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Gym Dawgs win 10th titleGym Dawgs win 10th title

After a two-month hiatus we’re back with another issue of BI.And while we wish we could report multiple golf course and beachleisure outings, unfortunately they have been few and far betweenbecause of all the awesome happenings with Georgia athletics.

Where shall I begin?Without question, the first shout out must go to the Georgia

gymnastics team who won its tenth national title. And how fittingthat their coach, Suzanne Yoculan gets to ride off into the sunset awinner. The script simply wouldn’t have been right, if the GymDawgs would have fallen short at Nationals in Omaha, Neb. Andthe tenacity of Yoculan certainly drove her girls to the victory. Likesomeone said to my wife, Cheri, on Twitter, certainly 10 nationaltitles deserves a street name dedication on the Georgia campus.

Good luck Suzanne. You will certainly be missed. And thesame can be said about your four seniors, Paige Burns, Abby Stack,Tiffany Tolnay and Courtney Kupets who will leave Georgia withthe awesome distinction of being a national champion from theirfirst season to their last. However, we at Bulldawg Illustrated aren’tquite finished with all of you as we have a special tribute plannedin our next issue on June 24. Should be a blast to blow up themost decorated athletic program of all time at Georgia.

As I was planning my outline for this piece, I found it in-triguing that Georgia athletics is losing one of its best coaches at thevery same time it is gaining a new coach who is charged withbuilding a program into something grander.

I’m not sure new men’s basketball coach, Mark Fox will beable to win 10 national titles, but he has certainly arrived to Athensdoing all the right things to begin his pursuit.

At the G-Day game, I followed Fox after he was introduced

on the 50-yard line. Some coaches would have considered theirjob completed and gone about their business. However Foxheaded towards the student section giving high-five and photoopportunities to as many people that wanted them. At the top ofthe section, I asked him if he was going to make it and simplysmiled and said, “absolutely.”

A week later, I requested five minutes with Fox because Iwanted to include him in this issue. Fox’ sports information di-rector, Tim Hix sent me an email late that afternoon saying that thecoach had assured him I would receive a phone call that day. Laterin the evening I figured Fox was too busy trying to recruit playersfor next season and would hopefully contact me the next day.

How exciting it was when my phone rang at 9:20 p.m.“Vance this is Mark Fox,” he said. “I apologize for calling so late,but I wanted to make sure I called since I told I would.”

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m a firm believer in doingyour very best to always do what you say you’re going to do! Im-mediately I became a huge fan of Mark Fox. And like him, I wastrue to what I said and kept my interview to five minutes.

Fox said he is completely pumped to be in Athens and thatrang true in his voice. I like the fact that he wanted the Bulldog Na-tion to know that his teams play the game of basketball the rightway. And they always play for the name on the front of the jersey(not the back).

And I loved his answer when I asked him if he was a Celticor a Laker. He went with the Lakers saying he could never rootagainst Tex Winters who had been so good to him throughout theyears. Just in case you don’t know it, Winters has been Phil Jack-son’s right hand man at both Chicago and Los Angeles where thetwo of them have won nine world championships. Fox could cer-tainly have worse mentors.

He cited Dr. Martin Luther King and Bill Gates as icons he ad-mired, which shows he’s a coach with both compassion and in-novation. Fox sincerely hopes the Bulldog Nation will get behindthe team and fill Stegman Coliseum with a ton of noise next sea-son. I ended our conversation asking him when the Georgia fanbase could expect the Dawgs to be in the Big Dance (NCAA tour-nament). “As fast as I can get them there,” was the answer from thestraight-up coach who I think will definitely be successful.

My goodness, I’m running out a space by the key stroke andhaven’t even mentioned football yet. Oh well, you will just haveto wait another paragraph or two because the success of othersports at Georgia has continued in 2009 and deserves some praise.

Kudos go to the Georgia men’s golf team, who won the SECchampionship at the Frederica Golf Club on St. Simons. Thatmakes six for Coach Chris Haack. However he and his team havetheir eyes on the national prize in the coming weeks. Best of luckgoes to all of them, particularly seniors Adam Mitchell and BrianHarman.

And if you haven’t heard, David Perno’s Diamond Dawgshave picked up right where they left off last season and are lead-ing the SEC. I encourage you to head to Athens and attend a game.However you better get tickets before hand as Foley Field has hadrecord-breaking crowds at every home stand thus far.

Okay I’m at emergency level now for space. Let’s talk somefootball.

First and foremost, I’m pleased to report that both the coachesand players were extremely focused during spring drills. Richt andcompany are back to basics and enforcing rules like tucking injerseys and having every chin-strap buckled. Yes rules like thoseseem nagging, but the Bulldogs have responded well to the tight-ening.

Now at this moment, I’m sure all the arm-chair quarterbacksout there are floored and can’t believe all of those things haven’tbeen in place for every practice since Mark Richt came to Geor-gia. And while they would be correct, I would encourage them torealize that Richt’s change is an excellent sign that he and staff aren’tsatisfied with winning 9 or 10 games every year.

Does this mean to book your flights to Pasadena for next Jan-uary? Only time will answer that question. But I am pleased withthe leadership of players like Joe Cox, Michael Moore, Rennie Cur-ran and Jeff Owens. And players like Brandon Boykin, SandersCommings and Carlton Thomas are emerging to become house-hold names to the Bulldog Nation.

Yes, losing studs like Matthew Stafford and KnowshonMoreno won’t be easy, but I totally believe in this 2009 team andknow they will be hitting the weight room hard this summer.

The best thing I take away from this spring for Georgia foot-ball is a group of young men who are focused on playing as a team.And even more important, they have a real yearning to take downthe Mighty Gators.

FYI … 193 days until kickoff in Jacksonville!

On the cover, Danny Hunt and new basketball coach, MarkFox.

BULLDAWGIssue 3 - Springtime in Georgia

From the Editor

FOR ADVERTISING: call Andrew Miller - 706-248-8053 or [email protected] TO SUBSCRIBE: www.bulldawgillustrated.com or call 1-877-456-4624

5 This is now number 14’s teamMurray Poole talks to Joe Cox and his fellow players whohave the utmost faith in his leadership.

6 Playing time solidified in springSee who showed their stuff on the Georgia football teamduring spring practice.

7 Board of Regents GalaThere were plenty of UGA people at this annual eventand the BI camera found them.

9 Recruiting by Carlton DeVooghtThe 2010 class is already taking shape.

15 G-day wrap-up and fan photosWith ESPN, Stafford, Knowshon on hand, it was an exciting spring day in Athens.

17 Pro-DayFormer Bulldogs impressed NFL scouts in Athens.

21 Gym Dawgs win tenth titleSuzanne Yoculan goes out in style as her Gym Dawgs winanother title. Perno’s Diamond Dawgs are rolling.

22 Men’s golf team wins SECThe Bulldog Nation came out in droves to watch ChrisHaack’s team run away with the SEC title.

BIcontents

77 15

PublisherCha Cha Cha Publishing

Editor Vance Leavy

Editorial & Ad DirectorCheri Leavy

Sports EditorJeff Dantzler

Sales & MarketingAndrew MillerAustin Keeble

Web MavenCheri Leavy

SportsMurray PooleLayout/DesignVance Leavy

Student InternsMary Boyce Hicks

Ryan Scates

Ad DesignCheri Leavy

Andrew MillerTech Support

Chris LeeCover DesignVance Leavy

ColumnistsCarlton DeVooght

Al HicksonReg MurphyRob SherrellChad WhiteEddie Roche

Issue 3 - Spring, April 21, 2009 - Credits: Georgia Sports Communications

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Since Mark Richt’s arrival at Geor-gia, the Bulldogs have posted moredouble digit win seasons than anySoutheastern Conference school.

