Remember the game “I can name that song in X number of notes?” I think the SEC East is playing a variation of it.
I’ve previously noted how many players under the 85-man limit Florida and Tennessee are going into the season. Now it seems that Georgia wants to play that game, as well.
Brent Benedict, a redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Jacksonville and a former five-star recruit, left the team due to “personal reasons,” head coach Mark Richt said in a news release on Sunday. Benedict (6-foot-5, 312-pounds) was slated to back up Chris Burnette at right guard. He signed as a tackle…
… Georgia is now down to 13 scholarship offensive linemen, five of whom are true freshmen who just arrived on campus (not including Nathan Theus of Jacksonville, who signed as a long snapper). Incoming freshman tackle Xzavier Ward is also expected to miss the season with a knee injury.
Georgia still looks to be able to assemble a starting five on the o-line. But the depth picture is shakier than ever, if it’s possible to be shakier than non-existent. Some incoming freshmen will need to grow up in a hurry.
Interesting side note from the AJ-C article: “Indications are there has been some differences over how much and what kind of off-season training he should be doing as he prepared for his first active season on the field.” Belue fleshes that out with more specifics.
Get The Picture 
Can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs. It’s just a shame it has to come from the O-line. I’m thinking the dude just couldn’t deal. Complaint about squats seems a little nitpicky, but what do I know?
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With our recent history with rehab knees he probably would have blown it out in camp anyway.
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Got it. Further damage to his knee didn’t occur to me.. but if he’s playing to prevent industry, perhaps we’re better off being down, rather than have someone in there that isn’t playing at full effort.
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True, we have had an uncommon run with injuries along the OL for years, but this sounds different to me. He may, or may not, have overcome his knee injury and earned a spot as a starter but I have major concerns with players who come with the baggage of a “specialist” consultant and/or over- involved parent passing judgement on how their little darling boy should be treated….or what he should eat,….or if he should lift weights a certain way.
I hate the loss of depth, and sorry the kid will miss playing as a Dawg, but my gut tells me this will not be a major loss by next spring. I would take a true freshman willing to learn from the coaches and eager to play over “Mitch Mustain-like” interference. Indivduals have to take a back seat to the team’s needs; and that is a standard we cannot deviate from. IF that is indeed Benedict’s issue, you can bet he will have many more disappointments before he ever enjoys success.
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Kid had William Andrews type nerve damage. He was lucky it was UGA or his ship wouldn’t have been honored at all at other SEC schools.
Had his chance and taking a year off sounds like the best thing for his knee and foot.
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I have seen this movie before. The ending is not very good.
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Right there with you. Let’s brace ourselves for another season of resounding mediocrity.
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As if our O-Line concerns weren’t already enormous. Tough way to start the week. We may be better off in the long-run without this young man (as some have suggested), but in the short-term it only reinforces our greatest weakness. Aaron Murray just broke a sweat.
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Elated by the news that the new S&C program is tough last week, crushed by the news that S&C is tough this week.
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Tennesseedawg got me thinking a bit about which came first.. the chicken or the egg. Is our training/medical staff not good (evaluating when these things have healed properly) at helping rehab injuries properly or has our S&C kept guys from bouncing back from injury? Hard to say. Perhaps a combination of both.
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Wonder if Andrews would take on a third team?
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I am more of a swimmer/runner now but I lifted weights most of my teenage & adult life and I still use some weight training in my exercise regime. From what I have read it looks likes Joe T’s program includes performing 20 plus reps of 70-80% of a players max on bench, squats, etc. IMHO doing that kind of weight and number of repetitions on a knee that was shredded does not sound appropriate. Since I am on the outside obivoulsy I don’t know if he was doing that but it sounds like whatever he was being asked to do did not jive with what he was doing with his certified trainer. Maybe the kid is just being a puss about being pushed but this was one of my concerns with putting a 20+ year video guy in charge of S&C. Does he really know what he is doing? Does he truly understand the body and how to help it recover from injury? Does he know how to balance a program that not only builds primary muscle strength but also properly trains the secondary and stabilier muscles, tendons, etc.? I am hopeful that he does or is at least getting some professional guidance but this situation does make me wonder a bit.
