This may be the only time Todd Grantham gets accused of falling short on the motivation front.
Two weeks ago, Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was exhorting his players in a fashion that, to some of them, had become out-dated.
“We’re trying to become good,” Grantham was saying, according to one player.
That’s when Alec Ogletree, a junior inside linebacker, spoke up.
“Coach, we’re tired of you saying we’re trying to become good,” Ogletree said. “We’re trying to become great.”
Easier said than done. And judging from this, there’s still an issue with shedding a mindset of complacency.
Sophomore linebacker Amarlo Herrera was quite blunt about it.
“I feel like we settled last year,” he said. “By just getting to the SEC (title game). I mean, when we got there, we wanted to win it. But we weren’t talking about that all year. We were only talking about getting there. Now we are talking about winning it all.”
Talk is… well, you know what. Mark Richt knows.
The one note of caution was provided by the man leading this group.
Richt, entering his 12th year, has seen enough teams. When asked if this team had a more business-like approach than last year, Richt took a deep breath as he answered.
“We’ve just gotta wait and see,” Richt said. “I think they are, but until you play you just don’t know for sure. There seems like there’s a right kind of approach. I think they’re very businesslike right now. I think that’s a good thing.”
Say what you will, the head man has been slow with the happy talk this offseason. Whether that’s a sign of focus, or an indication that he’s not exactly sure what his team is capable of yet is something we’ll have to see.
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UPDATE: And when’s the last time we heard Richt speak this critically of a player in the preseason?