Georgia had not won an SECchampionship since 1982, then Richtled the Bulldogs to the conferencecrowns of 2002 and 2005.

From 2002 – 2007, Georgiaearned berths in three Sugar Bowls.The Bulldogs had last appeared in NewOrleans on January 1, 1983.

In 2008, the Bulldogs defeatedLSU, Auburn and Tennessee all in thesame season for the first time ever.

In 2008, Georgia’s run over sevenconsecutive triumphs over Tech cameto an end, maintaining the Yellow Jack-ets eight straight victories from 1949-56 as the longest winning streak inseries history.

Georgia has lost to Florida in 16 ofthe past 19 seasons.

Under Richt’s watch, Florida is theonly school that Georgia has playedmultiple times, with a winning recordagainst the Bulldogs. Richt’s Dogs are7-1 vs. Tech, 5-3 vs. Auburn, 5-3 vs.Tennessee, 3-1 vs. Alabama, 3-2 vs.LSU, 6-2 vs. South Carolina, 7-1 vs.Kentucky, 7-1 vs. Vanderbilt, 4-0 vs.Arkansas, 4-0 vs. Ole Miss, and 2-0 vs.Mississippi State. But the Bulldogs are2-6 vs. Florida.

Since 2001, in Georgia’s two winsover Florida, the Bulldogs scored acombined ten touchdowns (four in2004, six in 2007). In the six losses,the Dogs scored a total of seven touch-downs (posting one in 2001, 2002,2003, 2005 and 2008 and two in2006).

Since Tennessee’s perfect 13-0 na-tional championship season of 1998,only one SEC team has posted an un-defeated season. Auburn went 13-0 in2004, but did not play for or win thenational title.

Over the last six years, two SECprograms have combined to win fourBCS championships, with LSU captur-ing the crowns in 2003 and 2007 andFlorida in 2006 and 2008.

Since 2002, Georgia has had sixdouble digit win seasons. Florida hashad two.

Florida has never had an unde-feated season, suffering a loss in allthree national championships seasonsof 1996, 2006 and 2008.

In 2002, Georgia went 13-1, los-ing only to Florida, but didn’t get toplay for the national title as Ohio Stateand Miami both had undefeated regu-lar seasons.

In 2003, LSU went 13-1, losingonly to Florida, but with no undefeatedteams, played for and won the nationalchampionship.

in 2007, both LSU and Georgiahad 10-2 regular seasons, losing a pairof SEC games. But Tennessee, whobeat the Bulldogs, topped South Car-olina, Vanderbilt and Kentucky all bya field goal or less. LSU beat the Volsfor the SEC title, earned a berth in theBCS Championship Game and won thenational title. The Bulldogs won theSugar Bowl and finished No. 2.

Dating back to the draft of 1998,four Southeastern Conference quarter-backs have been selected No. 1 overall.Payton Manning, Tim Couch, Eli Man-ning and JaMarcus Russell combined towin one Southeastern Conferencechampionship in their 11 combinedyears as starting quarterbacks at Ten-nessee, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Rus-sell. If Matthew Stafford goes No. 1overall, he’ll be the fifth SEC quarter-back in the last 12 drafts picked in thetop spot. The total of SEC titles wonby those signal callers would be one in14 years.

Dating back to the 1998 season,

SEC teams have won five nationalchampionships. The highest that anyof the starting quarterbacks – Tee Mar-tin, Matt Mauck, Chris Leak and MattFlynn – were drafted was the fifthround. Tim Tebow is the fifth nationalchampionship starting quarterbackand is back for his senior year atFlorida.

Stafford, the likely top overallpick, will be the first Georgia quarter-back to be drafted in the first roundsince Hall of Fame legend John Rauch,who was picked in 1949 after leadingthe Bulldogs to the 1948 SoutheasternConference championship.

Knowshon Moreno figures to bethe first Georgia tailback to be draftedin the first round since Robert Ed-wards, who was picked in April of1998 after leading the Bulldogs to a10-2 season.

Over the last three NFL Drafts,Georgia has had four players picked inthe first three rounds.

As quarterbacks coach and offen-sive coordinator at Florida State, Richtmentored two Heisman trophy win-ners, Charley Ward and Chris Weinke.At Georgia, Richt has coached twoquarterbacks to SEC Offensive Playerof the Year honors and the likely No. 1overall pick in the draft.

Under Richt’s watch, the Bulldogsare 37-3 when a tailback runs for over100 yards.

Amongst the great players from thestate of Georgia who have starred awayfrom Athens are Ward and GeorgeRogers, who both won the HeismanTrophy, Auburn Outland Trophy recip-ient Tracy Rocker, two-time AuburnAll-American linebacker Takeo Spikes,star tailbacks Eddie Lee Ivery, JamesBrooks, William Andrews, LionelJames and James Davis. The secondpick of the 2005 draft, Ronnie Brownof Auburn, is a Georgia native. Thesecond pick of the 2007 draft, CalvinJohnson of Tech, is a Georgia native.

All-American safeties Eric Berry ofTennessee and Morgan Burnett of Techwere the nation’s top two interceptorsof 2008. Both are natives of Georgia.

My esteemed afternoon talk showco-host and standout Foley Field P.A.announcer Chris Brame did sometremendous research, finding that therewere 86 Georgia natives in the NFL in2008, and 25 played for the Bulldogs.

Georgia last beat Tennessee andFlorida in the same season in 1988.

When the Dogs beat Florida andAuburn in 2007, in marked the firsttime that Georgia defeated the Gatorsand Tigers in the same season since1982.

Georgia has beaten Auburn threestraight times. That last happened in1980, ’81 and ‘82.

Dating back to Jim Donnan’s sec-ond season of 1997, Georgia has wonat least eight games in 12 consecutiveyears. The previous longest stretch ofwinning at least games in a season wasthe four year golden era of 1980-83.

Since 1997, Georgia is 10-2 inbowl games.

Hugh Durham was Georgia’s bas-ketball coach for 17 seasons, takingover a program that had losing recordsin 23 of the previous 27 years. MarkFox is Georgia’s sixth head basketballcoach in the 15 seasons since Durham’sdeparture.

Richt is heading into his ninth sea-son as Georgia’s head football, whichwill be the fourth longest tenure inBulldogs annals. Vince Dooley was atthe helm for 25 years, Wally Butts for22 and Harry Mehre for 10. In six ofthe previous seven seasons under hiswatch, Georgia has won at least 10games. Georgia now has 18 doubledigit win seasons.

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Joe Cox has had his calendar circled forsome time now.

The date is Sept. 5, 2009 and the site isOklahoma State’s Boone Pickens Stadium inStillwater, Okla.

That’s the day Georgia’s senior quarter-back officially takes over the reins of the Bull-dogs’ offense. The moment Cox has playedover and over in his mind ever since he en-rolled at UGA in 2005, following a record-breaking prep career at Independence Highin Charlotte, N.C.

