Georgia Bulldogs

With respect to 2013 national signing day, DawgNation's Radi Nabulsi is breaking down every commitment in the Bulldogs' 2013 recruiting class.

Vitals: Running back Brendan Douglas (Augusta, Ga./Aquinas) 5-foot-11, 202 pounds

Committed: Feb. 1

ESPN.com grade: 70. Three-star prospect.

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Editor’s note: Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve taken a look at Georgia’s depth chart and its recruiting efforts by position. We’ll wrap up today by discussing who we’ll be watching this season and the areas Georgia must address between now and signing day, plus over the next couple of years:

2012 depth chart: Georgia returns 15 players who started the Capital One Bowl against Nebraska -- 10 on offense, three on defense and both kickers -- led by quarterback Aaron Murray, tailback Todd Gurley and the entire offensive line. The Bulldogs lost three defensive underclassmen -- All-America outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, inside linebacker Alec Ogletree and nose guard Kwame Geathers -- to the NFL draft and a total of 12 key defensive contributors.

Who’s ready to move up for more playing time?: The defense obviously must reload this season, but defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is quick to point out that the group might lack experience, but it has plenty of talent. Nose guard will be one of the key positions to watch this spring, with Jonathan Taylor, John Atkins (Thomson, Ga./Hargrave Military) and Chris Mayes (Griffin, Ga./Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College) all competing for playing time. Inside linebacker -- where early enrollees Ryne Rankin (Orlando, Fla./East River) and Reggie Carter (Snellville, Ga./South Gwinnett) are already in the fold -- and defensive back are also positions of interest. We’ll be interested to see whether rising sophomores Sheldon Dawson and Josh Harvey-Clemons can step into leading roles during the spring.

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To gear up for 2013 national signing day, DawgNation's Radi Nabulsi is breaking down every commitment in the Bulldogs' 2013 recruiting class.

Vitals: Running back A.J. Turman, Orlando. Fla./Boone | 6-foot, 198 pounds

Committed: November 13, 2012

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Editor’s note: Georgia’s football season is halfway over and the Bulldogs will take this weekend off before resuming SEC play next Saturday at Kentucky. We’ll take a look at a different position group each day this week and evaluate how it performed in the first half of the season in our DawgNation midseason report cards.

ATHENS, Ga. -- Perhaps the biggest feel-good story in Georgia’s first six games was the performance by the Bulldogs’ new 1-2 punch at tailback from freshmen Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall.

Even after a disappointing night for Georgia’s offense last Saturday against South Carolina, Gurley (81 carries for 575 yards, nine TDs) and Marshall (64-465, 5 TDs) still sit fourth and 10^th, respectively, among the SEC’s rushing leaders. Considering that the position was one of Georgia’s greatest uncertainties last season and one of its biggest question marks entering the fall, that’s a heck of a place to be.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Malcolm Mitchell is essentially a rookie punt returner -- and the Georgia sophomore admits he has made some rookie mistakes that could have proven costly.

Mitchell says the trick to his new responsibility is to quickly determine when to rein in his natural aggressiveness and when the smart move is to play it safe with a fair catch and hand the ball off to Aaron Murray and the offense.

“It’s just something to get used to,” said Mitchell, who is averaging 7 yards per return -- including a long of 22 yards on his first opportunity last week against Vanderbilt. “Of course when you’ve got an opportunity to make a play happen, you want to take it, regardless of what the situation is. What you’ve just got to know, punt return is a job that’s either you take it home or get as much yardage as you can or you fair catch it and get the offense on the field so they can do that.”

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Mark Richt said he saw some good things, but he didn’t see what he wanted when Georgia staged its second preseason scrimmage Wednesday afternoon at Sanford Stadium.

“I thought we looked like a pretty good team,” Richt said. “But pretty good is about 8-4. I think that’s pretty good. Maybe 9-3 if you’re lucky. But we’d like to do better than 8-4. That’s about how we played today. It wasn’t just awful, but was it great? No, it wasn’t great.”

The Bulldogs got standout performances from freshman tailback Todd Gurley (eight carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yard scoring run) and receiver Chris Conley (four catches for 114 yards and a 70-yard touchdown), but Richt also pointed out a number of sloppy plays.

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On Sunday, Mark Richt announced that seven former walk-on players would receive a one-year scholarship for the coming school year. Cornerback Blake Sailors and running back Brandon Harton had received scholarships last year, and those were renewed by Richt. Fullback Merritt Hall, wide receiver Rhett McGowan, safety Connor Norman, linebacker Kosta Vavlas and cornerback Luis Capella were awarded scholarships for the first time. With only 71 players on scholarship, Richt had plenty of room to add walk-on players. With Georgia’s history of productive walk-ons, the question arises:

“Which of these former walk-on players will contribute the most this season?”

