Georgia Bulldogs

ATHENS, Ga. -- Although he started every game at right tackle last season as a true freshman, that doesn’t mean John Theus will remain there this fall.

Offensive line coach Will Friend wasn’t ready to proclaim him a starter at the end of spring practice, at all, but a more reasonable question is probably whether the sophomore starts at left or right tackle. Because it would be a considerable upset if Theus loses a starting spot at any point in his career.

Last season, Theus became the third true freshman offensive tackle to start Georgia’s season opener since freshmen became eligible to play in 1973. And while he wasn’t perfect, he won multiple freshman All-America rosters and validated the excitement that accompanied his signing with Georgia more than a year ago.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Welcome to the pre-spring practice edition of DawgNation Mailbag. Georgia starts spring practice on Saturday, so we will begin to see a clearer picture of what the 2013 Bulldogs are going to look like. In the meantime I answered the questions sent in from our premium message board -- The Pound, as well as from Twitter and Facebook.

Perry.James: Who are your top 5 "MVRs" (Most Valuable Recruits) from this past class?

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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: Center Brandon Kublanow, Marietta, Ga./Walton | 6-foot-3, 289 pounds

Committed: May 23, 2012

ESPN.com grade: 83. Four-star prospect.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- With national signing day exactly two weeks from today, DawgNation looks ahead to what Georgia has coming and who the Bulldogs still need, and why.

Team needs: Georgia has a number of holes to fill, considering the defense is losing 10 players who started last season. All-American junior Jarvis Jones and two-year leading tackler Alec Ogletree have declared for the NFL draft, which means the incoming prospects will have to be ready to play early.

Also, consider that Georgia only signed one player for the secondary, one wide receiver and not one inside linebacker in the class of 2012. Those positions are a priority. The secondary is in special need of attention as both starting safeties and two starting cornerbacks were seniors this past season. The Bulldogs have decent depth at the outside linebacker spots but the SEC championship game proved Georgia needs help on the defensive line. Junior nose Kwame Geathers has also opted to leave early for the NFL, so Georgia needs to sign some quality prospects to fill in the defensive trench.

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Editor’s note: Over the next several weeks, we’ll take a look at each position on Georgia’s depth chart and project how it might look in the future. Today we examine Georgia’s offensive guards and centers.

2012 two-deep depth chart:
LG: Dallas Lee (Jr.), Kenarious Gates (Jr.)
RG: Chris Burnette (Jr.), Lee (Jr.)

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The final ESPN 150 and ESPN 300 rankings were released on Thursday and the Georgia Bulldogs are well represented on both lists. Georgia has 12 verbal commits on in the ESPN 300, five of whom are ranked in the ESPN 150.

The biggest jump up belonged to Brandon Kublanow (Marietta, Ga./Walton) who moved up 49 spots to finish at No. 145 in the ESPN 150. Rated the No. 2 center in the nation, Kublanow recently told DawgNation that he will play guard at Georgia.

“Yeah I will be at guard and swing center,” Kublanow said.

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LINCOLNTON, Ga. -- Five-star defensive tackle Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) made a promise to his mother when he was a little boy. Well, make that a young boy. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound All-American was seldom considered little. Young “Mon” Adams told his mother Debbie Young that he had a plan.

“I worked at nights at Tyson Foods so I always had an aunt, Inez Glenn, that made sure he got to his games,” Young said. “He had a bike, but the chain would never stay on it and he always wanted to get to that game, so she made sure he did. He said, ‘Momma, one day I am going to stop you from working at Tyson.’ I said ‘Oh, OK, Mon,’ but I didn’t believe what is happening now would actually happen. That is what he said. I am just very excited for him.”

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ATHENS, Ga. -- The Georgia coaching staff was on the road Friday, as usual, checking in on commits and targets alike. In what had to the most fortuitous turn of events of the day, tight ends coach John Lilly and inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti just happened to be stopping by Auburn (Ala.) High School right after the nation’s No. 1 inside linebacker, Reuben Foster, decommitted from Auburn University. Both coaches met with Foster, who reopened his recruitment, citing reports that his mentor Trooper Taylor had been let go at Auburn.

