Surprise.
The media was able to watch a couple of periods of practice today.
Let’s take a look at what we saw:
Here are my observations:
I spent most of my time focusing on arguably the two biggest questions for the Bulldogs - the offensive and defensive line.
Let’s start with the OL.
We’ll start out by saying that coaches weren’t giving any hints as far as depth charts as Stacy Searels didn’t have players divided up in groups of five.
But there were still some observations to be had.
Bo Hughley looks in pretty good shape. He’s added some good mass and, per sources, has been receiving his share of first-team work at left tackle with Monroe Freeling expected to miss most of the spring following shoulder surgery.
Daniel Calhoun could still stand to drop some weight, imo, but two players who definitely passed the eye test is Jah Jackson and Juan Gaston Jr.
Now, nobody is suggesting that Jackson is ready to play a key role. But at least from a physical standpoint, he looks the part.
Someone else who does is Gaston. Gaston is listed at 6-7 and 360, although honestly, he did look that “weighty” to me.
…As far as the defensive line is concerned, the best news is that Jordan Hall looks completely healthy. During sled drills, Hall and Nnamdi Ogboko were the first ones out of the chute, presumably as the first two nose tackles.
You’ve heard the buzz about Elijah Griffin. This young man definitely looks the part. Just in tremendous shape and has a twitch about him.
Quick thoughts
… Freshman tight end Elyiss Williams isn’t quite as big as Darnell Washington but seems to be a very fluid athlete.
… Fellow freshman tight end Ethan Barbour has plenty of speed.
… We saw some 7 on 7 work; saw Talyn Taylor and CJ Wiley make a couple of nice catches.
More to come
Jed's Notes
I watched the quarterbacks and receivers during the media viewing period.
There was not much happening as far as the quarterbacks went. They worked on some quick passes at first, then switched to handoffs, quarterbacks keeping the ball off fakes, etc. The order looked to be Gunner Stockton, Ryan Puglisi, Hezekiah Millender, and Colter Ginn.
True freshman Ryan Montgomery, meanwhile, was throwing to receivers as they worked through release drills.
Receivers coach James Coley kept screaming at the guys to use their hands as they worked on their releases. He also broke out the UFC acronym: Use First Contact.
Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas is a big guy. However, his listed weight of 205 pounds might undersell him a bit.
As mentioned in our newcomer jersey numbers story, freshman receiver Landon Roldan is wearing No. 84. That won’t do much to tamper down the Ladd McConkey comparisons.
As we were walking out, I saw punter Brett Thorson walking around. He didn’t have a brace or a sleeve or anything on the knee he injured in the SEC Championship Game.
Lance's Notes
I mainly focused on defense, so let's start with the defensive line.
I have two words to describe freshman Elijah Griffin: Holy sh*t! Griffin is massive and has a wide frame. I can see the early comparisons to Jalen Carter, which Warren Brinson made about Griffin on Pro Day. Former freshman five-star Isaiah Gibson also looks like he's toned up since arriving in Athens. Gibson has a large wingspan. It is noticeable when he bursts off the line of scrimmage and wraps his arms around a running back.
I quickly moved onto the cornerbacks, who were working with coach Donte Williams. Daylen Everette and Daniel Harris were running through the first group, followed by Demello Jones and Ellis Robinson Jr. During the second rep, it was Everette and Robinson. Williams got on to Everette and Jones for not executing one rep properly. In case kids are reading, I won't repeat the words. Dominick Kelly, Ondre Evans, and Jontae Gilbert were up next.
Moving over to safeties, KJ Bolden looked the part. It seems like he is the clear leader of that group and was very vocal during practice. I did notice that Joenel Aguero was rotating between the safety and the star positions.
Patrick's Notes
Kirby Smart wasn’t very praiseworthy over the mic when we first took the field to view - until suddenly loudly praising receiver Nitro Tuggle. This was followed with Smart getting onto receiver Zachariah Branch.
“I can’t stand wasting reps on ball!” – Smart
“Who sets the tone at your position group?!? Running backs?! Who sets the tone with you?!” – Smart
Knowing there could be a new arrival in the group, the outside linebackers was the unit I focused on. And in every drill, they repped in the same order: 1) sophomore Quintavius Johnson (played only special teams last season); 2) redshirt freshmen Kris Jones (a touted inside linebacker who has yet to play); and three true freshmen, 3) Isaiah Gibson (No. 29); 4) Chase Linton (No. 85); and 5) Darren Ikinnagbon (No. 11).
Standout Gabe Harris will eventually join the group. He’s missing the spring after having shoulder surgery.
Although physically impressive (Ikinnagbon has massive thighs), all three freshmen looked like, simply, freshmen during one of their first practices. Chidera Uzo-Diribe and Jarvis Jones had to give a lot of instruction.
“Your elbows HAVE to be down!” – Uzo-Diribe to Gibson and Linton during the sled drill
“You need to feel pain!”- Uzo-Diribe to Ikinnagbon during the sled drill
Uzo-Diribe also joked on a young staffer, saying he needed “to get in the gym” after he had a hard time moving a blocking sled. We all laughed, including the staffer.
Gibson has definitely been in the gym. Listed at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, the true freshmen appeared to me as the most physically impressive of the entire group.
Like Jed, I also brushed by Brett Thorson as we walked off the field. And there appeared to be no brace, sleeve, etc., on the leg he injured in the SECC.