Joe Cox, you see, has waited a long timeto become the University of Georgia’s startingquarterback. After redshirting in his first sea-son in Athens in 2005, Cox watched fromthe sidelines over the next three autumns asthe rifle-armed Matthew Stafford put up bigpassing numbers en route to his maybe be-coming the NFL’s No. 1 draft pick in thisweekend’s annual selection of the top colle-giate standouts.

During those past three years, Cox didhave his moments as a Bulldog quarterback.Remember the Colorado game in 2006when redshirt freshman Cox came off thebench in relief of Stafford and led Georgia ona game-winning touchdown drive in a 14-13 thriller over the Buffaloes … Cox clinch-ing the victory with a 20-yard touchdownstrike to tight end Martrez Milner with just46 seconds left to play.

That same season, Cox got his only startto date at Georgia at Ole Miss and teamedwith Stafford to help the Bulldogs to a keyroad win. Then, this past season, in his red-shirt junior campaign, Cox appeared in justthree games but completed 11-of-15 pass-ing attempts for 151 yards overall andhooked up with Aron White on a 19-yardscoring pass – the Bulldogs’ only touchdown– in Georgia’s 49-10 loss to the fifth-rankedFlorida Gators.

But hey, Bulldawg Nation, this is a guywho never lost a game in high school, going31-0 as a starting quarterback, and a guywho threw a North Carolina state record 66touchdown passes at Independence Highwhile leading his team to a fifth consecutivestate championship his senior year.

Here is a guy, this Joe Cox, who couldhave been a starting QB at many schoolsaround the Southeastern Conference thesepast three years. And, know this, although itwas very, very tough for Cox to play thebackup role to Stafford in the 2006, 2007and 2008 football seasons, he never, everthought about leaving the University ofGeorgia. He just had a sense that his timewould come before he picked up hisdiploma from UGA.

And now, with the ultra-talentedStafford having bypassed his senior year ofeligibility for the riches of the NFL, Joe Cox’stime has indeed come in Red and Black. He’snow the leader of this 2009 Georgia footballteam and if you had a chance to be aroundthe Bulldogs’ camp during the recently-com-pleted spring practice session, you are awareof how highly regarded No. 14 is by his fel-low teammates and the Georgia coachingstaff.

Perhaps the guy lining up behind Coxin the Bulldogs’ backfield, junior fullbackShaun Chapas, summed it up best when herecently threw out this one-liner about Cox:“Joe is the man with the plan.”

And Cox does have a plan for thisGeorgia team, a plan that will hopefully en-able the Bulldogs to accomplish what lastyear’s preseason No. 1-ranked team couldn’taccomplish. And that plan involves motiva-tion, superb execution on the playing fieldand, a buying into a team unity of purposethat maybe wasn’t always present in 2008.

“For us (to win championships), it’sgoing to take everybody coming together thisyear and playing as a unit, in every singlegame,” said the 6-1, 210-pound Cox, a fieryredhead who brings much more of a vocaldisposition to the quarterback spot than thesomewhat laid-back Stafford. “We can’t haveany breakdowns and when we do, we’ve gotto have somebody step up, get focused andmake the plays. In practice, our coaches areputting us under adversity as much as theycan and giving us the chance to make theplays.”

Yes indeed, with the Bulldogs havingput the cap on spring practice and with pre-season camp in August not as far off as youmight think, Cox is already counting down

the days to that Sept. 5 afternoon – or night,depending on when television dictates –when the Dogs and Cowboys hold a good,old western shootout in the 2009 opener.

“It’s going to be pretty incredible,” saidCox. “I’ve been waiting on it and so muchlooking forward to it. And I’ll be waiting onit all summer. It’s going to be a little different,getting used to being the guy who gets thereps with the 1’s this season, but my mainmindset now is just to get ready to play.

“My biggest goals are, No. 1, leadershipand knowing what to do on every play of thegame. I just want to have an overall knowl-edge of the game. I think I can make all thethrows but I do know my limitations,” saidCox. “I’m not gonna want to throw a 70-yardpass because I know I can’t do it. I just wantto get my feet set and make good and accu-rate throws”

Cox said he’s got great faith in his of-fensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, and his of-fensive teammates.

“Coach Bobo has a good plan for the of-fense and guys are responding on both sidesof the ball,” Cox stated. “It started the day wegot back to lifting. Our seniors establishedwhat we wanted everyone to do, and theguys responded to us. I feel completely con-fident with this team right now. We have ahealthy group of guys coming back thatplayed last year, both offensively and defen-sively.”

And, oh yeah, if you’re wonderingabout the respect the Georgia players andcoaches have for their new starting signal-caller, listen in on the following comments:

Junior linebacker Rennie Curran: “Joeis really doing well overall. He’s owning up tothat position of being a leader and everybodyis feeding off of him.”

Senior safety Bryan Evans: “I really likeJoe back there at quarterback. He’s been herefor five years and knows what it takes to win.He certainly can throw the ball well, and Joeis showing the mental toughness the teamneeds from its leader.”

Senior split end Kris Durham: “Joe hastaken over really well. Because he’s been abackup and now a starter, he knows how torelate to people in both those positions. Be-cause Joe’s been here the last four years,everybody listens to him and, really, he’s a lotmore vocal than even I anticipated.”

Junior offensive lineman Clint Boling:“Joe’s really a vocal guy. He’s been here for solong everybody has looked at him as a leaderall along. We all know what he can do.”

Sophomore tailback Caleb King: “Eversince I’ve been here, Joe has been my quar-terback. I’ve always felt comfortable with Joe.He not only is showing leadership this yearbut every year he’s been here.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo: “I tellour quarterbacks to watch Joe and they’llknow what to do. I’m very impressed withJoe and the way he’s accepted his role as ourstarting quarterback. I like the preparationhe’s shown day-in and day-out. Joe believesin Coach Richt and the Georgia way, andthat’s one of the main reasons we recruitedJoe Cox … for that intangible reason heshowed in school, leadership and how hewas behind Chris Leak in high school andhow he came in following a guy that’s a five-star player. That put a lot of pressure on himin high school. (Leak) had won so manygames in a row but (Cox) stepped in and re-ally relished that role that he was going totake advantage of it. I think he’s doing thesame thing here. I’m excited for him.”

And this from the head Bulldog him-self, Mark Richt: “I think Joe’s rolling into aposition (as far as leadership goes) that fitshim like a glove, and that’s because of Joe’spreparation. From the time he got here untilnow, Joe has done it all along. I think theguys know it and the coaches know it. LikeI said, Joe fits into this like a real comfortableshoe.”

Cox, with all his experience and knowl-edge of the Georgia offense, should fit socomfortably in guiding the Bulldogs’ attackthis coming football season that Bobo’s unitwill continue to put up big numbers. And ifthe Georgia offense is complemented by amighty rebound from Willie Martinez’ de-fense, then No. 14, Joe Cox, could lead the2009 Bulldogs to an SEC championship(and beyond) that always seemed to eludehis famous predecessor, Matthew Stafford.

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Playing time solidified by several during spring campBy Murray PooleBULLDAWG ILLUSTRATED

With at least 18 Bulldogs sitting out this year’s spring practice with a varied assortment of in-juries – players who are expected to contribute heavily to Georgia’s 2009 season – there hasn’t beena great deal of movement in the team’s depth chart.

