A position that was supposed to be a strength for the Bulldogs in 2011 has quickly turned into a major liability.

First, Washaun Ealey left the team by “mutual agreement” after the conclusion of spring practice. His departure followed several disciplinary issues, including two suspensions in the last seven months. Mark Richt had constantly stated that Ealey needed to improve his behavior, so Ealey’s departure wasn’t entirely surprising. He ended up at Jacksonville State, an FCS school, where he is eligible to play immediately.

Then, in early July, Caleb King was declared academically ineligible because he could not meet the NCAA’s satisfactory progress requirements. Like Ealey, King had a long history of discipline problems. He was suspended twice last season; once for missing academic appointments, and once after an arrest for failing to pay a traffic citation. King’s ineligibility effectively ended his career at Georgia, so he decided to enter the supplemental NFL Draft.

Caleb King

After the departures of Ealey and King, the situation at running back looked bad enough. The team had lost its two leading rushers from the previous season, as the two combined for 1,334 yards and 13 touchdowns. However, the outlook was still somewhat positive after these developments; Ealey and King were never exactly dominant, except during the Georgia Tech game in 2009, and they had long histories of off-the-field problems.

But that was before this morning’s announcement: junior Carlton Thomas has been suspended from the Boise State game for an unspecified violation of team rules. The suspension isn’t a knockout blow: Thomas has never been an every-down running back, and he hasn’t produced much during his time on the field. However, he did have something that none of Georgia’s current backs have: experience.

With the suspension of Thomas, Georgia only has two running backs on scholarship for the Boise State game: true freshman Isaiah Crowell, and redshirt freshman Ken Malcome. Neither has ever played in a college football game, so nobody knows what to expect from them. Crowell has a Marcus Lattimore-level ceiling, but it’s hard to predict what you’ll get from a player who hasn’t even taken the field at the college level. Malcome also has some potential, but it’s not entirely great. Georgia does have a walk-on, Brandon Harton, who will be available at running back if needed.

Washaun Ealey

Georgia will be getting another running back on the depth chart soon, as Richard Samuel is returning to the position after moving to linebacker last year. However, Samuel isn’t much of an improvement over Malcome or Crowell, even if Crowell fails to produce. Samuel played at running back in 2009, and he never impressed me. I still see him as a mediocre running back, and I believe he would be much better off at linebacker.

The situation can be summed up like this: Isaiah Crowell needs to be good right now. He’s a highly-ranked recruit with a very high ceiling, but it’s difficult to rely on a true freshman to get the job done. That is especially true at the beginning of the season, when he is just starting to play at the college level.

If Crowell cannot produce early, Georgia will be forced to rely on the passing game to move the ball. The Bulldogs have the SEC’s best quarterback, Aaron Murray, who was terrific as a freshman and is only going to improve. However, his receiving corps is very inexperienced, and there are no proven studs at the position. He will have Orson Charles and Aron White as consistent threats, but a passing attack can’t survive with only tight ends.

Isaiah Crowell

Even with the debacle at the running back position, the outlook for the football team is still very high for 2011. The defense appears to be solid, especially the front seven after the addition of John Jenkins and the rise of Kwame Geathers. Aaron Murray is an All-SEC quarterback, Orson Charles is an All-SEC tight end, and the receiving corps has tons of talent, even without experience. The special teams are still among the best in the country. And the SEC East is the weakest it’s been in years.

In short, don’t expect the situation at running back to completely destroy this team. The Bulldogs have a shot to win the SEC East, and they just might do it.

Like many other schools in the NCAA, Georgia now has several players who are facing investigation and possible suspension for receiving improper benefits.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer has reported that Jarvis Jones and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope allegedly received financial assistance from a local parks and recreation department, according to police documents obtained by the newspaper. Jones is a sophomore outside linebacker on the football team, while Caldwell-Pope is a basketball signee.

The report says that Tony Adams and Herman Porter, two officials in the parks department, paid for airline tickets for the two players to fly to Los Angeles for basketball games. They also may have paid a cell phone bill for Caldwell-Pope’s mother. Because the NCAA prohibits accepting improper benefits from anyone marketing an athlete, these two players may have violated NCAA rules.

In my opinion, if the accusations are true as they are reported above, neither player should face any type of suspension or other punishment from the NCAA. The case shows many similarities to the Cam Newton case from last season, and Newton was not punished at all.

Jarvis Jones (#10)

First, the accusations almost exclusively involve the players’ parents. The cell phone bill was not paid for Caldwell-Pope, but for his mother. The other benefits involved plane tickets for the players’ flights to Los Angeles. I find it most likely that transportation for the two players was handled by their parents. High school student-athletes who are flying across the country probably shouldn’t arrange their own transportation, so their parents would do it for them.

If that is the case, Jones and Caldwell-Pope have not violated any NCAA rules. They did not accept transportation or other benefits because their parents would have accepted it without their knowledge. The same holds true for Cam Newton, who did not know that his father was asking for money for a commitment (unless the continuing investigation finds evidence to the contrary).

