ATHENS — Even a football program that was 5 yards away from playing for the national championship last season returns to the basics in the spring.
Georgia coach Mark Richt will open his 13th spring practices with the Bulldogs this morning with the first of 15 workouts.
There will be an emphasis on teaching fundamentals and the usual fight for spots on the depth chart. This spring, the Bulldogs welcome a whopping 13 early enrollees.
“I want to see competition at everybody’s position,” Richt said. “I want everybody to kind of prove that they can play for Georgia, that they deserve to start or that they deserve to have playing time.”
An offense that set Georgia scoring records returns senior quarterback Aaron Murray and all but one starter from season’s end — receiver Tavarres King — but there are holes to fill all over the defense where only cornerback Damian Swann, inside linebacker Amarlo Herrera and defensive end Garrison Smith return as players who started more than half the season.
“We’ll find our leaders and I want our players to take ownership like last year’s group did,” Richt said.
That group led Georgia to a second straight trip to the Southeastern Conference championship game and a 12-2 record.
Georgia revised its spring practice schedule on Friday. Two practices were moved to the week after the April 6 G-Day game. The Bulldogs will now wrap up on April 11.
SPRING STORYLINES
New defensive linemen, coach
FOR THE FIRST SPRING SINCE 1997, RODNEY GARNER WON’T BE COACHING DEFENSIVE LINEMEN AT GEORGIA. FORMER MISSISSIPPI STATE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR CHRIS WILSON TAKES OVER THE UNIT AFTER GARNER LEFT FOR AUBURN.
One of the key positions to fill will be nose guard, where 350-pounders John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers are gone.
Among those competing at the position: junior college transfer Chris Mayes (6-4, 340), redshirt freshman Jonathan Taylor (6-4, 335), junior Mike Thornton (6-1, 302) and early enrollee John Atkins (6-4, 323).
“I don’t know if you can replace that much production with just one guy,” Wilson said. “So we’ve really got to develop some depth. We’ve got to have two, three guys that can really maintain that and play anywhere from 20 to 25 snaps a game.”
This is an important spring for junior Ray Drew and redshirt sophomore Sterling Bailey to establish roles at end.
Wilson has talked of having a six-to-eight-player rotation on the line.
Treading lightly at tailback
Georgia will be cautious not to overdo it at a depleted tailback position.
Keith Marshall will miss at least the first week of spring practices with a hamstring injury. The Bulldogs are down to one healthy scholarship tailback — leading rusher Todd Gurley — after Ken Malcome transferred this winter to Southern Illinois.
“There’s no question that’s something we’ll have to talk about as a staff and hash out how much contact you truly give those guys,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “ ... One goal this spring is to get some depth there.”
Two freshmen tailback signees (A.J. Turman and Brendan Douglas) will join the fold this summer. Receiver/tailback Tramel Terry, an early enrollee, is out this spring after ACL surgery.
Brandon Harton and Kyle Karempelis, who came to Georgia as walk-ons, could lighten the load for Gurley. Freshman receiver J.J. Green is slated to also get tailback work.
“It’s going to be a touchy situation in spring ball,” Bobo said. “We can’t let our competitive juices get so much where we want to win every drill and wear Todd Gurley out at the same time. We’re going to have to be smart about it as coaches.”
Shakeout of secondary
Who will move into starting jobs alongside Swann in a secondary that lost Bacarri Rambo, Shawn Williams and Sanders Commings?
Sophomore Sheldon Dawson could have the inside track to start at another corner spot, while freshman Tray Matthews will compete for the starting free safety job.
“Tray’s a guy I’ve been really impressed with,” Grantham said. “His movement skills, his intelligence and the way he handles himself. He’s a guy that can definitely help us.”
Corey Moore and Connor Norman are also battling for starting jobs at safety.
“You really can’t go out in the spring and take a day off,” Grantham said. “Every day we’re going to be competing.”
Emerging playmakers
JOSH HARVEY-CLEMONS DIDN’T GET MANY SNAPS ON DEFENSE LAST YEAR, BUT COACHES WILL FIND A WAY TO GET THE TOP RECRUIT FROM 2012 IN POSITION TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN 2013.
Grantham said Georgia will “mix and match and move him around.”
The sophomore will be utilized at outside linebacker and safety, coaches say.
“We’ll mix and match and move him around,” Grantham said. “He’s a good player. The thing I feel like we’ve done a good job of is we’ve gotten guys that I feel like can make plays in position to make plays. We certainly feel no differently than when we recruited Josh that he’s a guy that can affect a game.”
Junior college transfer Jonathon Rumph (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) is in position to factor in right away in the receiving corps at flanker.
“We’re very excited what he can do,” Richt said. “He’s tall, he’s got long arms. He’s tough. He’s a very conscientious kid. He’s really a neat guy.”
Said Bobo: “We’re going to ask him to come in and give him an opportunity to grab a hold of a position, either No. 1 or 2 on the depth chart and some playing time. I’m interested to see what he does.”
Managing the quarterbacks
WHILE THE OFFENSIVE LINE WILL BE MISSING STARTERS JOHN THEUS AND CHRIS BURNETTE BECAUSE OF INJURIES, THERE IS A LONG LINE AT QUARTERBACK BEHIND AARON MURRAY. HUTSON MASON COMES OFF HIS REDSHIRT SEASON TO ASSUME THE BACKUP ROLE. EARLY ENROLLEE BRICE RAMSEY JOINS CHRISTIAN LEMAY AND FATON BAUTA AS OTHER SCHOLARSHIP QUARTERBACKS. WALKS-ONS PARKER WELCH AND GREG BINGHAM ROUND OUT THE GROUP.
“It’s going to be interesting,” Bobo said. “We’re going to have to be creative in how we get them reps. We’ve got some experience in Murray and Mason and even Parker Welch, but at the same time you don’t want to say, ‘Hey, they’ve got it down,’ and not work them. You’ve got to make sure they get work and still bring along the young guys and create some depth there, too.”
Theus is expected back during spring practices, but there’s a shuffle on the right side of the line in the meantime.
Kenarious Gates will work at right tackle, Austin Long at right guard and Mark Beard moves in at left tackle.