I will say that I do think that this kid owes Georgia and Richt a bit more considering that they did honor his scholorship given his horrific injury. I am sure there is more to the story and maybe this has been something that has been brewing for some time.
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In my mind, that’s what the training staff is for…. to tell Joe T. when these kids are doing too much given injury recovery. We also don’t know know if Benedict was doing less than the others because of his injuries.. I’m assuming he was. I’ m sure he was being pushed, don’t get me wrong.. I’m just curious if it really is within some agreed upon parameters or not. Either way, he obviously got conflicting information, and wasn’t comfortable with what he was being asked to do by UGA.
Also, Joe T. wasn’t just a video coordinator. He was on Van Halanger’s staff, and had worked on S&C at various times during his tenure at UGA… so he’s not green or just an enthusiast. I’m not trying to attack your position, I see your point and it’s certainly a valid one on the surface.. I just think there is more to it than that.
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He sat out for two years when a disagreement between player and coach might have been tolerated. Now he’s in the middle of an “institutional reboot” and doesn’t want to put in the work or he is truly concerned about his knee. Either way it was unbeneficial for either party so this is the best thing that could have happened. He probably would have had the same result happen to him had he have stayed.
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Tenn_Dawg: Your last paragraph Concerning his debt to Richt is exactly what I was thinking. The unnecessary Honoring of that scholarship has also allowed him to avail himself of the medical help that all UGA players have available for them. He owes Georgia and Richt a lot and leaving like he is doing makes little or no sense to me.
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Our offensive line has been the subject of some scrutiny for awhile now. Apparently, our last O line Coach may not have been what we thought he was. With all the negative vibes about the O line and lack of a penetrating running game it is easy to forget that we set a record for the number of 30+ point games in 2010. Did LSU have a more disappointing offense it 2010 than the Dawgs? LSU did have a fairly decent D. Coached by a fired ex Vol D coordinator at that. We tried to date him when CWM was let go. Let’s not forget that there will be two lines that we will be fielding in 2011. The D will be expected to help carry our Offensive in spite of the O line shortcomings. I think we have all been excited by the potential in our defense.
I’ve had knee surgery twice. The first involved the patella, patella tendon and nerve. Yeah, it is always in the back of your mind. When my youngest dislocated his knee wrestling I told the coach we were done. He said “ we need him … he can wear a brace.” I said…. “I got that tee- shirt … we are done.” We don’t know the whole story on the lineman and his Dad and his injury. Maybe…. he’s done. Better that he AND Georgia know it now.
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So does somebody from the DL move over as we’ve seen in the past?
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Does Kiante Tripp have any eligibility left? 😉
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I think that we have got to stop recruiting kids with bad injuries to start their careers. Richt’s philosophy on once offered your good for life is just crazy. Why would you waste a scholly on damaged goods that you knew was going to take a year to just get back on the field. This has been going on since Callaway and his damaged fire sell recruiting of bad shoulder OL guys. It’ needs to stop now. We need to stop being a rehab school and start getting fewer damaged goods.
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who was the D lineman that came in post car wreck and broken leg that did such a good job for us?
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Golston the Ring Seller
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Kedric_Golston
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…was that a J.R.R. Tolkien ref?
😉
and I thought it was Gibson.
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No, but I wish I had thought of it first. Besides, Tolkien too highbrow and complicated. Now, on the other hand, the above legal age of majority Girls of Larry Potter may be another thing
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8203700/content/72994840-british-actress-emma-watson-poses-for-photographers-as-she-arrives-for-the-elle-style
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Murray broke his leg in HS….and he is clearly a sham and waster scholly. Your reasoning is right to a degree, but sometimes great players overcome adversity. Thus you cannot just say you got injured, sucks for you thanks for the ride. Also having a coach that is willing to stay committed to players helps PR with other recruits. How much do you think Richt’s handling of the guy who drown in January boosted Richt’s place in recruits/their parents mind.
