Live FROMM Athens: It's a FIELDS of Dreams. The OFFICIAL 2018 University of Georgia Thread

[AVXL]

So Fields dinged and you only got Fromm. You don’t see the inherent danger in that?

They're not going to not play someone because they might get hurt, that's what I'm saying

 

[AVXL]

Travon Walker’s commitment to Georgia brings pride to hometown

Travon Walker committed to Georgia on Tuesday.
Jeff Sentell/DawgNation
Andrew Astleford
Posted 2 days ago


THOMASTON, Ga. — Travon Walker slipped on that cherished white Georgia cap, and the crowd roared.

It was Tuesday night at the Upson-Lee High School Fine Arts Center. Fans and friends, family and admirers gathered to mark the 5-star defensive tackle’s commitment to the Bulldogs. The moment served as a coronation as much as a celebration of Georgia’s continued momentum, a beginning as much as an apparent end of the prospect’s recruiting process. The result felt right.

“I know I would be happy at Georgia,” Walker, the nation’s No. 2 defensive tackle for the 2019 class, told DawgNation’s Jeff Sentell during the ceremony. “I want to come back and give back to my community. I’m two hours away [in Athens]. I want to come back.”

***

 

[AVXL]

Welcome to Makiya Tongue (4 Star ATH) & the Number 5 LB in the nation Rian Davis to the Class of 2019

 

[I AM WARHOL]

This is beautiful brehs #AnotherOne

#1 Juco player in America

 

[Konnan]

I never got the notification had to search the old one to find this

We byke :ptuga:

 

[AVXL]

This is beautiful brehs #AnotherOne

#1 Juco player in America

Jermaine Johnson played high school ball in Minnesota. He currently excels on the junior college level at the newly-Netflix famous Independence Community College in Kansas.

But his next team will be the University of Georgia. His eligibility window will allow him three years to play two seasons once he graduates from junior college.

With this decision, the Bulldogs now overtake Alabama for the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class for 2019 on the 247Sports Team composite recruiting rankings.

Johnson, the nation’s No. 1 junior college prospect for 2019 per 247Sports, made his commitment on Thursday. He has the ability to come in next fall at play heavily at the weak-side OLB spot in Georgia’s 3-4 base front.

He chose the Bulldogs out of 20-plus reported offers and a top 5 which includes Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas and UCLA. Johnson shared his decision via an exclusive commitment video from 247 Sports.

The 6-foot-6, 245-pound prospect has the size and athleticism that will remind DawgNation of current New York Giant Lorenzo Carter.

He might have even more upside. Might.

Several have advanced the scouting opinion Johnson might need one season in the SEC before the NFL beckons.

Why? His ICC coaches say he can run the first 10 yards of a sprint faster than any of the defensive backs in their program.

“He’s an NFL athlete,” Independence Community College coach Jason Brown said. “There’s no question about that. He can play on the hash or he can rush the passer.”

“He’s just that talented of a kid. He can play just about anywhere on the field. He just has to understand that this game is short-lived and he needs to know that football will not last forever.”

 

[AVXL]

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia football has a best-case scenario in its running back stable with freshman Zamir White cleared to open fall drills with the team on Friday.

“ Zamir will be full go with a protective brace (on his knee), we’ll just have to monitor his volume, but he’s not going to be limited in any way, he should be able to do all drills,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said at his Friday press conference. “He’s just gaining confidence on his knee, but the brace is helping with that.”

 

[I AM WARHOL]

#Fields2018

 

[AtlienInTheGoodieMob]

Kirby brehs

 

[The ADD]

D-Rob already practicing

 

[AVXL]

PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS
ATHENS — Sanford Stadium was looking good Saturday, and so were the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia held a rare open practice between the hedges on the occasion of Fan Day. A few thousand spectators took advantage of the opportunity to get a sneak-peak at the 2018 team. Then those that could stand the heat — and it was considerable — queued up at the field’s four entry points for a 45-minute autograph session offered at the conclusion of the workout.

