Georgia Bulldogs

A few weeks into summer provides the perfect time to get out the yearbook and look at what classmates wrote on the blank pages. After reading all the invitations to “Stay cool!” and “Let’s hang out!” one invariably turns to the awards section. In this week’s DawgNation Roundtable discussion the DN staff, with input from one UGA fan, is giving out the Georgia Bulldogs’ version of the senior awards. But we are not limited to the seniors -- we have opened up nominations to the entire team.

Most likely to succeed

David Ching: Ty Frix. Believe it or not, Frix -- who graduated in May -- is the only biomedical engineering major on the football team.

Radi Nabulsi: Jarvis Jones. He will be a first-round draft pick, and he is disciplined and wiser than his years suggest.

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Sixty-six days remain until Georgia kicks off its season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 1. In the days counting down to the opener, DawgNation will profile, with our “Around the Hedges in 80 Days” series, a Bulldogs player we expect to make an impact. We will review each player’s career thus far and project his long-term potential as we progress through our alphabetical list, from center David Andrews to receiver Rantavious Wooten.

66. Isaiah Crowell
Sophomore, Running back
5-foot-11, 215 pounds

Fall forecast: He’ll have more competition in the backfield this fall -- Ken Malcome received plenty of compliments in the spring and touted freshmen Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley joined the Bulldogs this summer -- but Crowell should still be the featured attraction in Georgia’s running game.

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Georgia signed two defensive tackles in the 2012 class, but only one will have a chance to play in Athens this fall. John Atkins (Thomson, Ga./Thomson) will not enroll with the rest of his signing class after failing to achieve a qualifying test score on the ACT.

“I missed it by two points,” Atkins said. “I needed a 74 and I got a 72. I am not sure what I am going to do yet.”

Atkins said he will talk to the Georgia coaches and they will explore their options for his next step. Atkins had taken the SAT and the ACT multiple times, but had not made the necessary scores to qualify.

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ESPN 300 defensive end Davin Bellamy (Chamblee, Ga./Chamblee) is scheduled to announce his college choice Aug. 1. And, unless something changes in the next 36 days, he will commit to the Seminoles.

“I talked it over with my coach and my mom and Aug. 1 is the first day we will be in full pads,” Bellamy said. “So for security reasons, like getting hurt, I choose that date to make my decision.”

A talented basketball player as well, Bellamy has narrowed his list to a final three of Florida State, Vanderbilt and Georgia, in that order.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- With 18 verbal commitments and just over seven months until signing day, the Gators have filled about 75 percent of their recruiting class. Over the next two weeks, GatorNation will take a look at some uncommitted prospects who could end up in the Florida Gators' recruiting class. Some of them are highly rated and some might surprise you. Next up is offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, Fla./Columbia).

Why he could end up in Florida's class

Tunsil, the No. 3-ranked player in the country, lives only about 40 minutes from Florida's campus and admittedly grew up rooting for the Gators. Florida doesn't have much depth along the offensive line, in particular at the tackle position. The 6-foot-6, 295-pound five-star tackle also says that Florida is recruiting him the hardest out of any school.

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Tampa (Fla.) Plant defensive back Paris Bostick was offered by Georgia a couple of weeks ago and has moved the Bulldogs into his top four schools.

"Right now I would say my top four is Arkansas, Georgia, Texas A&M and West Virginia," Bostick said. "I'm going to try to see all of those schools again before I make any sort of decision."

Bostick went to Georgia last year for a camp and found out the Bulldogs extended an offer through Plant head coach Robert Weiner. Georgia has become familiar with the Plant program in recent years grabbing quarterback Aaron Murray and tight end Orson Charles from the powerhouse school.

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Sixty-seven days remain until Georgia kicks off its season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 1. In the days counting down to the opener, DawgNation will profile, with our “Around the Hedges in 80 Days” series, a Bulldogs player we expect to make an impact. We will review each player’s career thus far and project his long-term potential as we progress through our alphabetical list, from center David Andrews to receiver Rantavious Wooten.

67. Chris Conley
Sophomore, Wide receiver
6-3, 202 pounds

Fall forecast: Conley should be fully recovered from offseason wrist surgery when the Bulldogs open preseason camp. He participated in spring practice in a limited capacity while recovering from the surgery and finished the spring as the Bulldogs’ third-team flanker behind Tavarres King and Justin Scott-Wesley. Nonetheless, Conley is poised to build on a freshman season (16 catches, 288 yards, two touchdowns) in which he played for the first time after injuries to more experienced receivers four games into the fall.
Career highlight: Conley’s touchdown catch against Georgia Tech and an acrobatic scoring grab against New Mexico State made highlight reels, but his top play of the season definitely came against Florida. Facing second-and-9 with barely more than two minutes to play, Conley made a leaping 17-yard catch over Jaylen Watkins at the Florida 19-yard line, converting a first down that helped the Bulldogs run out the clock on a 24-20 win.

