Georgia Bulldogs: Josh Harvey-Clemons
Freshman cornerback Reggie Wilkerson had an impressive spring camp after enrolling last January. The Florida native received praise from coaches and teammates about how quickly he was picking up the defensive schemes. But earlier this week he was injured during the voluntary summer workouts and now he will redshirt for the 2013 season.
“I won’t be playing next year,” Wilkerson said. “I tore my ACL and my meniscus.”
Wilkerson said a freak accident led to his injury.
“We were doing 7-on-7s and the receiver ran the wrong route,” Wilkerson said. “I ran into him, the tight end and the strong safety also. That just blew my knee out. I am the only one that got really hurt. I didn’t want anyone to know until tomorrow but people have already put it out on Twitter. I was getting ready to start but you know how it is.”
The Georgia secondary was already in the process of replacing four starters from last year, and with the news that safety Josh Harvey-Clemons will miss the season opener against Clemson, Wilkerson’s injury further depletes a thin secondary. Defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos will now have to rely on Damian Swann, Sheldon Dawson and Devin Bowman to man the cornerback spots, with true freshmen Shaq Wiggins and Brendan Langley getting looks, as well. Junior college transfer Kennar Johnson is coming to Georgia to play safety but could also help at cornerback, where he lined up last season.
Wilkerson will have ACL surgery on Friday at noon ET.
“I won’t be playing next year,” Wilkerson said. “I tore my ACL and my meniscus.”
Wilkerson said a freak accident led to his injury.
“We were doing 7-on-7s and the receiver ran the wrong route,” Wilkerson said. “I ran into him, the tight end and the strong safety also. That just blew my knee out. I am the only one that got really hurt. I didn’t want anyone to know until tomorrow but people have already put it out on Twitter. I was getting ready to start but you know how it is.”
The Georgia secondary was already in the process of replacing four starters from last year, and with the news that safety Josh Harvey-Clemons will miss the season opener against Clemson, Wilkerson’s injury further depletes a thin secondary. Defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos will now have to rely on Damian Swann, Sheldon Dawson and Devin Bowman to man the cornerback spots, with true freshmen Shaq Wiggins and Brendan Langley getting looks, as well. Junior college transfer Kennar Johnson is coming to Georgia to play safety but could also help at cornerback, where he lined up last season.
Wilkerson will have ACL surgery on Friday at noon ET.
ATHENS, Ga. -- Just when it looked like the identities of Georgia’s secondary starters were becoming clear, we learned that sophomore safety Josh Harvey-Clemons will miss the Bulldogs’ opener at Clemson.
That threw open the door for other players to enter the lineup for the opener, not only in the four traditional secondary spots but also in the nickelback role that Harvey-Clemons figured to fill most of the time when the Bulldogs deployed five defensive backs.
However, we’ll keep the question simple for this week’s DawgNation roundtable: With Harvey-Clemons out of the picture for the first game, who will be the starting four in the secondary when Georgia plays its base defense against Clemson?
That threw open the door for other players to enter the lineup for the opener, not only in the four traditional secondary spots but also in the nickelback role that Harvey-Clemons figured to fill most of the time when the Bulldogs deployed five defensive backs.
However, we’ll keep the question simple for this week’s DawgNation roundtable: With Harvey-Clemons out of the picture for the first game, who will be the starting four in the secondary when Georgia plays its base defense against Clemson?
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ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia will be without one of its top defensive weapons for the Aug. 31 opener at Clemson.
If that doesn’t sound like a broken record, it should.
Safety Josh Harvey-Clemons is just the latest example. On Tuesday, he joined 2011 All-American safety Bacarri Rambo and 2013 first-round NFL pick at linebacker Alec Ogletree as Georgia standouts ordered to miss the start of a season for the dreaded “violation of team rules” following marijuana-related incidents.
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Radi Nabulsi/ESPNJosh Harvey-Clemons was one of the standouts on Georgia's defense this spring.