Even if they did know about the improper benefits, the two Georgia players could likely avoid NCAA suspension by repaying the money for the airplane tickets and cell phone bill before the NCAA decides on punishment. The NCAA usually requires athletes to repay improper benefits as a condition of reinstatement, and doing that without the NCAA’s orders would likely reduce any suspensions.

Furthermore, if the report is correct, there would not be a problem with Jarvis Jones because Georgia was not the institution that benefited from the improper benefits. The airplane tickets were for a flight to Los Angeles, and Jones initially played one season with USC before transferring to Georgia. Under NCAA rules, because the benefits were paid before Jones transferred to UGA, Georgia could not face any discipline for the improper benefits. In that case, only Caldwell-Pope could face possible suspension.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (black jersey)

However, because money did not change hands in the Newton case, a situation at Baylor may reflect Jones’ and Caldwell-Pope’s case more accurately. Perry Jones was declared ineligible for one tournament game, plus six regular season games, after the NCAA determined that a coach loaned money to his mother and paid for Perry Jones to travel to a preseason NFL game. However, there could also be one key difference between the two situations: in that case, it sounds more likely that the athlete actually knew about the benefits.

In reality, I’m looking at a two or three game suspension for Jones at most. The improper benefits did not total a ton of money ($828) and occurred while he was traveling to Los Angeles, after which he decided to play for USC. Jones is slated to start at outside linebacker if he is not suspended for the benefits.

Georgia has notified the NCAA and the SEC of these violations, but it is unclear if any official investigation has started.

This is an interesting question, and one that will certainly be brought up again before the end of next season: With the offensive tools that Georgia currently has on its roster, should the team run more spread offense in addition to the pro set?

On the surface, it seems like a great idea. Aaron Murray flashed his running ability multiple times last season, recording at least 30 rushing yards in four games. It’s likely that running Murray from the spread could help jump-start a depleted set of running backs, which lost Washaun Ealey and will rely heavily on inexperienced players (Isaiah Crowell, Carlton Thomas, and so on).

There’s also the problem of the offensive line, which had a terrible year in 2010 after a lot of off-season hype. It doesn’t look good for 2011, either, as the line has lost three starters to graduation. None of the potential replacements jump out at me as highly-talented players. If Georgia decided to spread the field with three wide receivers, it would take some pressure off the line, and also lessen the pressure on the relatively-inexperienced receiving corps.

QB Aaron Murray

However, I also see some potential problems that probably outweigh the benefits of running a spread offense. First off, Georgia’s top offensive coaches (Richt, Bobo) don’t know much about the spread; they’re mostly experienced with the NFL-style offense. Also, because Urban Meyer had so much success with his spread at Florida (mostly with Tebow), it seems like SEC defenses have become much better at defending the spread offense.

There’s also Georgia’s players, who have practiced with the pro offense throughout all of their time at Georgia. A sudden switch to more spread packages could be a giant step backward in the production from players like Murray, whose passing skills from the pro set are amazing. If Bobo would turn him loose, it’s likely that Murray could rack up some rushing yards through scrambling, and Murray’s already proven that he knows how to do that.

So, don’t expect Georgia to be installing more spread techniques in their offense anytime soon. The team as a whole is much better suited for the pro-style offense, especially the play-action passes from the pro set.

Here are some other news and notes from the Georgia football program:

Richt in Honduras: Coach Mark Richt is currently in Honduras on a mission trip for World Vision International, a Christian charity organization. Read more about it on Chip Towers’ UGA beat blog.

UGA vs. Georgia Tech: Bill King of the Junkyard Blawg lists 101 reasons why Georgia is better than Georgia Tech.

“Pocket Dialing” results in NCAA violations at Georgia: Mark Richt needs to learn how to use his cell phone.

Murray is the SEC’s best quarterback: ESPN’s Chris Low has named Aaron Murray the best quarterback in the SEC. Check out his top 10 SEC quarterbacks.

Mark Richt has recently begun a spring speaking tour, traveling to different cities around the South and speaking about the upcoming football season. On Thursday night in Jacksonville, he made an interesting comment, saying that the team’s lack of effort last year was “embarrassing”.

He went on to tell the crowd, “It’s our shame and it’s my fault. We’re not going to let that happen again.”

Most likely, Richt doesn’t even know how right he was. Last year, five of the games Georgia lost could have been won easily if the Dawgs’ stupid mistakes were eliminated. Four of those games finished within eleven points, and two had a score differential of three points or fewer. Consider the following:

• South Carolina: Washaun Ealey fumbled at the goal line during Georgia’s best scoring opportunity. South Carolina later added a field goal that made the final score 17-6.
• Arkansas: The Georgia secondary completely missed an assignment during the final minute of the game. Arkansas scored a touchdown on the play and won 31-24.
• Mississippi State: The Dawgs’ offense looked it forgot to show up to the stadium. They didn’t score a touchdown until there was only 1:27 left in the game.
• Colorado: As Georgia drove into scoring position to win the game, Caleb King fumbled on what may have been a flea-flicker play. Colorado ran out the clock to win 29-27.
• Florida: After a thrilling second-half comeback, Aaron Murray went into overtime and threw an interception that was almost returned for a touchdown. Florida went on to kick the winning field goal.

