You might want to take a sec to read David Hale’s post about his interview with Richt at last night’s Bulldog Club meeting in Columbus. There’s more there than Hale lets on.
One thing in particular that caught my attention:
— He named three guys people aren’t talking about who might have big years: DE Justin Houston, K Drew Butler, and RB Carlton Thomas.
This isn’t the first time Richt’s dropped Carlton Thomas’ name into the conversation about potential incoming contributors. I get the feeling he’s really intrigued by this kid. Thomas certainly brings a different skill set to the table than the rest of the backs do. Whether that’s enough to get him on the field in ’08 is something we’ll have to watch for starting next week.
Get The Picture 
I’m pleased that apparently there is depth in the backfield. Knowshon Moreno is really a talented and fun to watch. However, when you pin your hopes on one guy, an injury can dash those hopes in a New York minute.
Perhaps if everyone stays healthy (Please God) and Thomas lives up to expectations, we could have the 21st century version of the “Big Mac Attack” of Willie McClendon and Kevin McKlee from the late ’70s.
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Carlton Thomas is supposedly the reincarnation of Tyson Browning….
That may come in handy against LSU this year.
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I’d be very pleased if Carlton Thomas earned some PT and also contributed on special teams. Very pleased indeed. I suspect the later is what will drive it, but who knows.
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Frankly I think there’s a much better chance of Thomas playing this year than Samuel. Samuel is young (17) and his mom would prefer he redshirt. And barring an injury to Knowshon and/or Caleb just completely sucking (doubtful), we really don’t need a guy like Samuel, especially with a K. Daniels back there who’s a quality backup. Thomas, OTOH, brings a different element to our offense and he looks like he could be a very good return man for kickoffs and punts.
The name that really intrigues me is Drew Butler. Given the job that Mimbs did last year and the fact that he appears to have a tight grip on the punting job this year, I don’t see Butler punting much, if at all, this year. So is Richt referring to placekicker? The word coming from Athens is that Walsh is doing well this summer and they expect him to win the job. Is Butler a candidate for kickoffs?
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93 – Ditto. I was a little surprised to see Drew’s name on that list as well. Especially given his performance in the spring game – and that was after a full year on the team. I’m praying he’s drastically improved; we could certainly use the depth behind Walsh or Mimbs.
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I would think CT’s speed would get him on the field before the other freshman backs. As mentioned by Dawg93, it could be returns but I also see some potential on screen passes and draw plays. Crane is right on with the Tyson Browning comparison, physically anyway.
What’s up with Logan Gray? I haven’t heard much of anything on him. I was very impressed with the kids skills in the G-day game. I would suspect Bobo to be “licking his chops” at the potential threat Gray brings to the table. No disrespect to Stafford or Cox, just sayin’.
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Speaking of Gray, Richt was asked about him at the Atlanta Bulldog Club meeting.
Richt said they probably wouldn’t put in a special package for Logan and that Cox deserved to see the field in relief of Matt, so I didn’t get the impression that we’ll see much of Gray this year.
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Thanks for the update Senator. Hopefully he’ll at least get his feet wet with some mop up duty.
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I bet if we somehow end up playing Missouri in a bowl, Logan will see the field for a series or two.
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I’ve read in two different places lately where Richt has described Caleb King as Moreno’s back-up going into camp, but that they’ll know by the end of camp who the 2nd string will actually be. I guess this is just an obvious fact, but does anyone make anything of Richt emphasizing this?
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Just an opinion, but I think he’s just saying we’re loaded at the back position and that spot’s open to anyone that earns it.
Its also just my guess, but I think with Caleb’s year of practice experience, he’ll emerge with the #2 spot.
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I also think Richt wants to keep Caleb as motivated as possible. As previously noted, a redshirt for Samuel is preferable because the kid’s so young.
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