>- The big news this week was Friday mornings arrest of Sophomore RB Washaun Ealey. Ealey was arrested for “duty upon strike” which basically means that he hit a parked car and then left the scene of the accident. He was also cited for driving with a suspended license (Georgia is infamous for this violation). Both are misdemeanors and there was no alcohol involved. Obviously not Washaun’s best moment and Coach Mark Richt (CMR) has said that he will pay with a minimum one game suspension and other internal discipline (i.e. running stairs, Ealey did not practice with the rest of the team on Friday as he was busy running). The plan for Ealey this year was for him to split time with Junior Caleb King. King was just named the probable starter on Thursday because he has a more complete game than Ealey but Ealey is the more explosive runner. In the game that Ealey will miss (could miss more depending on how he handles the situation from here on out) Carlton Thomas will see more action and CMR told Fred Munzenmaier to get ready to see more action as well.
– Todd Grantham is starting to round out his starting defensive squad and he has named Darryl Gamble to start at OLB opposite of Justin Houston. Gamble was actually a more productive player in 2008 than he was in 2009 and I think he’s a guy that’s poised for a big season based on the new 3-4. Gamble’s best game was at LSU in 2008 when he had 2 interceptions returned for TDs and 13 tackles. I really like Gamble and Houston on the outside with young Cornelius Washington as the sub.
– Freshman Hutson Mason is officially the number two QB on the depth chart right now because of Logan Gray’s ankle injury (missed the last 11 practices). There has been a question of whether or not to attempt to redshirt Huston. I say no. I think Hutson should be getting playing time from the very first week. The reason is because this is the SEC and there is no way that Aaron Murray is getting through an entire season without getting some type of injury (even if he’s just knocked out for a couple of plays or for a drive or two). Mason needs to get some playing time in case he is pushed into action.
– Georgia had a scrimmage on Wed that CMR called “Georgia versus Louisiana-Lafayette”. Basically the Georgia team was made up of players who will be seeing time (as of now) on offense and defense in the first game and the Louisiana team was the scout team. SEC Officials were used and the coaches took the places that they will take during the game (both Grantham and Bobo were down on the field). The Georgia team won 38-24 but that was with CMR giving Louisiana 21 points and also counting a missed FG as good. Before the scrimmage it was said that it would last around 30 minutes but I never saw it clarified how long the scrimmage lasted. Here are some of the stats from the scrimmage that CMR provided:
Passing
Aaron Murray 9 of 17 for 127 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Hutson Mason 5 of 10 for 69 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
Caleb King 6 carries for 36 yds, 1 TD
Washaun Ealey 4 carries for 31 yds
Carlton Thomas 5 carries for 26 yds, 1 TD
Receiving
Kris Durham 3 rec for 78 yds
AJ Green 4 rec for 40 yds, 1 TD
Special Teams
Branden Smith returned a punt 63 yds
Marlon Brown returned a blocked punt for a TD
Defense
Jakar Hamilton and Bacarri Rambo both had interceptions, Rambo took his 66 yds for a TD
Kiante Tripp and Darryl Gamble had 2 sacks each
DeAngelo Tyson, Nick Williams, Akeem Hebron and Brandon Wood each had a sack
Darryl Gamble led the team with 8 tackles, Vance Cuff had 6
Shaun Williams had 11 tackles for the scout team
– Last Saturday Georgia landed their 16th verbal commitment in Spalding DT Chris Mayes. Mayes is a Rivals *** recruit and ranks #31 in the Nation on their DT list. But get this, he’s only been playing football for one year. So in one year of playing high school football he is the 31st best DT in the nation according to Rivals? Sounds like he has a huge upside. He’s 6’5, 295 and chose Georgia over Miami (Fl) and Oklahoma State.
– Not to over look our first week opponent but I’m really interested in what’s going on with “Hotel Gate” at South Carolina right now. Players get a $500 monthly allowance for housing from the NCAA but several of the Gamecocks players were living at a hotel that runs around $1,200 monthly (this is the same hotel that Spurrier stayed at before he got settled when he took over at Carolina). Tony Barnhart says the standard punishment on a violation like this is that the players must pay back the difference in what they should have been paying (I read that the South Carolina guys were paying $450 per month for the $1,200 rooms) and a minimum two game suspension (which would be Southern Miss and Georgia). Apparently TE Weslye Saunders (who has been a real headache for the Gamecocks lately) has been staying at the hotel since May of 2009 and owes $5,500 (he might also have to pay back restitution for a spring break trip to Miami as well). Supposedly there are at least 10 players that were living at the hotel.
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