slated be ready for the start of 2013.

• This position emerged as a real weapon for the Bulldogs in 2012 and with all the players returning it should be again in 2013. Tight end has always been a top spot under Coach Richt. That tradition won't change.
• Arthur Lynch is one of the country's top 10 returning tight ends when measuring 2012 season receiving yards. The former high school All-American out of Dartmouth, MA is poised to be an All-SEC tight end.
• Jay Rome also has seen his share of reps on the field and will push Lynch for playing time. Both are going to see the field and depth is plentiful here.

    OFFENSIVE LINE  

• With so much experience here it's tough to imagine this unit having many issues. However, that was not the case this off-season as numerous players saw time while coaches try to find a better combination. Heading into summer there appears to be more questions than answers.
• The Bulldogs return all five starters and their backups from a season ago, so offensive line coach Will Friend's issue is not replacing players. He must decide how he wants to deploy them, and whether he wants to alter the lineup that he barely strayed from for the entire 2012 season.
• There was a ton of experimentation done with the offensive line this spring creating chaos for the depth chart guessing. Coach Richt has stated several times that no position is safe as they try to find the best starting five combination.
• As spring practice finished, center David Andrews was the only player Richt said was basically guaranteed a starting spot. He may not be the biggest lineman or a dominant one yet, but his value after a year of work in front of Aaron Murray cannot be overlooked.
• The biggest shift that will shake up this unit is if John Theus gets shifted to left tackle as coaches flirted with this design through out the spring, which opens doors for many different possibilities.

    DEFENSIVE LINE  

• For the first spring since 1997, Rodney Garner won’t be coaching defensive linemen. Former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Chris Wilson takes over the unit after Garner left for Auburn.
• Coach Chris Wilson's rotation remains something of a mystery based on the huge turnover with this unit.
• Garrison Smith will start at end and figures to be the only senior starter on the defense. He started dominating at the end of last season and the senior will really be counted on to help provide leadership to this unit.
• One of the key positions to fill will be nose guard, where 350-pounders John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers are gone.
• John Taylor, considered a good candidate to start at nose tackle, is now a defensive end weighing in at over 330 lbs. making him the biggest defensive end in the SEC.
• Mike Thornton, less than an afterthought at nose tackle his first three years on campus, is now the clear first-teamer. He is the only player at nose who was on the team last year.
• Count on guys moving around a good bit with players classified as ends lining up as the nose in the nickel defense and nose tackles lining up on the edge in other alignments. This is nothing new as the same philosophy was utilized last season.
• Sterling Bailey is also emerging from obscurity. Bailey didn't even make the travel squad in 2011 and spent last year dealing with a foot fracture. With so many departures the door has been opened.

    LINEBACKER  

• The biggest development comes with Josh Harvey-Clemons, who everyone has said is one of the most talented players on defense but didn’t have a natural position. This spring Harvey-Clemons seems to have found his spot at the “star" position, which is a hybrid of linebacker and safety. He will be the first-team strong safety when Georgia is in its base 3-4 defense. But the Bulldogs figure to play a ton of nickel defense.
• One player estimated Georgia to be in their nickel package around 70 percent of the time so Harvey-Clemons would be a starter at nickel back.
• Jordan Jenkins has been labeled the team's best defensive playmaker. He also is the team's returning sack leader.
• When Georgia is in nickel that likely will mean only three linebackers. But in the base defense James DeLoach has emerged as the favorite to start at outside linebacker. DeLoach was one of the defense’s big stories of spring taking advantage of the open Sam spot.
• Amarlo Herrera is the unofficial captain of the defense now and will be the main play-caller for the front seven. He is the team's returning leading tackler.

    DEFENSIVE BACK  

• Three-fourths of the starting secondary was lost to graduation leaving cornerback Damian Swann as the lone returner. Swann paced the Bulldogs with four interceptions, including two in the bowl game.
• Tray Matthews has been one of the revelations of spring practice. The freshman was in high school just last Christmas and is now considered to be the starting free safety. Praise has followed Matthews all spring as he laid the wood while possessing uncanny closing speed.
• The interesting battle for the No. 2 cornerback spot won't be settled until fall arrives. Sheldon Dawson did everything he could to grab the top role then hurt his hamstring late in the spring leaving the door open for freshman early enrollee Reggie Wilkerson.
• Look for some other true freshmen who will arrive in the fall to push for playing time at corner too. The impending arrival of Langley, Wiggins and Johnson will give coaches plenty of options but little experience.

• Kicker Marshall Morgan and punter Colin Barber were thrust into starting roles a year ago and should be even better with a year's worth of experience under their belts. Morgan went 8-of-14 on field goals including two from more than 50 yards.
• Barber averaged 41.5 yards per punt, pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line 19 times on 60 attempts. He had a long punt of 60 yards. The Bulldogs also return punters Adam Erickson and Ethan Jackson. Erickson was the holder on extra points/field goals and punted eight times in 2012.