Mark Richt

In short, Georgia was basically four plays away from having a 10-2 record during the 2010 season. And, as Richt said, all of the above plays were the result of poor coaching and uninspired playing. Ealey and King’s fumbles could have been easily prevented with more practice and discpline. Football coaches at all levels must teach their players to hold onto the ball, especially in key situations, and not try for a big play when it’s not there. As many Georgia fans can recall, Ealey tried to stretch the ball out to the goal line while he was falling down, which only resulted in a Gamecock defender knocking it loose.

Against Florida, Richt and Mike Bobo should have told Aaron Murray to be safe with the ball and not take risks, as the game was in overtime. It’s much safer to kick a field goal and trust your defense to stop the other team. Georgia went with the dangerous route of trusting the defensive coordinator’s choke sign to stop Florida.

Richt and the coaching staff hold the same responsibility for the other losses. Someone should have fired up the offense during that Mississippi State game. Also, Todd Grantham should have ensured that the deep routes were covered on the play against Arkansas (although some blame for that play does fall on the secondary).

During his speeches, Richt has guaranteed that he will discipline this team and inspire them to play hard. However, many of Richt’s “guarantees” have fallen short in the past. If he can’t keep this promise, his time at the University of Georgia may be nearing its end.

Let’s face it: the defensive line was one of the worst positions on Georgia’s team last year. Nose guard DeAngelo Tyson frequently failed to secure the middle, and defensive end Demarcus Dobbs did not follow up on a fairly successful 2009 season. This resulted in Georgia allowing 147.23 rushing yards per game, which was 53rd in the country.

However, all that has changed now. In fact, it’s changed so much that the Dawgs’ coaches are facing a dilemma because two players could both be the starting nose guard. Kwame Geathers, a 6’6″, 341-pounder from South Carolina, and prize community college recruit John Jenkins have both impressed the coaches this spring and are vying for playing time.

Jenkins was part of the so-called “Dream Team” that Mark Richt put together as his 2011 recruiting class. Coming out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, he decommitted from Oklahoma State and chose to join Ray Drew, Isaiah Crowell, and others as part of the highly-ranked recruiting class at UGA. Many Georgia fans consider Jenkins to be the “missing link” to Todd Grantham’s 3-4 defensive scheme, as he was an extremely reliable nose guard at Mississippi Gulf Coast.

There is also a great precedent for nose guards like Jenkins. He hopes to follow up the success that Terrence Cody of Alabama and Nick Fairley of Auburn had in the SEC. Both players transferred to their schools from community college (Cody also attended Mississippi Gulf Coast) and were key parts to national championship teams before becoming high picks in the NFL Draft (Fairley is expected to be a high first-round pick this month).

Then, there’s also Kwame Geathers. He played in eight games last year, seeing time at nose guard when Tyson moved over to play defensive end. Richt has said that Geathers showed amazing improvement this spring, dominating the defensive line and challenging Jenkins for the starting spot. He was even named UGA’s defensive MVP for spring practice at a ceremony on Friday.

With the breakout performance shown by Geathers, Todd Grantham and Rodney Garner are considering playing both Jenkins and Geathers on the defensive line, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Obviously, one would have to move over to end, but that would probably be fine due to the incredible talent shown by both players. In this writer’s opinion, the ideal situation is for Geathers to start at nose guard, with Jenkins starting at end, and possibly have them alternate throughout the game.

On a final note, DeAngelo Tyson was switched to defensive end after the signing of Jenkins to the recruiting class. Tyson has shownn amazing improvement at his new position, so with him and the two nose guards starting on the line, look for Georgia’s run defense to improve vastly this season.

Other Spring Practice Notes

Georgia has really been decimated by injuries this spring. Most importantly, offensive lineman Trinton Sturdivant tore his ACL for the third time in his college career. He has already missed two entire seasons due to the same type of injury, and is expected to miss all of 2011, as well. His only option is to apply for a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA and try to play in 2012.

Other injuries include running back Washaun Ealey (pulled hamstring), safety Bacarri Rambo (knee ligament), cornerback Sanders Commings (concussion), safety Jakar Hamilton (concussion), cornerback Jordan Love (hamstring), and cornerback Brandon Boykin.

Alec Ogletree will start at his new position during the G-Day Game Saturday afternoon. The highly-rated safety recruit was moved to linebacker after seeing limited playing time at safety in his freshman year. The move was designed to add depth to the inside linebacker position, one of Georgia’s weakest during the spring.

Georgia will wrap up spring practice Saturday afternoon with the annual G-Day spring scrimmage. The game starts at 1:00 AM, and will be preceded by a flag football game featuring ex-UGA football players and coaches.