Later that night, another coach would also prove lucky as defensive line coach Rodney Garner was on hand to congratulate Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) after the top-ranked defensive tackle won the chance to play for the Georgia Class A championship.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and running backs coach Bryan McClendon were on hand to see the Bulldogs’ top tailback target, Alvin Kamara (Norcross, Ga./Norcross), win his semifinal game as well. Alabama’s Kirby Smart was also there, and the battle for Kamara is still neck and neck.

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ESPN 150 offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, Fla./Columbia) watched the two schools atop his leaderboard face each other in the Georgia Dome on Saturday night. The No. 4 prospect in the nation has had Georgia and Alabama as his leaders for months and is expected to pick between the two on signing day.

So who was he rooting for in the game?

“Georgia,” Tunsil said. “I really wanted Georgia to go [to the BCS title game] to see how they were going to do. It was pretty good game.”

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MARIETTA, Ga. -- According to offensive lineman Brandon Kublanow (Marietta, Ga./Walton), the best defensive lineman in the state of Georgia is not Robert Nkemdiche (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) or Carl Lawson (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton). Never mind that those two are ranked the No. 1 and No. 2 prospects in the entire nation. Kublanow is not having it. He says that Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) is the best defensive lineman in the nation.

What does Kublanow know that all the recruiting experts don’t? Well, he has faced all three on the field.

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MARIETTA, Ga. -- When Walton High School lost in the playoffs to Parkview (Ga.) High School in the recent Class AAAAAA playoffs, no one present could say that it was for lack of effort. The Panthers upset a Raiders team that was beset with injuries. Multiple starters hobbled onto the field, covered in yards of trainer's tape, only to lose in the second overtime, 20-17.

Cornerback D.J. Smith did everything possible to pull his team through but to no avail. With Alabama running back commit Tyren Jones out for the season, Smith was pressed into service at tailback, racking up 95 yards and a touchdown. He also made an acrobatic catch on a 16-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone from Alabama quarterback commit Parker McLeod, who was playing on two bad ankles. In the second overtime, Smith rushed for 14 yards on the first play, setting up a first-and-goal situation but the Raiders were stonewalled and Parkview escaped with the victory.

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• After decommitting from Clemson, No. 1 prospect Robert Nkemdiche (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) took an unofficial visit to Ole Miss with his parents, older brother and his father’s niece on Saturday. While there had been speculation that Nkemdiche could commit to the Rebels over the weekend, there was no public change in his recruitment. Nkemdiche and his mother have stated that no final decision is imminent, with his mother targeting national signing day and Nkemdiche saying he will probably announce in January but that he could also commit when it feels right. The Rebels are still considered the team to beat, but the longer his recruitment lasts, the more opportunities that programs such as Alabama, Clemson and Georgia will have to convince Nkemdiche that their program is the best fit for him.

• ESPN 150 defensive lineman Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) took an unofficial visit to Clemson over the weekend, giving his mother her first look at the Tigers. The visit went well, and Clemson has a chance to secure a coveted official visit from the No. 7 prospect in the country. Next up for Adams is taking in a high school game with ESPN 300 offensive lineman Brandon Kublanow (Marietta, Ga./Walton), a University of Georgia commitment who has become close friends with Adams over the past few months. Adams will take his mom on another unofficial visit to Alabama Nov. 24 for the Iron Bowl against Auburn. Then his official visits will begin, with LSU, Oregon and USC mentioned as three Adams plans to take. Clemson has positioned itself to have a strong chance at being No. 4.

• Another ESPN 150 target on campus at Clemson over the weekend was Tramel Terry (Goose Creek, S.C./Goose Creek), a University of Georgia commitment. Terry took his first official visit to Clemson last month, and returned after visiting Georgia Nov. 3 for the Ole Miss game. Clemson is selling Terry on making an impact in the backfield, while Georgia has mentioned the possibility of playing multiple positions in Athens. He told DawgNation after his official visit that he was solid to the Bulldogs and intended on enrolling early at Georgia, but his recruitment warrants monitoring with the return trip to Clemson. He is expected to take his official to Georgia next month.

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