David Ching: It definitely looks to be Merritt Hall. He's the only member of that group who's occupying a starting position at the moment, so that kind of gives it away. Even if he does not start throughout the season, I expect him to contribute beyond a special teams role this season. You could probably say that about a few other players on this list -- McGowan, Norman and possibly Sailors jump out at me first -- but Hall seems to be the safest bet at this point.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- A moment of great celebration for most of Georgia’s football team actually has a bit of a downside for Bulldogs coach Mark Richt.

Richt announced during a team meeting on Saturday night that five walk-ons -- cornerback Luis Capella, fullback Merritt Hall, receiver Rhett McGowan, safety Connor Norman and linebacker Kosta Vavlas -- would receive one-year scholarships for the first time and that scholarships for former walk-ons Blake Sailors and Brandon Harton would be renewed for another year.

While that was an exciting moment for the new scholarship players, Richt said he also knew it was one of great disappointment for other Georgia walk-ons.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia coach Mark Richt confirmed after Friday’s practice that true freshman quarterback Faton Bauta is likely in line for a redshirt season this fall.

Bauta is the newcomer in a deep group of quarterbacks that includes All-SEC starter Aaron Murray, junior Hutson Mason, redshirt freshman Christian LeMay and walk-on Parker Welch, so the incoming freshman has not been getting many practice reps this preseason.

“It’s just a matter of learning, and sometimes it is harder to learn when you’re trying to learn with a [small] amount of opportunities,” Richt said. “But we’re not expecting him to have to play for us this year. More than likely he’ll redshirt.”

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia’s staff didn’t waste any time trying to forge a bond between the new kicker-punter tandem to replace Blair Walsh and Drew Butler.

When freshman kicker Marshall Morgan and punter Collin Barber arrived on campus this summer, they roomed together on campus and struck a fast friendship.

“Me and Marshall have become really good friends,” Barber said after Thursday’s practice. “We’ve roomed together and we see each other every day and depend on each other. We’ve gotten to where we can depend on each other and hold each other accountable.”

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Editor’s note: With Georgia set to open preseason camp on Thursday, DawgNation will break down each position group and the storylines to watch in August. After examining Georgia’s offensive and defensive position groups, we complete the series today with the Bulldogs’ special teams units.

Perhaps no area on Georgia’s roster is more unsettled than its special teams units as preseason practice approaches.

The Bulldogs lost a Ray Guy Award winner in punter Drew Butler, a record-setting Lou Groza Award finalist in kicker Blair Walsh and the 2011 Paul Hornung Award winner -- a prize given to the nation’s most versatile player -- to Brandon Boykin, who handled the majority of kickoff and punt returns last season.

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Editor’s note: With Georgia set to open preseason camp on Aug. 2, DawgNation will break down each position group and the storylines to watch in August. We focus today on the running backs after featuring the quarterbacks Monday.

Considering that former walk-on Brandon Harton is Georgia’s top returning rusher, it seems somewhat surprising that the Bulldogs and their coaches are not more concerned about the state of their running game.

The Bulldogs are in a fairly uncertain position following Isaiah Crowell’s dismissal and Carlton Thomas’ departure, but the general attitude toward the backfield seems to be more curiosity than anxiousness. Maybe that’s because two players who couldn’t seem to stay on the field are now gone. More likely, it’s because they like the potential that freshmen Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley bring to a tailback group that already includes veterans Ken Malcome, Richard Samuel and Harton.

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Fifty 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.

50. Brandon Harton
Junior, Running back
5-foot-6, 174 pounds

Fall forecast: Harton figures to play a role similar to last season, when he was not a top option, but came off the bench in big wins and in emergency situations. When Georgia’s running back corps was riddled with injuries and disciplinary issues late in the season, Harton provided a valuable boost for the running game -- and it’s possible those performances might earn him a longer look this season.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- With Isaiah Crowell's dismissal from the Georgia football team Friday, the Bulldogs are suddenly without their top returning rusher and last season’s SEC Freshman of the Year.

However, Mark Richt’s coaching staff made tailback a point of recruiting emphasis after experiencing regular uncertainty at the position last season, and the addition of star signees Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley will make Crowell’s departure a bit easier to absorb.

The two freshmen are part of a five-player field who will vie for playing time at tailback in Crowell’s absence. Let’s take a look at the candidates:

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