Fans queue up in the southeast corner of Sanford Stadium to go on the field and get autographs at the end of Georgia’s two-hour open practice. (Chip Towers/DawgNation)
It was the second day of preseason camp for the defending SEC champions, who brought 110 players into camp. That’s an increase by five over the previous maximum allowed by the NCAA. By rule, the Bulldogs can have as many as 28 practices before the Sept. 1 opener against Austin Peay.

Accordingly, the focus remained entirely on drill work and offensive and defensive repetition. The Bulldogs did that by “two-spotting” and sometimes even “four-spotting” every exercise. That means having more than one of the same drill or play going at any time.

Freshman inside linebacker Channing Tindall (41) stares down freshman running back James Cook in a pass-skeleton drill during Georgia’s open practice Saturday at Sanford Stadium. (Steven Colquitt/UGA)
There was a lot of mixing and matching going on as far as which players were working with what units. To that end, the hierarchy was more distinguishable with some position groups than others.

For instance, the No. 1 offensive line looked to be exactly as we left it at the end of spring practice. That is with Andrew Thomas at left tackle, Kendall Baker at left guard, Lamont Gaillard at center, Ben Cleveland at right guard and Isaiah Wilson at tackle. The second team line consisted of LT D’Marcus Hayes, LG Solomon Kindley, center Ericson, right guard Netori Johnson and right tackle Cade Mayes.

Quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Justin Fields clearly were working No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Conversely, wide receivers and defensive backs were running in and out of segments at a breakneck pace. Generally, though, the passing game looked sharp through “skeleton” work, with both Fields and Fromm drawing applause from spectators for long completions and receivers for spectacular catches.

There were impressive defensive plays as well. Sophomore safety Richard LeCounte intercepted Fromm twice in 11-on-11 work and nearly had another pick in pass-skeleton drills.

With the resident disclaimer that there was no availability afterward for context and the Bulldogs are switching roles a lot on both sides of the ball at this early stage, here some other quick observations:

• Based on personnel groups on Saturday at least, it looks like Natrez Patrick might be good to go out of the box this season. The senior inside linebacker was working alongside Tae Crowder with the No. 1 defense during a situational 11-on-11 segment midway through the practice. Patrick’s status for early games has remained uncleared following his two-game suspension at the end of last season for an arrest that led to a probation violation. Smart has said Patrick is “with the team” but has declined to discuss specifically when Patrick will be available.
• Sophomore defensive backs William Poole and Mark Webb got a lot work with the No. 1 defense at cornerback and nickelback (or star), respectively.
• Sophomore Deangelo Gibbs was working with the No. 2 defensive backfield unit at the star position in pass-skeleton drills.
• Based on the personnel surrounding him, it looked as though true freshman Jake Camarda was the No. 1 punter. Landon Stratton, a graduate transfer from Murray State, worked with the No. 2 unit. Place-kicker Rodrigo Blankenship and redshirt freshman walkon Brooks Buce were with the 3s and 4s, respectively. Marshall Long, the only other scholarship punter on the team, was not present. He’s recovering from an off-season knee injury.
• Transfer wide receiver Demetris Robertson scored a 35-yard touchdown from Fromm during a late 11-on-11 drill. The sophomore from Savannah by way of Cal-Berkley got in reps primarily with the third-team offense throughout practice.
• Among the individuals providing him assistance understanding the new offense was senior Terry Godwin. Godwin was on the field but sat out most full-speed situations with what coach Kirby Smart described Friday as a “very minor” knee injury.”
• Freshman running back James Cook showed impressive speed and burst and good hands as the Bulldogs targeted him often on flair routes in the flat out of the backfield. Senior flanker Ahkil Crumpton also looked extremely quic
• Speaking of Smart, he was all over the place as usual during practice. He moved from group to group but stuck mainly with the defense and, for a while, ran one of the two-spot drills with linebackers and defensive backs.
• At one point, Smart had an extended “coaching opportunity” with senior linebacker Juwan Taylor. A demonstrative discussion started toward the end of one period and carried into the next. Taylor, who’s battling for the starting spot at Roquan Smith’s “Money” inside linebacker spot, dutifully listened to his coach and received a helmet pat and “attaboy” at the end. … Taylor and Monty Rice repped at inside linebacker mostly with the No. 2 defense.
• Sophomore left tackle Andrew Thomas stood in front of the team and “called up the Dogs” at the beginning of stretching and calisthenics. That’s a role typically reserved for seniors or members of the team’s “leadership committee.”
• Noise from construction on the West End renovation project pervaded Georgia’s entire two-hour practice and the area was closed to the public. Reports are the inside of the $63 million facility is complete minus only some finishing touches. The majority of attention now is on the bridge and the plaza area below the now completely finished scoreboard.