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Have to agree, 69Dawg. I have no problem with us being honorable to commitments once they have signed but our batting average with extending schollies for those with significant injuries late in their HS career has been very poor (AM’s injury is an exception, plus it was a fracture, not a joint/back/shoulder, and he did play well in a championship game after that.) Let’s hope our new USC transfer at LB is another risk we took that pays off. Don’t the good guys deserve to win a few? Some of you must not be living a clean life to bring this type of curse on us!
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The O line has been a continuous slow motion disaster. Signing Benedict after his injury problems was a prayer – and of course it comes back to hurt us. Underachievers. S&C issues. When’s the last time we had a 1st round pick on the O-line? The Benedict story is nothing new – it’s the same broken record we’ve had for years.
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I remember when the O-line was one of the team’s biggest strengths under Dooley. Even under Donnan there were really good O-linemen.
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Don’t we have some extra scholarships? Scour the JC ranks to find the best JC O-line players out there and sign some rising sophs up ASAP. I wpuld start by asking Jenkins about who he played with/against in JC that he thought was particularly good and go from there. We really only need a couple.
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I agree. Ask Big John who he thought did a good job and see if we can get a look. Right now we need some able bodies but I am afraid it is too late this year. Of all the things that fans have been critical of Richt regarding the program the on going OL issues since day one of his tenure is by far my most concerning. He has to get these OL issues figured out and soon.
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I’m not so sure it’s too late. Find a couple of kids who were going the JC route and get them to Athens for summer practice instead. They’re hopefully in shape anyway because they are planning on playing elsewhere and we’re not talking about starters–just somebody to spell the starters for a few plays when necessary. Jenkins and Cody are living proof that there are guys at the JC level who can play. Will CMR act on this? I hope so but will not be surprised if nothing happens.
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His father says that he will play football somewhere else. USC, ND, UF, FSU. ETC., Another free to play anywhere release. Obviously something besides damaged goods is involved here. I Still think that he owes UGA and Richt a debt that he is unwilling to pay .Never would have been a DGD.
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“Never would have been a DGD.”……well then it serves everyone’s interests that he is gone now.
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If he goes to another SEC East team and makes an impact, I will be most displeased with CMR for granting an unconditional release.
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I am at a loss to understand how all though CMR’s tenure our O-Line has struggled so bad. When he got here, the entire 2002 class was seniors (max excepted) and we had to reload. CMR was unable to recruit a steady group of kids to stagger the line (age-wise) and we wound up with another batch of uniform aged linemen which damn near got Stafford killed once they all left. And yes, we went the JUCO route to try to address some of those issues, and it didn’t work all that well.
I’d like to see some breakdown of how many OL Bama and UF have recruited per year for the last 6 years, and how many have made an impact. I suspect they have recruited more, and I suspect that the impact ratio has been roughly the same.
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Holy crap, so I did the numbers.
From 2006-2011, Bama, UF, and UGA have recruited (per rivals) the following number of offensive linemen. Tell me which one you think should have a depth issue.
Florida: 19 (from 2011 -> 2006: 2, 2, 5, 3, 3, 4)
Bama: 24 (4,3, 7, 3, 2, 5)
UGA: 32 (6,3, 4, 4, 8, 7)
32!! And we recruited 8 (8!) in 2007 when you’d presume that at least some of them would be 5th year seniors. Of that group only Bean is left. Wow.
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Spence… wow. You did so some work. h/t okay.
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‘Wow’ and ‘Holy crap’ understates the numbers you dug up. It’s truly jaw dropping how inept we’ve been at evaluating and developing players on the O line.
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+1 Nice work.
Now I have to go take my anxiety medication…
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Senator, can you remind me what UT’s under 85 number is?
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Honestly, I’ve had a hard time keeping track. I think with this, it’s around 71 or 72.
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According to this, Benedict is looking at Florida:
“I know we are also after Theuss, but there are rumors swirling that he may commit to UGA as early as tonight. Maybe Benedict will talk some sense into Theuss.”
http://forum.gatorsports.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12112
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