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2B I Friday, September i, 2006 | The Red & Black
FIRST & GOAL
FRESHMEN: Expectations high for young players
FILE | The Red & Black
A Freshman cornerback Asher Allen covers receiver AJ
Bryant during a practice earlier this summer.
>- From Page 1
Allen is one of several true
freshman expected to see
playing time in the first sever
al weeks of the season, large
ly due to injuries and suspen
sions.
Adjusting to life on cam
pus was one issue for
Georgia’s freshmen. Game
days in the ultra-competitive
SEC will be a whole different
affair.
“You don’t know the bus
routes, and you don’t know
the buildings your classes are
in,” linebacker Darius
Dewberry said. “When you’re
a freshman on the football
field it’s kind of the same way.
You don’t really know every
thing.”
Dewberry is expected to
see playing time at line
backer. He’s listed right
behind starters Danny
Verdun-Wheeler, Jarvis
Jackson and Tony Taylor on
Georgia’s depth chart.
Wide receiver Kris
Durham, who is also expect
ed to play, said graduating
from high school a semester
early and taking part in
spring drills helped shorten
the learning curve.
“This summer was a big
jump for me,” said Durham,
who finished with a 3.5 GPA
last spring. “I could see that I
had the ability to play at this
level. So when we came into
fall camp I had all the confi
dence I needed.”
Five of the Bulldogs’ 27
freshmen started practicing
with Georgia last spring.
“We got through playing
my state championship for
high school,” Durham said.
“And then two weeks later,
Asher and I both came down
for bowl practice. First play
they set us up against each
other. I had to run a slant,
caught it. The second play he
got me. I’ll admit it.”
Replacing the
injured, suspended
Injuries and suspensions
have left Georgia with depth
issues on the defensive side of
the ball.
Allen and fellow freshman
corner Prince Miller will help
fill the void at one cornerback
position after Thomas
Flowers was suspended for
violating unspecified team
rules.
Miller, who also may
return kicks, said older mem
bers of the secondary have
helped with the transition.
“The older guys help you a
lot on the coverages and what
we’re doing,” he said.
Freshman defensive
lineman Geno Atkins is
expected to add depth to a
position that has been trou
bled by injuries throughout
the summer.
Defensive tackle Ray Gant
is expected to play, but
coaches were unsure of how
much he would play. Backup
senior defensive tackle
Marquis Elmore also remains
out after having his knee
scoped.
The defensive need to play
Dewberry increased in part
because of sophomore line
backer Dannell Ellerbe’s
three-game suspension.
Time adjustments
Georgia coach Mark Richt
said a close eye is kept on his
freshman football players,
much closer than older play
ers who have earned trust.
“They need it,” Richt said.
“This is so new to them. They
need guidance. The goal is
ultimately for them to be
independent of us, but in the
beginning we’re not taking
anything for granted. The
better they do academically
and socially, the more respon
sibility we give them.”
Freshmen are required to
attend study hall five days a
week. As they age and
demonstrate that they can
succeed academically on
their own, they’re able to
exempt study hall require
ments.
Practically every minute of
every day is scheduled for
younger players. Miller said
the most difficult aspect of
transitioning to college foot
ball is the time commitment.
“When you’re not in class,”
he said,“you’re usually doing
something with football, so a
lot of times you get real
tired.”
Dewberry agreed the
biggest adjustment was the
time crunch.
“We’re on them,” Richt
said. “A lot of their heads are
spinning. They’re not used to
as much structure as we give
them.”
Richt said he wants more
structure, though. East
Campus Village has left the
18-year-olds with too much
freedom.
“I wish we had the old ath
letic dorms,” he said. “Then
we could watch them even
closer, having bed checks and
curfews. The way we’re struc
tured right now, we just can’t
do it.”
To Richt, it all comes down
to creating good habits.
“Basically you tell them if
you want to be a football
player, you practice and get
good habits,” Richt said.
“It’s the same thing aca
demically.”
ABOUT THE
COVER
Andy McFee
This week’s First & Goal
spotlights the freshmen on
the football team’s roster.
My assistant and I shot a
few of the team’s freshmen
after practice on the prac
tice fields,and I then used
Adobe Photoshop to create
a spotlight effect around
them.
The overall idea behind the
cover is a sort of orientation
guide to the freshmen on
the team.
Year: Senior
Hometown: Smyrna
Major: Publication
Management with an
emphasis in photojournal
ism
Favorite Football Team:
Georgia Bulldogs
Memories of gamedays past rekindle this writer’s football spirit
I n this space last week, I
wrote about how I found
myself feeling dispassion
ate about the new college
football season.
Bulldog fans, the thrill is
back. No, it didn’t come back
because of the hundreds of
angry e-mails I received (I
didn’t actually get any of
those, but I welcome them).
And no, the excitement
isn’t back because many of
my friends threatened to dis
own me.
I would have to attribute
my renewed spirit to two
things: Friday Night Lights
and a friend’s bottle opener.
I watched Friday Night
Lights early last week, and
was reminded how exciting
football games can be. I
Phillip Kisubika
pkisubika@randb.com
remembered games like our
45-16 win over LSU in 2004,
when it seemed everything
was going our way.
I also remembered how
emotionally invested one can
be in a football game.
I’ve never gone through
the vast range of emotions
that I went through when we
lost to Auburn last year, not
even with a woman.
While I have the opportu
nity, I’d like to get into a few
of my favorite things about a
game day in Athens.
The fight song. While
hanging out at a friend’s
apartment, I opened up a
bottle of something a college
newspaper apparently can’t
mention.
When the bottle opener
touched the cap it played
“Glory, Glory,” and I just
smiled.
Though there are schools
that play the song (more on
that when Colorado comes to
town), there’s no question
who plays it best.
As old as the song is, you
always find yourself singing it
during a game, even more so
when you’re drunk.
Plus, how many fight
songs let you say “to hell
with” the other team?
The mascot. Before I got
to college, I wasn’t a dog per
son. Now, my life won’t be
complete until I own an
English Bulldog.
I think we’re very lucky to
have the most beloved dog in
sports as our mascot.
With 10 more wins, Uga VI
will become Georgia’s win-
ningest football mascot.
Though he is owned by
the Seiler family and lives in
Savannah, Uga is as much a
part of the University as the
football team.
The seats. Freshmen —
any true Bulldog fan will tell
you that the row and section
numbers on your ticket are
meaningless. If you’re the
least bit clever, there are
many techniques to get the
seats you want.
I won’t divulge all my
secrets because I don’t want
to see you in my seat.
I don’t know why I call
them seats anyway. The only
time a real fan sits down is
during a timeout.
The tailgates. On my first
gameday in Athens as a
freshman, I walked around
the campus looking at all the
tailgates and fans. One thing
stood out to me.
I turned to a friend and
whispered, “I’ve never seen
so much alcohol in broad
daylight before.”
Every tent and tailgate,
complete with food, fans and
satellites, is like an oasis from
the sweltering Saturday heat.
The fans. Even though I
feel like I’m walking through
Calcutta to get to Sanford
Stadium, the amount of fans
in Athens is a great thing to
see.
Even though we all look
different and are at different
stages of drunkenness, we’re
all in it together this week
end — or at least until half
time when we’ll be up by 20.
Call me a hypocrite if you
want, but I’ll be the hyp
ocrite in the student section
Saturday afternoon.
— Phillip Kisubika is a
writer for the Red & Black.
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