The sophomore -- whom ESPN rated as the nation’s top outside linebacker prospect in 2012 -- was one of the stars of Georgia’s spring practices and earned the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP award just before the spring game. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has repeatedly maintained that the 6-foot-5 Harvey-Clemons’ wide array of athletic skills will enable the coaching staff to use him at both strong safety and outside linebacker based on matchups, making him perhaps the most difficult player for Clemson’s coaches to plan for before the opener.
Now Grantham will not have that weapon at his disposal for the first week, which will make defending Tajh Boyd and the Tigers’ high-flying offense that much more difficult for the Bulldogs.
For Bulldogs fans looking for any way to take comfort in Harvey-Clemons’ temporary absence, this suspension is not the same as longtime starter Rambo missing time in the secondary. While he has no shortage of potential, Harvey-Clemons has barely played on scrimmage downs and has yet to start a college game.
In addition, Grantham frequently discusses how injuries, suspensions and matchups dictated that he trot out a different starting lineup on close to a weekly basis over the last two seasons, so the coaching staff has more than enough experience adjusting on the fly.
A greater long-term concern is that once again, Georgia players have proved South Carolina’s wise-cracking coach Steve Spurrier correct. Spurrier told ESPN’s Chris Low last summer that “I always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.”
Spurrier’s Gamecocks get the Bulldogs in Week 2 again this fall after playing their SEC East rival at midseason last year for the first time since South Carolina joined the conference in 1992. That Oct. 6 game in Columbia -- a 35-7 South Carolina thrashing -- was just the second game back in the lineup for Rambo and Ogletree, and the Bulldogs clearly lacked defensive continuity at the time.
If the Bulldogs make it to the opener with only Harvey-Clemons missing among the projected starters, Georgia’s personnel situation will not be nearly as drastic as a year ago, when cornerback Sanders Commings and outside linebacker Chase Vasser also sat out the first two games following offseason arrests.
However, Grantham’s retooled defense, which lost 12 key players, can’t afford many disruptions if it is to be ready for a grueling first month of the season, and the absence of one of its key pieces could have a devastating effect in Death Valley.
ATHENS, Ga. -- Now that we’ve reached the summer, we here at DawgNation are bringing back our weekly roundtable where our team writers and message board users discuss a topic related to Georgia football.
We asked everyone to gaze into their crystal balls and make a prediction for the 2013 football season. The question: Who will be Georgia’s MVP this fall and why?
We asked everyone to gaze into their crystal balls and make a prediction for the 2013 football season. The question: Who will be Georgia’s MVP this fall and why?
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ATHENS, Ga. -- After losing their security blanket at safety, Todd Grantham and Scott Lakatos had to weigh their options at the position for the first time in a long while.
Bacarri Rambo and Shawn Williams started 80 percent of Georgia’s games (66 of a possible 82 starts) at the two safety positions since defensive coordinator Grantham and defensive backs coach Lakatos arrived on campus in 2010. So this spring might have felt like a throwback to the coaches’ first few months in Athens when they had to evaluate which young players were mentally and physically prepared to guard the back line of the Bulldogs’ defense.
“I want to see what they can do and how they can learn it and what they can handle because the days of just lining up and playing are gone,” Grantham said. “You’ve got to be able to affect the game with lost-yardage plays and pressures and things like that and your safeties have got to be really involved in that kind of stuff. So we’ve just got to continue to work and see what they can handle and then we’ll develop our game plans as we move forward from that.”
The good news for Georgia’s coaches is that two players with the athleticism to do those things -- Josh Harvey-Clemons and Tray Matthews -- pushed into the lead for starting positions this spring. The bad news is that Harvey-Clemons, a sophomore, and Matthews, a true freshman who enrolled in January, have never started a college game and have a long way to go before they develop the knowledge and experience base that Williams and Rambo possessed.
Grantham said at Wednesday’s UGA Day meeting in Atlanta that he is not particularly concerned about their inexperience, however, because of the way they performed during spring practice. Harvey-Clemons was the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP of the spring and Matthews’ big hits generated major buzz among the coaches and players.