In fact, one of the few announcements of one player being promoted above another camewell beyond the midway point of the 15 spring sessions and it only involved a shuffle between sec-ond and third stringers. In that case, Georgia head coach Mark Richt noted that senior linebackerMarcus Washington has moved ahead of sophomore Marcus Dowtin for the No. 2 Mike position… behind starter Akeem Dent.

But while any major moves along the UGA depth chart likely won’t come until preseasoncamp begins in August, there are a number of Bulldogs who have impressed their teammates andcoaches so much this spring that they are insuring themselves considerable playing time when theDogs tee it up for real this autumn.

One can hardly talk with Georgia’s offensive and defensive players without hearing the namesof Brandon Boykin, Nick Williams and Sanders Commings come up.

Boykin, a sophomore from Fayetteville who played in a backup role and on special teams asa freshman, has taken over the starting spot at strong corner and is rapidly becoming one of the lead-ers in Willie Martinez’ secondary. As has Commings, redshirt freshman cornerback from Augustawho is playing behind Boykin at strong corner and also seeing action in the nickel package.

“Brandon has really stepped it up in the secondary, and Sanders Commings has gained weightand gotten a lot stronger – he’s become a real physical player,” offered Bulldogs’ senior wide receiverKris Durham, who goes against the two each day in practice.

“Brandon is a strong guy, he’s fast and you can’t believe how high he can jump,” said seniorquarterback Joe Cox. “He’s a guy who can definitely be a big-time playmaker in the secondary forus.”

“Defensively, after Asher (Allen) left, Brandon Boykin has really been showing good leadership,”said Georgia sophomore tailback Caleb King.

Equally as impressive this spring has been sophomore linebacker Williams. The Bainbridgeproduct came to Georgia as a safety, was then listed at Sam linebacker prior to the spring drills butnow is holding now the No. 2 job at Will linebacker, behind All-America candidate Rennie Cur-ran.

“Personally, I think both Nick Williams and Marcus Dowtin are really going to help us out,”related senior safety Bryan Evans. “They’re pretty much in on every tackle – you always see themaround the ball.”

Bulldogs defensive coordinator and secondary coach Martinez has greatly liked what he’s seenfrom Williams and Commings, as well as Boykin.

“Nick and Sanders are making their presence known,” Martinez said. “Nick is a very high en-ergy guy and we like that. We had a play the other day where he hustled to the football and ran hishelmet through the opposing player. And Sanders has made a couple of plays in the scrimmages.He’s getting a lot of repetitions and is taking on a lot at both nickel and corner. They both have alot to learn but we like how they’re working and their attitude.”

Martinez says Boykin has adapted well to his new starting position at cornerback. “Brandonhas a knack for catching the ball and has good ball skills,” said Martinez. “He needs more consis-tency and has a ways to go, but Brandon finds a way to make a play. He had another interceptiontoday,” pointed out Martinez, speaking after the Bulldogs’ ninth practice of the spring.

Boykin and Williams say they’re flattered to receive such accolades from their teammates and

coaches.“Having them say this about me feels good,” said Boykin. “I’ve been working real hard this

spring and if I can continue to get better, it should carry over into the fall. But I think a lot of theguys are doing a good job. Nick is doing great at linebacker and Prince (Miller) is really stepping itup and being a strong leader for us in the secondary.”

In Williams’ case, he appreciates the compliments the Georgia coaches and fellow players havethrown his way this spring but realizes he has a long ways to go, especially being new to the Willlinebacker spot. “Coach Richt tells us to keep playing passionately,” Williams said. “Well, right now,I’m just trying to learn the game and it’s not up to me how much I play. But when you’ve got Ren-nie Curran playing in front of you, you just want to play like him. You don’t get any better than Ren-nie,” Williams said. “I see him run to the ball, and I realize I can do that, too.”

Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has been impressed with the performances of anumber of young Bulldogs this spring.

“Tavarres King (redshirt freshman WR) is showing flashes,” Bobo said. “He’s become moreconsistent and is now learning how to practice. Aron White (soph. tight end) has also shown flashes.He’s being more physical now at the point of attack. And I’ve been pleased with (soph. QB) LoganGray,” added Bobo. “He’s been extremely accurate and showing a good knowledge of the offense.”

Because of Bulldog regulars such as Trinton Sturdivant, Chris Davis and Vince Vance missingthe spring drills due to injuries, Bobo said it would be difficult to say any of Georgia’s offensive line-men are entrenching themselves on the depth chart at the moment. “Our top five linemen aredoing a nice job but we’ve just got so many out,” he said. “But (soph. guard) Tanner Strickland isdoing a nice job. He’s been one guy showing he wants to play football this fall.”

Bobo has also liked the progress of true freshman quarterbacks Aaron Murray – who passedfor more than 100 yards with long TD strikes in each of the Bulldogs’ first two scrimmages – andZach Mettenberger.

“I’ve been pleased with the way Aaron Murray has approached every single day,” said Bobo.“He’s over here (at Butts-Mehre training facility) every time I come … in the meeting room or study-ing film. It’ll take time but Aaron’s putting it together. He’s got a natural whip (for an arm) andthrows the ball on time. And I’ve been pleased with Zach Mettenberger’s approach,” said Bobo.“He’s worked hard on his football knowledge, has a big arm and throws the ball well. Those twoyoung guys, I’ve been impressed with their composure.”

Senior wideout Durham thinks all of the Bulldogs’ running back corps did good things thisspring practice.

“I’ve definitely been impressed with our running backs,” Durham said. “Caleb (King), Carl-ton (Thomas) and Kalvin Daniels … I can tell they really worked hard in the off-season, and theyhave really improved. Among the receivers, I think Tavarres King has looked good. I’ve been im-pressed with his understanding of the offense after missing most of last season.”

And there are many other Bulldogs who have stepped up their performances considerably inthe spring of 2009. In addition to Commings, Rennie Curran has been impressed with both soph-omore defensive end Justin Houston, who was the star of the Bulldogs’ second scrimmage, andsophomore tackle DeAngelo Tyson. And Bryan Evans, for one, couldn’t help but notice the explo-siveness of redshirt freshman tailback Carlton Thomas. “He keeps catching my eye,” said Evans. “Hemakes players miss and he scores touchdowns.”

Junior corner Vance Cuff, redshirt freshman safety Bacarri Rambo, junior fullback/tailbackFred Munzenmaier and sophomore center Ben Jones are other young Bulldogs who have drawnpraise from their peers and coaches this spring session, clearly illustrating once more how keen thecompetition is going to be in the 2009 preseason drills when Georgia’s depth chart will indeed besolidified.

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2009 Finishes Strong, 2010 Class Off to a Good

RECRUITING NEWSBy Carlton DeVooght

When I prepared the 2009 Signing Dayrecap for the Bulldawg Illustrated, you will re-call that I said there might be more signees inthe Bulldogs’ future. At the time, it looked likethe Bulldogs would add one additional playerto their 2009 signing class. The 2009 signingclass was ranked as the ninth best class at thetime with only 18 signees. Since signing day,the Bulldogs removed one signee from theclass, but added three extremely talentedyoung men, for a net total of 20 signees in the2009 recruiting class. The Bulldogs post sign-ing day blitz began with a big addition, no punintended.

