My mostest favoritest parts of the practice reports so far

I'm sure that by now most of you have read through all of the practice reports that you can find, so I'm certainly not going to be able to add anything new to that...but here are my favorite tidbits that I have heard so far:

- Coach Richt saying that a lot of the freshmen will play on special teams this year rather than take a redshirt. The goal there is to get a lot quicker and more athletic on the kickoff and punt coverage teams. This is a very positive development, in my opinion. I mean, I enjoy the whole "feel-good" story of our hard working scout team guys and walk-ons getting a chance to get on the field, but our coverage teams have been a little too.....pale for my liking. I guess that's the most P.C. way of saying it.

- Reading Dimitri Cassini's opinion pieces on UGASports. These are subscription only, but they may be worth the price of admission. Dimitri is an intern for the site, and I truly admire the kid's enthusiasm...but he kind of reminds me of the old Chicago Sports Guys skit on SNL. Reading his impressions of our offense and defense would lead you to believe that NOBODY could ever even come close to being able to hang with the Dawgs...not even a team of mini-Ditkas.

- Orson Charles, Orson Charles, Orson Charles. I think that every single report I've read has singled him out as being an absolute freak with a motor that doesn't stop. I can not WAIT to see this guy take the field.

- The vocal leadership of guys like Rennie Curran, Jeff Owens, Michael Moore, and several other upperclassmen. It sounds like these guys have really taken it on themselves to not wait on the coaches to motivate/encourage/keep guys in line. I always think leadership is more effective when it is either provided by or reinforced by peers rather than only coming down from above. Hopefully it will translate to a more focused and disciplined team on the field.

- Coach Searles in his sweatshirt, showing solidarity with his linemen. Love it.


From all reports, it was a great first day...in years past when that has happened, the coaches have usually not been as happy with the 2nd day, at least not publicly. I think they just don't want guys to get too full of themselves this early. So I'm trying to take everything I hear out of these first few sessions with a few healthy grains of salt...I think the first true meaningful milestone will be the first scrimmage next week. By then, I think we'll be getting a real picture of what the coaching staff thinks we have.

The only negative report I have heard from yesterday is that Quentin Banks still doesn't seem to be 100% healthy...that will be something to keep an eye on. We're not real deep in the secondary already and we need him to provide quality depth.

GO DAWGS!!!