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Joe Blue's recruitment has slowed a bit, but that won't last long.

After picking up a flurry of scholarship offers in January, the 2014 linebacker prospect from Dillon (S.C.) High School hasn't picked up anymore lately. Yet one still stands out.

Blue said Florida, which is one of the schools to offer, is his second favorite school, just behind Georgia.

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Sixty-eight days remain until Georgia kicks off its season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 1. In the days counting down to the opener, DawgNation will profile, with our “Around the Hedges in 80 Days” series, a Bulldogs player we expect to make an impact. We will review each player’s career thus far and project his long-term potential as we progress through our alphabetical list, from center David Andrews to receiver Rantavious Wooten.

68. Sanders Commings
Senior, Cornerback
6-foot-2, 217 pounds

Fall forecast: Commings will sit out the first two games while serving a suspension for his role in a domestic incident during the offseason, robbing Georgia’s secondary of one of its most experienced performers. But once he returns, Commings figures to play a prominent role in what should be one of the nation’s most effective defenses. He enters preseason practice as a starting cornerback ahead of Malcolm Mitchell and Devin Bowman.

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While it remains to be seen whether or not Chris Sanders will be able to return to the University of Georgia, another talented junior college safety was in Athens recently -- and got big news before he left.

Shaquille Fluker (Scooba, Miss./East Mississippi Community College) says he arrived on campus at Georgia on June 15 to see how the program was run, how the campus looked and how the offseason workouts were run. As the 6-foot-2, 200-pound safety prepared to head back, defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos had something he needed to tell him.

“When I was about to leave, Coach Lakatos said Mark Richt needed to talk to me,” Fluker said. "Coach Richt told me I had an offer to play at Georgia. I did not expect them to offer me so soon. I thought they would wait until seeing me during next season, so that was pretty great."

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For offensive lineman Reeve Koehler (Honolulu/Saint Louis School), being a native Hawaiian means overcoming a few stereotypes.

“Most people think Hawaiians are laid back,” Koehler said. “But when it comes to football -- for most of the Hawaiian and Polynesian people -- that is where we get out our anger. On the field is where you see most of the fights and the anger coming out. I play smashmouth football. I am going to try and punch you in the mouth before you punch me. I try to keep up my aggressiveness the whole game.”

That drive and nastiness recently earned Koehler an offer from the University of Georgia after he attended the Mark Richt Camp.

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Sixty-nine days remain until Georgia kicks off its season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 1. In the days counting down to the opener, DawgNation will profile, with our “Around the Hedges in 80 Days” series, a Bulldogs player we expect to make an impact. We will review each player’s career thus far and project his long-term potential as we progress through our alphabetical list, from center David Andrews to receiver Rantavious Wooten.

69. Brandon Burrows
Sophomore, Inside linebacker
6-foot-3, 240 pounds

Fall forecast: Few scholarship players on Georgia’s roster are more of a wild card than Burrows, who redshirted in 2010, missed all of last season following shoulder surgery and dealt with another injury that limited his involvement in spring practice. The redshirt sophomore linebacker enters preseason practice as a third-team inside linebacker behind Mike Gilliard and Amarlo Herrera, but it is difficult to predict how much of an impact he will make this fall considering he hasn’t been on the field since the 2011 G-Day game.

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Seventy days remain until Georgia kicks off its season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 1. In the days counting down to the opener, DawgNation will profile, with our “Around the Hedges in 80 Days” series, a Bulldogs player we expect to make an impact. We will review each player’s career thus far and project his long-term potential as we progress through our alphabetical list, from center David Andrews to receiver Rantavious Wooten.

70. Chris Burnette
Junior, Offensive line
6-foot-2, 313 pounds

Fall forecast: It is almost a certainty that Burnette will start somewhere on Georgia’s offensive line. The question is where. He completed spring practice as the Bulldogs’ starting right guard and the second-team center. If sophomore David Andrews proves he can hold down the center spot, Burnette will spend the majority of his time at guard. If Andrews struggles, Burnette will be the next option to snap the ball to Aaron Murray.

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Josh McNeil is just days away from announcing his college decision.

The 6-foot-5, 226-pound tight end from Durham (N.C.) Hillside told ESPN he will announce his commitment sometime during The Opening events in Portland, Ore., from July 3 to 7.

McNeil, ranked No. 121 in the ESPN 150, said he was down to Alabama and Georgia for the same reasons -- early playing time and the chance to win at a high level.

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