Kwame Geathers, the 6’6”, 320 lb offen-sive tackle/defensive tackle from Carters BayHigh School in Carters Bay, South Carolinasigned with the Bulldogs on February 20th.Geathers, the younger brother of former Bull-dog Robert Geathers, picked the Bulldogs overTennessee and the University of CentralFlorida. Despite his imposing size, Geathersflew under the recruiting radar for manyschools until his stellar performance in the Of-fense/Defense All-Star Game. In that game,Geathers recorded seven solo tackles and twosacks and was completely unblockable for thedefensive tackle. At times he was double andtriple teamed, to no avail. While he is cur-rently listed as an offensive lineman, the Bull-dogs like him at defensive tackle. With threeseniors graduating next year at defensivetackle, Geathers adds even more talent to the2009 group of defensive tackle signees.

Orson Charles was the one player thatmany recruiting analysts thought would signwith the Bulldogs after signing day. Initiallyranked as the top tight end in the country, thisPlant High School standout (6’3, 230 lbs,4.55/40) is also ranked as the seventh bestoverall wide receiver in the country. Charlessigned with the Bulldogs on March 6, 2009,deciding to play college football with his PlantHigh School teammate, Aaron Murray. He se-lected the Bulldogs over Southern Cal, Ten-nessee, and Florida. With the Bulldogs’current lack of depth at tight end and injuriesat wide receiver, Charles will have every op-portunity to make an impact early in his careerin Athens. This four star prospect certainly hasa bright future ahead of him between theHedges.

Many recruiting experts thought thatCharles would be the last signee for the Bull-dogs’ 2009 class. Coach Mark Richt andCoach Rodney Garner like to keep things in-teresting. On March 26, they signed the 20thmember of the 2009 class, Brandon Bogotay.In 2008 Bogotay was the kicker for Gross Mar-tin College, a Junior College in El Cajon, Cal-ifornia. As a freshman, Bogotay was named tothe Pacific Conference All-Conference FirstTeam, making 15 of 23 field goal attempts, in-cluding a long of 52 yards. He scored the sec-ond most points on the California CollegeAthletic Associations’ list with 72 total points.Most importantly, Bogotay has a sledge ham-mer for a leg, recording 24 touchbacks forGross Martin last year and making a 65 yardfield goal in practice. The young man fromSan Diego, California played soccer his wholelife and did not start kicking for his HighSchool football team until half way through hissenior year. Coach Richt has indicated that Bo-gotay will have the opportunity to competewith current Bulldog kicker, Glenn Walsh andJamie Lindley both for the kickoff and fieldgoal responsibilities in 2009.

The addition of these three young mencatapulted the Bulldog’s class to the sixth of thebest signee class in the country and the thirdbest in the SEC behind Alabama and LSU.Keep in mind that both of these schools signedmore players than Georgia (Alabama – 28;LSU – 24) and that Georgia had a higher av-erage star per signee (3.80) than either Ala-bama (3.68) or LSU (3.79). This class is agood mix of good players and talented line-men that will electrify the crowds between thehedges over the next 4 or 5 years.

Three of the members of the 2009 sign-ing class are already enrolled in Athens and areparticipating in spring practice. OffensiveGuard Dallas Lee from Buford High School inBuford, Georgia has opened some eyes withhis tenacity and mean streak during springpractice. While it is anticipated that Lee willredshirt in 2009, he is making it very difficultfor Coach Searels to justify keeping him off thefield. With some of the injuries to upper class-

men, Lee is getting some time with the secondteam offensive line.

Quarterbacks Zack Mettenberger andAaron Murray were two of the most highlytouted members of the Bulldogs’ 2009 class.Murray, the number three ranked quarterbackin the country is widely regarded for both hison field play and his leadership skills. So far intwo scrimmages this year, Murray has alreadydemonstrated that he is going to be a specialplayer for the Bulldogs. Mettenberger, thestandout quarterback from Oconee CountyHigh School was also one of the top elevenranked quarterbacks coming out of highschool last year. So far this spring, Metten-berger has shown incredible arm strength andis quickly picking up the Bulldogs’ system.The Georgia wide receivers are having to adaptto the serious zip Mettenberger puts on theball, in much the same fashion as the Georgiawide receivers had to adapt to a young quar-terback named Matthew Stafford. The coacheshave made no decisions as to whether one orboth of these young men will redshirt in 2009.Needless to say, the Bulldogs are extremelyblessed to have two such talented young sig-nal callers on their roster behind senior JoeCox and sophomore Logan Gray.

Bulldogs Land First 2010Jalen Fields, a strong side defensive end

from Dalton High School in Dalton, Georgiawas the Bulldogs’ first commitment. Fieldsstature is imposing (6’6”, 255 lbs) and he hasthe speed off the edge (4.65/40) that CoachFabris loves. He committed to the Bulldogson March 21, 2009 at UGA’s Junior Day. As ajunior, Fields recorded 78 tackles, including35 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks. He callsUGA his “Dream Offer”, and selected the Bull-dogs over offers from Alabama, FSU, Ten-nessee, West Virginia and Ole Miss. He is atalented young man who should be rankedwith at least 4-stars when the expanded rank-ings are released later this summer. Fields isthe first of what will undoubtedly be anothertalented class for UGA.

The Bulldogs are currently recruitingsome of the best players in the country and areseriously involved with four of the top eightranked players in the country. These 5-starprospects include running back Marcus Latti-more (Byrnes High School, Duncan, SouthCarolina), defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat(Plano West High School, Plano, Texas), de-fensive back Lamarcus Joyner (St. ThomasAquinas High School, Fort Lauderdale,Florida) and James Hurst (Plainfield HighSchool, Indianapolis, Indiana). I believe theBulldogs will sign at least two of these fourplayers in their 2010 class. The Bulldogs arealso heavily involved with the top linebackerprospect in the country, Jeff Luck (TreasureCoast High School, Fort St. Lucy, Florida),whose older brother is close friends with for-mer Bulldog Max-Jean Gilles.

The Bulldogs are also heavily involvedwith the top in state prospects. Theseprospects include the top ranked safety in thecountry, Alec Ogletree (Union High School,Union), four star defensive tackle Jeff Whitaker(Warner Robbins High School, Warner Rob-bins), four star wide receiver/athlete Da’rickRogers (Calhoun High School, Calhoun), fourstar cornerback Ryan Ayers (South PauldingHigh School, Douglasville), linebacker MichaelTaylor (Westlake High School, Atlanta), fourstar defensive end Garrison Smith (DouglasHigh School, Atlanta), defensive end/line-backer Neiron Ball (Jackson High School,Jackson), massive four star offensive tackleJawuan James (North Gwinnet High School,Suwannee), four star wide receivers AntonioGoodwin (Washington High School, Atlanta)and Tai-ler Jones (Gainesville High School,Gainesville) and super speedy four star run-ning back Mack Brown (Martin Luther KingHigh School, Lithonia). The Bulldogs havealso offered one of my favorite players, risingsenior offensive tackle Brent Benedict from theBolles School in Jacksonville, Florida.

These are just some of the names of theseventy athletes already holding offers from theUniversity of Georgia this year. It appears thatalmost half of the top players in the countrywish to make their decisions prior to the startof their senior football season. This will makefor an exciting summer as we all count downto the kickoff of the 2009 Georgia FootballSeason.

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2009 spring practice diaryBy Murray PooleBULLDAWG ILLUSTRATED

Day 1, March 17Under sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s, the Bull-

dogs opened up spring practice Tuesdayby holding a two-hour workout.Georgia practiced in shorts for their first non-contact workout of

the spring. The Bulldogs worked on all phases of the game from spe-cial teams, offense and defense during the workout.

