Georgia Bulldogs

Seventy-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.

76. Faton Bauta
Freshman, Quarterback
6-foot-3, 222 pounds

Fall forecast: Although he enrolled at Georgia in January and participated in the offseason conditioning program and part of spring practice, Bauta appears to be a candidate to redshirt this fall. First of all, Mark Richt’s staff almost never plays quarterbacks as true freshmen -- teammate Hutson Mason, who expects to redshirt this fall, is a notable exception -- understandably believing that a redshirt season is particularly valuable for quarterbacks. Big and burly, Bauta has a different skill set than his fellow Georgia quarterbacks, but the coaching staff listed him as the fifth-string quarterback on the post-spring depth chart.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Saturday's one-day Mark Richt Camp at the University of Georgia showcased an abundance of the region’s top athletes. The prospects were put through drills and testing by the Georgia coaches for more than five hours. The Bulldogs’ director of on-campus recruiting, Daryl Jones, told the campers that Saturday’s events were equivalent to a job interview. Here are 10 players (in alphabetical order) who made the best case for being hired.

2013 TE Jordan Davis (Thomson, Ga./Thomson): The long and lanky Davis came into the camp looking for an offer from the Bulldogs. He left with his mission completed. After seeing Davis beat several linebackers off the line of scrimmage, Richt offered Davis before the second session. Davis created separation in his routes and was open all day.

2014 QB Cole Garvin (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek): Although a bit undersized, Garvin has a big arm and passing accuracy. He threw a series of bullets that had receivers wanting to join his repetition during the pass skeleton drill. Garvin was recently invited to the Rising Seniors program's Georgia Junior Bowl, and he demonstrated Saturday why Sandy Creek will be force in the upcoming season.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Five-star offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, Fla./Columbia) toured the University of Georgia campus for the first time since November. The No. 3 player in the nation is highly coveted by the Bulldogs and the Georgia coaching staff had a simple message for Tunsil.

“They need me,” Tunsil said.

To that end, Tunsil was given the red-carpet treatment during his stay in Athens.

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Reuben Foster (Auburn, Ala./Auburn) has been committed to the University of Alabama for almost a year now. Yet Foster, the nation’s No. 2 prospect, continues to keep the door cracked open. On Saturday, the 6-foot-2, 242-pound linebacker decided he needed to take another trip up to Athens.

“I had not visited UGA in a while, and I am still giving them a chance, so why not visit?” Foster said. “I missed being around the coaches. They are energetic, fun to be around and they speak the truth. My interest in Georgia is up there. I like Georgia; they were one of my first colleges that I visited, and they treat you like family.”

Foster was on campus for four hours during the Mark Richt Camp, and even though the Bulldogs head coach had more than 100 prospects competing in front of him, he still made sure to spend ample time with the five-star target.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Tight end Jordan Davis (Thomson, Ga./Thomson) left Saturday's Mark Richt Camp with an offer from the Bulldogs. Richt extended the offer himself after Davis impressed the staff in the first half of the camp.

“They said they wanted to offer me earlier, but they wanted to offer me face to face,” Davis said. “Today we had one practice then went in and had lunch. We were warming up for the second practice when Coach Richt pulled me out of the crowd and offered me. He said they liked me and I could have success there. I was very excited to get it.”

The offer immediately moved Georgia up on the 6-foot-4, 225–pound tight end’s list.

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The University of Georgia is looking to add another safety for its 2013 class, but defensive back Quincy Mauger (Marietta, Ga./Kell) was still caught off guard when he got the big news following Saturday's Mark Richt Camp.

"Coming in, I did not expect to earn an offer, but I came out and competed and tried my best to earn one anyway," Mauger said. "Coach [Mark] Richt offered me at the end, and I was surprised."

Iowa State, Navy, Ohio and UCF were Mauger's biggest offers before Saturday, and the 6-foot, 200-pound safety was happy that he showed the Bulldogs' coaching staff he had the speed and talent to play in the Southeastern Conference.

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ATLANTA -- Lost in all of the news surrounding former Georgia commitment Derrick Henry and his possible flip to Alabama is running back Alvin Kamara.