The media was able to watch a couple of periods of practice today.
Let’s take a look at what we saw:
Here are my observations:
I spent most of my time focusing on arguably the two biggest questions for the Bulldogs - the offensive and defensive line.
Let’s start with the OL.
We’ll start out by saying that coaches weren’t giving any hints as far as depth charts as Stacy Searels didn’t have players divided up in groups of five.
But there were still some observations to be had.
Bo Hughley looks in pretty good shape. He’s added some good mass and, per sources, has been receiving his share of first-team work at left tackle with Monroe Freeling expected to miss most of the spring following shoulder surgery.
Daniel Calhoun could still stand to drop some weight, imo, but two players who definitely passed the eye test is Jah Jackson and Juan Gaston Jr.
Now, nobody is suggesting that Jackson is ready to play a key role. But at least from a physical standpoint, he looks the part.
Someone else who does is Gaston. Gaston is listed at 6-7 and 360, although honestly, he did look that “weighty” to me.
…As far as the defensive line is concerned, the best news is that Jordan Hall looks completely healthy. During sled drills, Hall and Nnamdi Ogboko were the first ones out of the chute, presumably as the first two nose tackles.
You’ve heard the buzz about Elijah Griffin. This young man definitely looks the part. Just in tremendous shape and has a twitch about him.
Quick thoughts
… Freshman tight end Elyiss Williams isn’t quite as big as Darnell Washington but seems to be a very fluid athlete.
… Fellow freshman tight end Ethan Barbour has plenty of speed.
… We saw some 7 on 7 work; saw Talyn Taylor and CJ Wiley make a couple of nice catches.
More to come
Jed's Notes
I watched the quarterbacks and receivers during the media viewing period.
There was not much happening as far as the quarterbacks went. They worked on some quick passes at first, then switched to handoffs, quarterbacks keeping the ball off fakes, etc. The order looked to be Gunner Stockton, Ryan Puglisi, Hezekiah Millender, and Colter Ginn.
True freshman Ryan Montgomery, meanwhile, was throwing to receivers as they worked through release drills.
Receivers coach James Coley kept screaming at the guys to use their hands as they worked on their releases. He also broke out the UFC acronym: Use First Contact.
Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas is a big guy. However, his listed weight of 205 pounds might undersell him a bit.
As mentioned in our newcomer jersey numbers story, freshman receiver Landon Roldan is wearing No. 84. That won’t do much to tamper down the Ladd McConkey comparisons.
As we were walking out, I saw punter Brett Thorson walking around. He didn’t have a brace or a sleeve or anything on the knee he injured in the SEC Championship Game.
Lance's Notes
I mainly focused on defense, so let's start with the defensive line.
I have two words to describe freshman Elijah Griffin: Holy sh*t! Griffin is massive and has a wide frame. I can see the early comparisons to Jalen Carter, which Warren Brinson made about Griffin on Pro Day. Former freshman five-star Isaiah Gibson also looks like he's toned up since arriving in Athens. Gibson has a large wingspan. It is noticeable when he bursts off the line of scrimmage and wraps his arms around a running back.
I quickly moved onto the cornerbacks, who were working with coach Donte Williams. Daylen Everette and Daniel Harris were running through the first group, followed by Demello Jones and Ellis Robinson Jr. During the second rep, it was Everette and Robinson. Williams got on to Everette and Jones for not executing one rep properly. In case kids are reading, I won't repeat the words. Dominick Kelly, Ondre Evans, and Jontae Gilbert were up next.
Moving over to safeties, KJ Bolden looked the part. It seems like he is the clear leader of that group and was very vocal during practice. I did notice that Joenel Aguero was rotating between the safety and the star positions.
Patrick's Notes
Kirby Smart wasn’t very praiseworthy over the mic when we first took the field to view - until suddenly loudly praising receiver Nitro Tuggle. This was followed with Smart getting onto receiver Zachariah Branch.
“I can’t stand wasting reps on ball!” – Smart
“Who sets the tone at your position group?!? Running backs?! Who sets the tone with you?!” – Smart
Knowing there could be a new arrival in the group, the outside linebackers was the unit I focused on. And in every drill, they repped in the same order: 1) sophomore Quintavius Johnson (played only special teams last season); 2) redshirt freshmen Kris Jones (a touted inside linebacker who has yet to play); and three true freshmen, 3) Isaiah Gibson (No. 29); 4) Chase Linton (No. 85); and 5) Darren Ikinnagbon (No. 11).
Standout Gabe Harris will eventually join the group. He’s missing the spring after having shoulder surgery.
Although physically impressive (Ikinnagbon has massive thighs), all three freshmen looked like, simply, freshmen during one of their first practices. Chidera Uzo-Diribe and Jarvis Jones had to give a lot of instruction.
“Your elbows HAVE to be down!” – Uzo-Diribe to Gibson and Linton during the sled drill
“You need to feel pain!”- Uzo-Diribe to Ikinnagbon during the sled drill
Uzo-Diribe also joked on a young staffer, saying he needed “to get in the gym” after he had a hard time moving a blocking sled. We all laughed, including the staffer.
Gibson has definitely been in the gym. Listed at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, the true freshmen appeared to me as the most physically impressive of the entire group.
Like Jed, I also brushed by Brett Thorson as we walked off the field. And there appeared to be no brace, sleeve, etc., on the leg he injured in the SECC.
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