Georgia coach Mark Richt said it’s tough to gauge a lot wheneverybody is in shorts and there’s no contact, but overall he was pleasedwith the first day.

Richt noted that senior quarterback Joe Cox and sophomorequarterback Logan Gray had a solid first day of practice.

Day 2, March 18Following Wednesday’s two-hour session, Richt was pleased with

his team’s performance this early in the spring.“We had an outstanding practice today,” Richt said. “There were

some things from (Tuesday) that we talked about in the coaches meet-ings and to the team and I think we corrected all of them for the mostpart. The defense was leading us with their effort and enthusiasm andas a whole, I thought we got

better today.”Day 3, March 20The Bulldogs worked out for 90 minutes Friday, and the defense

provided plenty of highlights.“Today was outstanding, especially the defense," said Richt.

“Without question, the defense is setting the tone for the spring. Theyare getting after it. I really liked their hustle, enthusiasm and runningto the football. If the offense can match that, it will be good for theteam, but the defense is the lead dog right now.”

Day 4, March 21The Bulldogs worked out in full pads for the first time Saturday,

practicing for 90 minutes in Sanford Stadium.“It was a great day with the offense winning the three-on-three

drill, and the defense winning the inside drill,” said Richt. “Spirits werehigh, and it was a day for the juniors to watch us in Sanford Stadium,and a great day to be a Bulldog.”

Redshirt freshman tailback Carlton Thomas provided one of theday’s highlights with a long touchdown run that excited his teammates,which they later shared with the media after practice.

Day 5, March 24The Bulldogs resumed practice on Tuesday, working out in full

pads for about 90 minutes on the Woodruff Practice Fields.“Today was kind of lukewarm,” Richt said. “It wasn’t bad, but it

was not at the championship level. The energy level was not quite whatwe’ve seen, but we’ve got the rest of the week to get back on track inthat regard. The guys have got to fight through. They’ve got to practiceat a level that will make us a great team.”

Day 6, March 26Georgia has almost reached the halfway point of spring practice,

and Richt is encouraged by what he has seen.

After not being thrilled about Tuesday’s session, Richt said Thurs-day’s 75-minute workout in jerseys, shorts and shells featured “greathustle and lots of enthusiasm.”

“We ran well during practice, we pursued as a unit, I liked the waywe looked today,” he said. “(Brandon) Boykin had a couple of picks, andJoe Cox looked good. I’d say the most dominating player to this pointhas been Geno (Atkins). He’s tough to handle. Geno has had his waywith just about everybody.”

A day later, it was revealed junior defensive end Demarcus Dobbssuffered a left foot, fifth metatarsal fracture in Thursday's practice thatwill sideline him for the remainder of the spring.

Day 7, March 30With Friday’s practice being postponed due to inclement weather,

the Bulldogs conducted their first official scrimmage of the spring Mon-day at Sanford Stadium, and Richt didn’t seem overly happy with theteam’s effort.

“I thought it was relatively even, kind of back and forth,” he said.“We¹ve got a long way to go yet, but we also saw a lot of good things.We’ve got to be able to handle adversity a little better on both sides ofthe ball. Things don’t always go the way you want in football, andyou’ve got to be able to recover and play ball.”

Senior Joe Cox connected on 9-of-13 passes for 79 yards and atouchdown, while freshman Aaron Murray went 4-of-6 for 131 yardsand a score.

Day 8, March 31The Bulldogs practiced for an hour and a half in shorts and shoul-

der pads in the rain on Tuesday following Monday’s scrimmage at San-ford Stadium.

“I felt better about the scrimmage after I watched the film thanwhen I was walking off the field (Monday),” said Richt, adding that hecould not remember any other time when he had a team at Georgiahave five practices in one week during the spring.

Day 9, April 1The Bulldogs practiced for two hours in shorts and shoulder pads

on Wednesday during its third straight practice of the week.“It went well today,” said defensive coordinator Willie Martinez.

“The guys came in ready to get after it and I thought their enthusiasmand work ethic were above average. We’re always trying to show im-provement and by the ninth practice, it should be that way. It shouldshow in your execution by then and I think we saw that today.”

Day 10, April 3The Bulldogs held a 90-minute practice in shoulder pads and

shorts on Friday afternoon in preparation for Saturday morning’s closedscrimmage at Sanford Stadium.

“We want them to have a lot of juice in the morning,” Richt said.“The temperatures should be in the mid-40s or mid-50s and it is sup-posed to be sunny. I think the guys should be in the right frame ofmind

to have a good scrimmage.”Day 11, April 4The Bulldogs conducted their second scrimmage of the spring

Saturday morning at Sanford Stadium.The two-hour workout in full pads featured much better effort

and enthusiasm compared to the first one, according to Richt.“It was hard-hitting, the energy was there all the time, and I saw

some good leadership,” said Richt.The defense started strong and no one was better than sopho-

more end Justin Houston. He was credited with four tackles, two tack-les for a loss, two sacks and a 30-yard interception return for atouchdown.

“Justin was the most productive defensive player Saturday,” saidRicht. “He caught my eye and made a lot of plays. We missed somemore opportunities to catch the ball.”

The longest touchdown play of the morning came from fresh-man Aaron Murray to sophomore flanker Israel Troupe. The pairhooked up on a 64- yard bomb right before halftime. Murray ended up6-for-10 for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Day 12, April 6The Bulldogs practiced for an hour and a half in pads and shorts

on a blustery Mondayafternoon.With the wind gusting up to more than 30 miles an hour and

temperatures dropping into the 40s, the Bulldogs had their first of threepractices before the annual G-Day game arrives on Saturday.

Day 13, April 8The big news coming out of Georgia’s 13th practice Wednesday

was that senior wide receiver Kris Durham will miss the 2009 seasondue to a shoulder injury and will redshirt during the upcoming cam-paign.

“Kris will have surgery in May and will redshirt and not play thisseason,” Richt said. “It's a decision we all think is in his best interest. Hewants to make sure his senior year is a good, strong, healthy one. It’s re-ally a sixth-month recovery time before you can go and train at fullspeed. That would be a tight window to be ready. If he didn’t have theoption to redshirt and have a fifth year, the decision might be different.”

Day 14, April 10The Bulldogs held a light workout in anticipation of Saturday’s

G-Day Game.Also Friday, Richt announced the Bulldogs’ Spring Awards win-

ners. The awards are given annually at the conclusion of spring prac-tice to recognize improvement, dedication and performance on thefield.

Highlighting the list of awards were the recipients of the long-standing Coffee County Hustle Award given annually to the player(s)showing the most desire during spring drills. Recipients include quar-terback Joe Cox, wide receiver Michael Moore, linebacker NickWilliams, defensive end Demarcus Dobbs and safety Bryan Evans.

Day 15, April 11The Bulldogs put the cap on 15 days of spring practice with the

annual G-Day game, which was played before a record crowd of42,000-plus in addition to a nationally-televised (ESPN) audience. Ina defense-oriented game, the Red team defeated the Blacks, 13-3. Start-ing quarterback Joe Cox passed for 105 yards while among the manydefensive standouts were sophomore end Justin Houston and seniorlinebacker Marcus Washington, who each recorded three sacks ….something that was obviously lacking among Georgia’s pass rusherslast season.