Henry’s decision could have a major effect on Kamara who’s believed to be favoring Alabama and Georgia. The Norcross, Ga., native was in Athens on Saturday to compete at UGA’s camp. He worked out in Tuscaloosa earlier this month.

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Seventy-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.

77. Collin Barber
Freshman, Punter
6-2, 191 pounds

Fall forecast: Nothing is guaranteed yet, but Georgia’s coaching staff recruited Barber to be the Bulldogs’ starting punter for the next four years. He just arrived on campus last week, so he still must prove he deserves the job over incumbent walk-ons like Adam Erickson -- who completed spring practice as the starting punter -- and Scott Eichler.

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The University of Alabama will host its one-day offensive line/defensive line camp on Saturday, and prospects from across the southeast are expected to be in town to compete. The camp became even more important for the Crimson Tide after top defensive end prospect Robert Nkemdiche committed to Clemson on Thursday. The UA coaching staff will get a chance to evaluate other potential options at the position. Here’s a look at three key players who will be on campus over the weekend.

Greg Gilmore - Hope Mills, N.C.

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ESPN 300 prospect Davin Bellamy (Chamblee, Ga./Chamblee) is the classic hybrid outside linebacker for a 3-4 defense. Georgia wasn’t the first school to offer or to get a visit, but once Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham got Bellamy on campus, Bellamy had a close look at not only how the evaluation process for Georgia works, but also why Grantham believes his future would be brightest playing between the hedges. Grantham’s hard work Thursday has Georgia at the front of the pack to land one of the Peach State’s top targets.

“Georgia had some catching up to do since they offered me late, but after today Georgia is definitely in the top because the system fits me perfectly -- too perfectly,” Bellamy said. “The location of it, the SEC being big-time football, the system fits me and I can play early there. UGA really impressed me today. I know sometimes that they recruit different players for different roles at outside linebacker, but after seeing the film with Coach Grantham, I know I can do everything for them.”

Grantham worked his magic on Bellamy early during the visit, going through a detailed breakdown of the four-star defender's game and Georgia’s needs at outside linebacker.

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Seventy-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.

78. Sterling Bailey
Redshirt freshman, Defensive end
6-foot-3, 259 pounds

Fall forecast: It’s difficult to gauge the impact Bailey might make this fall because he suffered a foot injury last December that prevented him from participating in the offseason conditioning program and spring practice. However, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham maintained that he was pleased with Bailey’s work while redshirting last season, so he will be a player worth watching during preseason camp.

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While the University of Georgia would have been ecstatic to receive the commitment of No. 1 prospect Robert Nkemdiche (Loganville, Ga./Grayson), his commitment on Thursday to Clemson has to be considered good news for the Bulldogs.

For starters, Nkemdiche, touted as the best prospect out of Georgia since Herschel Walker, had long thought to be leaning toward Alabama, with Ole Miss and LSU also strongly in the mix. But Nkemdiche, who is coming off back-to-back 18-sack seasons as a sophomore and junior in high school, never seriously considered the Bulldogs, even though Georgia extended him his first offer. Georgia put considerable hours into his recruitment early, but there was never consistent interest from the five-star defensive end, and his announcement to Clemson actually puts more pressure on others than the Bulldogs.

Now if the Tide and other nearby programs such as Ole Miss or LSU want a shot at landing Nkemdiche’s signature, the coaching staffs will have to ramp up their efforts to land the premier prospect in the country, and those valuable hours will give Georgia, who will likely move on, an advantage with its other targets.

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Seventy-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.

79. John Atkins
Freshman, Defensive line
6-foot-3, 325 pounds

Fall forecast: Atkins is waiting for a qualifying test score to enroll at Georgia, but he is a candidate to redshirt this fall regardless. Remarkably quick and agile for such a large player, Atkins should have the opportunity to develop this fall, thanks to Georgia’s considerable depth at his likely position, nose guard.

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MACON, Ga. -- Shawn Williams has one individual goal this fall. He wants to add his name to the lengthy list of All-America safeties Georgia’s defense has boasted during the Mark Richt era.

“I want to prove to people that I can have my picture up in the locker room as an all-American,” Williams said Tuesday at the annual Pigskin Preview at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

Of course, every player wants to earn such recognition, but Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said it is an imminently achievable objective for his senior safety.

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