 

[AVXL]

Dawgs OC Jim Chaney on the QB battle vs Fields/Fromm

The most prominent story of preseason camp is the quarterback competition between the incumbent Fromm and freshman Justin Fields, the No. 1-rated dual-threat quarterback prospect when he became an early enrollee for the Bulldogs this past January. Head coach Kirby Smart fueled the controversy on Friday when he said Fields absolutely could unseat Fromm as the starter during preseason camp.

Chaney was asked to assess the competition from his vantage point. After waxing eloquent about Fields’ unlimited potential, he acknowledged that Fromm will be extremely difficult to beat out.

“We all know how polarizing the quarterback position can be,” he said. “Everybody wants to know about that spot. In my particular spot, I worry about everybody. Every good football player we have, we try to get him on the field and find ways to utilize them. Right now, Justin Fields is battling at the quarterback spot … as are all the young kids we brought in at all the spots. I love him. He’s a wonderful young man. Comes from a great family. He’s a competitive son of a gun and also a helluva good football player. The future’s very bright for him.

“As far as playing time and all that, that will take place in the next three or four weeks. And who plays and who doesn’t will get down to Coach Smart. That’ll be his decision. I’m just glad (Fields) is here and he’s a part of our program.”

The problem for Fields in that regard is he’ll have a lot of ground to make up on Fromm. Chaney said the SEC’s Freshman of the Year from 2017 has gotten significantly better since last season.

“He has more confidence within the Xs and Os, there’s no question about that,” Chaney said. “He’s got that year under him, it was a fantastic year and he’s playing very good football for it. But Jake’s personality hasn’t changed. He’s just Jake. Even last year when he was a freshman, he’s an outgoing guy who likes to talk to his teammates and is positive all the time. His personality traits haven’t changed.”

As for what might separate the two players, Chaney said: “The difference is familiarity. (Fromm) played 900-something snaps of football last year. That’s hard to overlook.”

But, Chaney added, “Coach Smart doesn’t like good players standing on the sideline next to him.” So they’ll make a concerted effort to get Fields on the field.

However, Chaney indicated they won’t necessary employ a two-quarterback system or utilize Fields as run-specialist quarterback. The concern is putting their prized freshman in harm’s way.

“Justin’s ability to run the ball is exceptional,” he said. “But we don’t have a vast amount of depth at that position right now. So if you start running quarterbacks you’re putting them in harm’s way more often. So you have to be conscious of that. And I don’t know because Justin can run you say he’s a running quarterback. Justin Fields is a fantastic quarterback who happens to be able to run.”

@The ADD @Konnan @rip928 @ATLien @AtlienInTheGoodieMob

 

[staticshock]

the GOAT

back when I was a UGA fan

 

[Robert California]

I got a good feeling about Cook.

Crowded backfield but I hope he can get some burn this year

 

[The ADD]

I got a good feeling about Cook.

Crowded backfield but I hope he can get some burn this year

Get the feeling it breaks this way:

EHoly between the tackles
7-Era multipurpose like HD Sony last year
Cook in the role 7-Era had last year
Zeus depends how healthy he is