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Q: Which one of our rivals do you enjoy beating the most and why?

Q: What makes your tailgating scene so special?

FANS OF THE WEEK

SPO

NSO

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TRIVIA CONTEST

Last issue’s TRIVIA question and answer:Q.

A. AND THE WINNER IS...Tim Long of Memphis, TN

This issue’s question:Q.

Have the answer?www.bulldawgillustrated.com FAN ZONE

The 50 Greatest Plays

Todd Evans of Dacula, GA

Becky Nicholson of Athens, GA

Q: Other than Herschel, who is your favorite Bulldog and why?

Q: Who is your favorite player on the current UGA roster and why?

Q: What makes you a true Bulldog?

Q: What is the most memorable play you have experienced in person?

Q: Which one of our rivals do you enjoy beating the most?

Q: What makes your tailgating scene so special?


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By Murray PooleBULLDAWG ILLUSTRATED

Just perhaps that old Georgia defense, the one that played like true Junkyard Dawgsand wouldn’t even dream of allowing an opponent to put 40 points on the scoreboard,is on its way back to Sanford Stadium.

After being treated rudely by Alabama, Florida and Georgia Tech last season, WillieMartinez’s Bulldog defense limited Michigan State to one touchdown and 12 points inGeorgia’s 24-12 win in the Capital One Bowl and then showed signs of a continuedresurgence in the April 11 G-Day Game.

Although admittedly aided by a Bulldog receiving corps that suffered six drops, thedefenses of the Red and Black teams allowed only one touchdown all day as the Reds,featuring the first-team offense, defeated the Black team, which owned the first-team de-fensive unit, 13-3 before a G-Day record turnout of 42,458. The game’s lone touch-down came on the final play from scrimmage when redshirt freshman tailback CarltonThomas zipped in from 20 yards out. That officially clinched the win for the Reds, whichhad earlier gotten a 51-yard field goal from Blair Walsh and a go-ahead 48-yard field goalfrom Andrew Jensen, with just 2:13 left to play. The Blacks’ only score came via a 24-yard, second-quarter field goal by Jamie Lindley.

Defensively, the Red team limited the Black team to 158 total yards while the Blackteam checked the Reds to 171 yards total offense. Of course, keep in mind that thegame was played with 8-minute quarters in the first half and then 10-minute quartersin the second half.

“I think our defense took this game very seriously,” said Georgia head coach MarkRicht, “and wanted to continue the edge they established this spring. The defense dida good job and especially did a nice job of defensing the run. Of course, in a game whereyou don’t play 60 minutes, the stats are going to be less. But I feel better with this scorethan if we’d had a 31-30 game.”

“The defense can react on so much of our stuff because they’ve practiced against ussince day one,” said senior quarterback Joe Cox, who completed 9-of-16 passing at-tempts for 105 yards while being sacked three times by the Black defense. “This is just

part of going against your own defense. But I think we still did a good job. We madesome plays to win the game.”

“We were going against one of the best defenses in the SEC,” declared sophomoretailback Caleb King, who managed only 22 net yards on seven carries due to severalsacks by the Black defense. Thomas was the game’s leading rusher with 59 yards oneight carries. “It takes longer for the offense to jell,” added King, “but overall, I think wedid pretty good.”

“I thought our backs ran well,” said Richt. “The sacks hurt the rushing total. And Ithought our quarterbacks were pretty sharp. They were right on the money at timesbut we had too many drops. Obviously, it would have been nice to see our receivers holdon to the ball better.”

In addition to Cox’s showing, sophomore Logan Gray completed 9-of-13 attemptsfor 91 yards while guiding the Black team. True freshman Aaron Murray was 3-of-5 for62 yards including a 43-yard hookup with Marquise Brown while also freshman QBZach Mettenberger was 0-for-3 with one interception.

“I thought the defense played real well overall,” said sophomore end Justin Hous-ton, who had four tackles and three sacks – for 20 yards in losses – for the Black team.“This was supposed to be an offensive game but both defenses went out and playedwell. Marcus Washington (senior linebacker who also had three sacks) did a good joboff the edge,” said Houston. “If he keeps doing like that, they may have to move him todefensive end.”

“Going against the same guys all spring, we know what they’re going to do andthey know what we’re going to do,” said Reds senior offensive tackle Clint Boling. “Weboth know how to react. But I think our defense has got a chance to be something spe-cial this season. They’ve got a lot of guys back and are only going to get better.”

Richt, in summary, termed 2009 spring practice a very successful one.“We established some nice habits all the while knowing we were short about 25

healthy bodies,” he said. “When the freshmen come in and we have about 50 morehealthy bodies in here, I think we’ll have a chance to have a great season. We’ll have tohave a great offseason and it’ll be up to our seniors to take charge and make sure thathappens.”

G-Day Game


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By Murray PooleBULLDAWG ILLUSTRATEDPrior to the start of the 2009 Georgia Gym Dogs’ season, legendary head coach Suzanne Yoculan

talked with Bulldawg Illustrated about her team going for an unprecedented fifth consecutive NCAAchampionship and the program’s 10th national title overall in this, Yoculan’s final season at the UGAhelm.

“I try to reflect on my total 26 years here as a whole, and I don’t want our team to put too muchemphasis on this year,” Yoculan said at the time. “I want to approach this season like any other. Just be-cause it’s my last season, I don’t want us to approach it any differently. I just want our team to focus onthe day-to-day things that we need to do to be competitive.

“I don’t like to put pressure on myself and I don’t want to put extra pressure on the team (to winanother national title),” Yoculan added. “I like to practice what I preach. I just want our seniors to havea final year they can be proud of, and I want the team to focus on what we can control each day. Be-cause,” she said, “if we do that, we’ll have a chance to win a fifth straight championship.”

Well, these amazing Gym Dogs certainly practiced what their head coach preached as they surgedto that coveted fifth consecutive national championship this past Friday night in the NCAA Champi-onships at Lincoln, Neb.

No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Georgia thus sent Yoculan into retirement as a champion onceagain.

The Gym Dogs scored a 197.825, their second-best score of the year, to win the school’s jaw-drop-ping 10th championship.The 10 ties Utah for the most for a program. In addition, the five in a row tiesUtah (1982-86) for the most consecutive NCAA titles won by a school.

Rival and SEC champion Alabama was second with a 197.575 followed by Utah (197.425),Florida (196.725), Arkansas (196.475) and LSU (196.375).

“This is such a special team,” said Yoculan. “Their oneness, their cohesiveness, their unity madeit all so special. This is an incredible group. I have learned so much for them, and it’s an honor for meto end my career as the coach of this team.

“It really is a magical team that has so much fortitude and just love for the sport and passion, andthey never quit. I feel blessed, and I actually lived it every day being around them, and that’s the thingI’m going to miss the most.”

Georgia opened on bars, scoring a 49.425 led by the incredible Courtney Kupets’ 10.0. TiffanyTolnay posted a 9.9, followed by Grace Taylor and Gina Nuccio, each with a 9.85, and Kathryn Dingwith a 9.825.

The Gym Dogs posted a 49.2 on beam as Kupets earned a 9.95 and Courtney McCool scored a9.9. Georgia also counted a 9.875 from Tolnay, a 9.775 from Taylor and a 9.7 from Hilary Mauro.