“Tray’s a guy that he’s a good tackler in space, he’s got good ball skills, he’s physical,” Grantham said. “He actually knocked two guys out in three scrimmages. The only problem is one of them was a defensive guy.”
Nonetheless, safety is one of the most detail-oriented positions on the defense, so young safeties have to do a lot more than drop a receiver with a bone-crushing hit before Lakatos’ uneasiness about playing them in important situations subsides.
“[I watch] when they can get lined up, number one, and communicate with the rest of the team depending on the situation,” Lakatos said. “And when the offense starts moving people around, are they going to be able to handle the adjustments that we have to make? And once a guy can prove he can do that, then that’s when you start to feel a little more comfortable.”
In a matter of weeks, Georgia’s list of options at safety will grow once signees Shaquille Fluker, Kennar Johnson and Paris Bostick enroll in Athens for summer classes. Asked to name a few defensive newcomers that he’s excited to evaluate in preseason practice, Grantham named Fluker and Johnson before anyone else because he believes the junior college transfers “can have an immediate impact.”
“I think all of them have some upside and a skill set that they can help us,” Grantham said, also mentioning Shaq Wiggins and Brendan Langley as new cornerbacks who he will be excited to observe. “So I really look forward to all of them, but particularly the defensive back kind of guys.”
The reason for the intrigue is obvious since five of the Bulldogs’ eight defensive back signees are not yet on campus, and there is plenty of playing time available thanks to the departures of Williams, Rambo, Branden Smith and Sanders Commings.
Newcomers and young players will almost certainly fill a large portion of that void -- if they can prove to Grantham and Lakatos during preseason practice that they know where to be and have the ability to make the proper play once they arrive.
“We need to get roles established as soon as possible so we can get ready for the season. But a lot of that depends on how guys progress,” Lakatos said. “The more situations that we can create out there through practice and scrimmages and those type of things, the better we’ll have an idea of where they stand once the other guys get here, the May and June graduates.
“Then we’ll kind of put them in and see how they handle all the stuff without the benefit of spring practice. But we’re certainly going to give them opportunities and give them a lot of work when we start practicing in the summer and see where we go after 29 practices.”
Bacarri Rambo and Shawn Williams started 80 percent of Georgia’s games (66 of a possible 82 starts) at the two safety positions since defensive coordinator Grantham and defensive backs coach Lakatos arrived on campus in 2010. So this spring might have felt like a throwback to the coaches’ first few months in Athens when they had to evaluate which young players were mentally and physically prepared to guard the back line of the Bulldogs’ defense.
“I want to see what they can do and how they can learn it and what they can handle because the days of just lining up and playing are gone,” Grantham said. “You’ve got to be able to affect the game with lost-yardage plays and pressures and things like that and your safeties have got to be really involved in that kind of stuff. So we’ve just got to continue to work and see what they can handle and then we’ll develop our game plans as we move forward from that.”
The good news for Georgia’s coaches is that two players with the athleticism to do those things -- Josh Harvey-Clemons and Tray Matthews -- pushed into the lead for starting positions this spring. The bad news is that Harvey-Clemons, a sophomore, and Matthews, a true freshman who enrolled in January, have never started a college game and have a long way to go before they develop the knowledge and experience base that Williams and Rambo possessed.
Grantham said at Wednesday’s UGA Day meeting in Atlanta that he is not particularly concerned about their inexperience, however, because of the way they performed during spring practice. Harvey-Clemons was the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP of the spring and Matthews’ big hits generated major buzz among the coaches and players.
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Radi Nabulsi/ESPNSafety Josh Harvey-Clemons, defensive MVP this spring, is expected to have a significant role in Georgia's defense.
Nonetheless, safety is one of the most detail-oriented positions on the defense, so young safeties have to do a lot more than drop a receiver with a bone-crushing hit before Lakatos’ uneasiness about playing them in important situations subsides.
“[I watch] when they can get lined up, number one, and communicate with the rest of the team depending on the situation,” Lakatos said. “And when the offense starts moving people around, are they going to be able to handle the adjustments that we have to make? And once a guy can prove he can do that, then that’s when you start to feel a little more comfortable.”
