Key losses and a new quarterback were the hot topics this offseason for the University of Georgia football team.
After losing more than half of their starters, the Bulldogs enter the 2006 season with a slightly different roster.
Although the team lost many seniors from last year, coach Mark Richt said he believes the Bulldogs will have a good chance to compete this season.
“I think that I’ll say the same thing I said last year, which is I do believe that we’ve got just as good a chance to win this year as any season that I’ve been at Georgia,” Richt said at Georgia’s Media Day on July 26. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job of recruiting over the years, trying to find guys that can help us win when their opportunities come up.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs begin the season replacing their starting quarterback, top two receivers and three of their five starting offensive linemen.
Former quarterback D.J. Shockley accounted for almost 3,000 yards of Georgia’s total offense last season and scored 28 touchdowns. Although he only started for one season, he led the Bulldogs to a Southeastern Conference title and a 9-3 overall record.
At the beginning of fall camp, Richt said he did not know who Shockley’s replacement would be and opened fall camp with a four-player quarterback race between senior Joe Tereshinski, sophomore Blake Barns, redshirt freshman Joe Cox and true freshman Matthew Stafford.
After 16 days of practice, Richt named Tereshinski the opening day starter.
Richt said he had to observe each quarterback and the way they performed and said Tereshinski out-performed the other three players.
“Joe T. was solid and consistent all the way through,” Richt said. “He did a nice job, competed well and held off the young bucks.”
Tereshinski filled in at quarterback last season after Shockley injured his knee against the University of Arkansas.
Richt said naming a starter was difficult, but said he is confident he made the right decision.
“It’s not easy to tell someone they’re not the starter,” Richt said. “But right now I feel we’ve been extremely fair. We’ve got a strong group of guys, and we’re not disappointed in any of them.”
Richt said the senior quarterback seemed calm and took the news very well.
“He’s a pretty stoic, old-school, yes-sir-no-sir guy,” Richt said of Tereshinski. “I told him, and he said, ‘Thank you, sir,’ and I asked him if he had any questions, and he said, ‘No sir.'”
Along with replacing its leading passer, Richt said he thinks he has the talent to replace the team’s two leading receivers from last season.
Tight-end Leonard Pope led the team with 39 receptions for 541 yards and was second in touchdowns only to former Georgia player and current National Football League player Bryan McClendon.
McClendon finished the 2005 season second on the team in receptions and receiving yards with 35 and 529, respectively, and caught six touchdowns.
The Bulldogs must also replace center Russ Tanner, guard Max Jean-Gilles and tackle Dennis Rolland, all of whom started last season.
Although the team is replacing three starters, Richt said he is confident the group of linemen he has will perform well.
“We have five linemen that have all played a good bit up front offensively,” Richt said. “We’re going to have three seniors and two juniors starting there, which is outstanding.”
Defensively the Bulldogs will have to replace three starters from their secondary, including the teams’ leading tackler, Greg Blue, and both starting defensive tackles.
Richt said it will be hard to replace his secondary starters but believes he has the talent at most positions to do so.
“At corner I think we’ll be fine,” Richt said. “At safety, I have a little bit more of a question mark as to are we really ready to play the level of ball at that position that we’ve had? Do we have that All-American safety right now? I’m not sure.”
Although the team suffered loses at key positions, Richt said he believes the coaching staff has done a good job recruiting over the past few years to give the team a chance to compete.
“I think the fans sometimes look at our seniors who are leaving and maybe our recruiting class and they tend to forget all those other recruiting classes in between,” Richt said. “There’s a lot of guys in our program that sometimes people tend to forget because they’re going through the process of getting ready.”
Although Georgia’s depth chart and roster may look different this season, there are some bright spots on this team.
Senior Quentin Moses enters the season as one of the top-ranked defensive ends in the nation after recording 11.5 sacks, 20.5 tackles for loss and 44 tackles last season.
Moses said he has worked hard this offseason and looks forward to playing during his senior year.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to do stuff all over again,” Moses said during media day. “I’m excited about the opportunity to do what I love to do, and that’s play football.”
—–Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]