Georgia came out of its first bye on fire, scoring a 49.575 on floor. After Abby Stack, Mauro, Mc-Comb and Taylor got 9.9s to open for the Gym Dogs, Kupets went 9.95 and Tolnay went 9.925.

Ending on vault, the Gym Dogs recorded a season-high 49.625. Kupets nailed the 10.0, whileDing and Tolnay each had a 9.95, Newby scored a 9.875 and McComb added a 9.85.

“Just incredible fight, from the mistake on the first event and the kind of pressure we felt,” Yocu-lan said. “We battled back on the uneven bars. The balance beam … shaky, shaky, shaky and moreshaky. A lot of people might have lost confidence in us after that, but this team never doubted them-selves.

“There was something special in the air when we went to floor and vault. When Abby started uswith a 9.9 on floor, I knew that was it,” she said. “It felt like it was going to be our meet at that point.”

“We all wanted to send Suzanne back with something to remember,” Taylor said. “It was an amaz-ing championship. It couldn’t get better than this. It was beautiful, and we’re so honored that we got

to be part of this last year for her.”On Saturday, Kupets then set the career record for the most individual titles at the NCAA Cham-

pionships.Hours after being named the AAI Senior Gymnast of the Year, Kupets won the bars, beam and

floor titles, giving her nine in her career. Kupets broke the record of eight set by Kentucky’s JennyHansen. Kupets also became the first gymnast to win all four events at the NCAAs. She won bars in2006 and 2009, beam in 2006 and 2009, vault in 2007 and floor in 2009. She also won the all-aroundtitles in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Kupets missed the 2008 NCAAs due to an Achilles injury.

Kupets won the bars title with a score of 9.95.Earlier on Thursday, with all-around national champion Kupets leading the way the Gym Dogs,

who finished second to Alabama in the SEC Meet (only defeat of the season) but then dominated theSoutheast Regional in Raleigh, N.C., posted the highest score in the first round of the NCAA meet.

Georgia scored a 197.45 at Nebraska’s Devaney Center on Thursday and moved into Friday’sSuper Six finals.

In Thursday’s opening session, Kupets won the all-around title with a score of 39.8, including a10.0 on beam. Kupets also won the all-around in 2006 and 2007, and she joins Kentucky’s JennyHansen as the only three-time all-around champs. Kupets’ 39.8 matches the highest figure for an all-around winner at the NCAAs, tying the mark set in 1995 by Hansen. It also gives Kupets six NCAAtitles in her career, just two behind Hansen. Kupets earned All-America status in all five categories towind up her career with 15

Tolnay, who ended her career with a school-record-tying 16 All-America citations, came in sec-ond in the opening session and sixth overall in the all-around with a score of 39.5. Tolnay earned fourAll-America honors at the NCAA Championships to tie the school record.

Grace Taylor picked up All-America honors on beam and bars, giving her seven in her career.Courtney McCool earned All-America status on beam to push her career total to two. Kathryn Dingearned her first All-America citation on bars. Taylor and McCool were second on beam and Taylor wassecond on bars.


Gym Dawgs win tenth national title

Equestrian team are national champs

Red hot Diamond Dawgs lead the SEC

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On the heels of last season’s incredible run to the College WorldSeries Finals and Southeastern Conference championship – the Bull-dogs third trip to Omaha and second league title in the last five sea-sons under the watch of the dynamic David Perno – Georgia isputting together another stellar season before record crowds at FoleyField.

Six weeks into the 10-week SEC schedule grind, Georgia sitsalone atop the league standings and is ranked as high as No. 1 na-tionally. The Bulldogs opened the season with a school record 14consecutive wins, then dropped a double-header to Alabama toopen league play at 0-2. But Georgia has responded to win 13 ofthe last 15 conference contests to vault atop the SEC standings.

Baseball’s turnaround at Georgia has been nothing short of re-markable. Despite starting the 1990s with a national championshipand new stadium, the Bulldogs ended the decade with the SEC’sfewest wins, worst record and worst winning percentage – a nega-tively remarkable feat considering that Georgia had a two-year head-start on conference newcomers Arkansas and South Carolina, whojoined in 1992.

Legendary Hall of Fame coach Ron Polk was hired prior to the2000 season, and he kept Perno off the staff of previous coach RobertSapp. The Bulldogs won the SEC in 2001, Georgia’s first conferencechampionship since 1954, and advanced to the College World Se-ries. Polk returned home to take over the program at Mississippi

State, and after six long weeks and a host of “thanks but no thanks”from premier coaches across the country, Perno was hired.

In his eighth season, the three College World Series, two SECchampionships and No. 1 rankings in 2009 are the ultimate testi-mony to his success. But the fervor and interest level surroundingthe program have peaked to all-time highs, with the Dogs shatter-ing a slew of attendance records. The highlight of the 2009 cam-paign was a three game series sweep of Mississippi State, in whichGeorgia drew over 12,000 fans, including a one day record crowdof 4,461.

For a program that was a laughing stock doormat in the 1990s,the Bulldogs of the 2000s have become the SEC’s premier programand one of the nation’s best. Since 2004, Georgia is one of just sixschools to have made three College World Series trips, joining CalState Fullerton, Miami, North Carolina, Oregon State and Rice. Dat-ing back to 2001, Georgia has three SEC titles, no other school haswon more than one over that stretch.

Here in 2009, Georgia is putting together yet another specialseason. Amongst the highlights:

First baseman Rich Poythress, who hit .375-15-75 and wonthe national Gold Glove Award last season, ranks in the top two inthe SEC in eight statistical categories. Poythress, who was the Scot-tie Pippen to All-American legend Gordon Beckham’s Michael Jor-dan, has stepped into the starring role and is a national player of theyear candidate. The Grovetown, Ga. native leads the SEC in battingand the nation in RBI’s. His 35 career homers are tied with Georgiaicons Derrick Lilliquist and Jeff Keppinger for the fifth most in school

history. He ranks seventh all-time at Georgia in RBI’s. The Bulldogs starting rotation of Trevor Holder, Alex McCree

and Justin Grimm has been outstanding. Holder’s 21 career victo-ries are fifth most in Georgia history, and his decision to forego pro-fessional baseball to return for his senior season is a huge reason theBulldogs are back amongst the country’s elite.

Despite losing the NCAA’s leader in saves, All-American leg-end Josh Fields, the Bulldogs bullpen has been stellar, led by closerDean Weaver and set-up man Will Harvill. Weaver is second in theSEC in saves, and boasts a sub-one earned run averge. Harvill leadsthe league in appearances and has a sub-two ERA.

True freshmen have had an enormous impact for the Bulldogs,led by third baseman Colby May, the SEC’s seventh leading hitter.

Georgia is on pace to shatter the school home run record,paced by Poythress and veteran catcher/designated hitters BryceMassanari and Joey Lewis.

A dramatic flair has been prevalent yet again. Junior outfielderMatt Cerione was the hero of each of the first two victories overArkansas, driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of theninth.

To have lost a pair of first round picks in Beckham and Fields,two of Georgia’s all-time greats, All-SEC third baseman Ryan Peisel,ace righthander Nick Montgomery and veteran catcher Jake Crane,the Bulldogs had some huge shoes to fill. But thus far in 2009, atremendous mix of veterans and newcomers have put together aseason to remember.

photo by Kevin Knoefs

photo by Robbie Rogers


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