In a matter of weeks, Georgia’s list of options at safety will grow once signees Shaquille Fluker, Kennar Johnson and Paris Bostick enroll in Athens for summer classes. Asked to name a few defensive newcomers that he’s excited to evaluate in preseason practice, Grantham named Fluker and Johnson before anyone else because he believes the junior college transfers “can have an immediate impact.”
“I think all of them have some upside and a skill set that they can help us,” Grantham said, also mentioning Shaq Wiggins and Brendan Langley as new cornerbacks who he will be excited to observe. “So I really look forward to all of them, but particularly the defensive back kind of guys.”
The reason for the intrigue is obvious since five of the Bulldogs’ eight defensive back signees are not yet on campus, and there is plenty of playing time available thanks to the departures of Williams, Rambo, Branden Smith and Sanders Commings.
Newcomers and young players will almost certainly fill a large portion of that void -- if they can prove to Grantham and Lakatos during preseason practice that they know where to be and have the ability to make the proper play once they arrive.
“We need to get roles established as soon as possible so we can get ready for the season. But a lot of that depends on how guys progress,” Lakatos said. “The more situations that we can create out there through practice and scrimmages and those type of things, the better we’ll have an idea of where they stand once the other guys get here, the May and June graduates.
“Then we’ll kind of put them in and see how they handle all the stuff without the benefit of spring practice. But we’re certainly going to give them opportunities and give them a lot of work when we start practicing in the summer and see where we go after 29 practices.”
Each week, Tales From The Road will provide news and updates about where Georgia’s coaches have been and what prospects are standing out.
This week’s targets: Last Monday Mike Bobo and Will Friend saw Lowndes (Ga.) High School offensive lineman Dyshon Sims, who would get an offer from Georgia two days later. On Tuesday Tony Ball dropped on wide receiver commitment Krenwick Sanders at Wayne County (Ga.) High School and Todd Grantham and Kirk Olivadotti checked in on ESPN 150 linebacker target Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County) . Grantham also visited ESPN 150 LB targets Rashaan Evans (Auburn, Ala./Auburn) and Jacob Pugh (Tallahassee, Fla./Godby) that day. Defensive line coach Chris Wilson saw safety target Cortez McDowell (Locust Grove, Ga./Locust Grove) and John Lilly saw Callaway 2015 athlete target Terry Godwin (Hogansville, Ga./Callaway). On Thursday, Grantham and Lakatos saw ESPN 150 CB targets Nicholas Ruffin (Atlanta/St. Pius X) and D.J. Smith (Marietta, Ga./Walton), and evaluated Cameron Albright (Kennesaw, Ga./North Cobb).
Area of interest: North Carolina has been good the Georgia Bulldogs. The running back tandem of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall can attest to that. When the ESPN 150 was released, 10 players from the Tar Heel State made the initial list, which is only one prospect less than the state of Georgia and the same as the entire state of California. The No. 3 tight end in the nation, Jeb Blazevich, has already committed to Georgia, and the Bulldogs lead for the No. 10 overall prospect in defensive tackle Lamont Gaillard (Fayetteville, N.C./Pine Forest).
This week’s targets: Last Monday Mike Bobo and Will Friend saw Lowndes (Ga.) High School offensive lineman Dyshon Sims, who would get an offer from Georgia two days later. On Tuesday Tony Ball dropped on wide receiver commitment Krenwick Sanders at Wayne County (Ga.) High School and Todd Grantham and Kirk Olivadotti checked in on ESPN 150 linebacker target Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County) . Grantham also visited ESPN 150 LB targets Rashaan Evans (Auburn, Ala./Auburn) and Jacob Pugh (Tallahassee, Fla./Godby) that day. Defensive line coach Chris Wilson saw safety target Cortez McDowell (Locust Grove, Ga./Locust Grove) and John Lilly saw Callaway 2015 athlete target Terry Godwin (Hogansville, Ga./Callaway). On Thursday, Grantham and Lakatos saw ESPN 150 CB targets Nicholas Ruffin (Atlanta/St. Pius X) and D.J. Smith (Marietta, Ga./Walton), and evaluated Cameron Albright (Kennesaw, Ga./North Cobb).
Area of interest: North Carolina has been good the Georgia Bulldogs. The running back tandem of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall can attest to that. When the ESPN 150 was released, 10 players from the Tar Heel State made the initial list, which is only one prospect less than the state of Georgia and the same as the entire state of California. The No. 3 tight end in the nation, Jeb Blazevich, has already committed to Georgia, and the Bulldogs lead for the No. 10 overall prospect in defensive tackle Lamont Gaillard (Fayetteville, N.C./Pine Forest).
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GEORGIA BULLDOGS
2012 record: 12-2
2012 conference record: 7-1 (first, SEC East)
Returning starters: Offense: 10; defense: 4; kicker/punter: 2
Top returners: QB Aaron Murray, RB Todd Gurley, CB Damian Swann, WR Malcolm Mitchell, OLB Jordan Jenkins, OL Kenarious Gates, OG Chris Burnette, ILB Amarlo Herrera
Key losses: OLB Jarvis Jones, LB Alec Ogletree, S Shawn Williams, S Bacarri Rambo, NG John Jenkins, CB Sanders Commings, WR Tavarres King
2012 statistical leaders (* - returner)
Rushing: Gurley * (1,385 yards)
Passing: Murray * (3,893 yards)
Receiving: King (950 yards)
Tackles: Alec Ogletree (111)
Sacks: Jones (14.5)
Interceptions: Swann * (4)
Spring answers
1. Safety starters: With 2011 All-Americans Rambo and Williams completing their college careers, the Bulldogs entered the spring with two big holes at safety. It appears sophomore Josh Harvey-Clemons and January enrollee Tray Matthews have all but claimed the starting positions, however. Harvey-Clemons was named the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP of spring practice, and Matthews generated the most buzz of anyone this spring with his ability to deliver crushing hits. Georgia’s inexperience along the back end of the defense is not ideal, but the two youngsters could become a pleasant surprise.
2012 record: 12-2
2012 conference record: 7-1 (first, SEC East)
Returning starters: Offense: 10; defense: 4; kicker/punter: 2
Top returners: QB Aaron Murray, RB Todd Gurley, CB Damian Swann, WR Malcolm Mitchell, OLB Jordan Jenkins, OL Kenarious Gates, OG Chris Burnette, ILB Amarlo Herrera
Key losses: OLB Jarvis Jones, LB Alec Ogletree, S Shawn Williams, S Bacarri Rambo, NG John Jenkins, CB Sanders Commings, WR Tavarres King
2012 statistical leaders (* - returner)
Rushing: Gurley * (1,385 yards)
Passing: Murray * (3,893 yards)
Receiving: King (950 yards)
Tackles: Alec Ogletree (111)
Sacks: Jones (14.5)
Interceptions: Swann * (4)
Spring answers
1. Safety starters: With 2011 All-Americans Rambo and Williams completing their college careers, the Bulldogs entered the spring with two big holes at safety. It appears sophomore Josh Harvey-Clemons and January enrollee Tray Matthews have all but claimed the starting positions, however. Harvey-Clemons was named the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP of spring practice, and Matthews generated the most buzz of anyone this spring with his ability to deliver crushing hits. Georgia’s inexperience along the back end of the defense is not ideal, but the two youngsters could become a pleasant surprise.
ATHENS, Ga. -- With the spring camp over and the spring evaluation period underway, this seems as good a time as any to reopen the DawgNation Mailbag. We missed two weeks with the release of the ESPN 150 rankings and all the fireworks last week with the commitments of Sony Michel and Jeb Blazevich so let us get back to your burning questions.
gilly5134: I know it's hard to judge but how do you think the ACL injuries will affect Michael Bennett and Tramel Terry next year? I know it takes a lot of guys a while to get that mental edge back after realizing they can break.
gilly5134: I know it's hard to judge but how do you think the ACL injuries will affect Michael Bennett and Tramel Terry next year? I know it takes a lot of guys a while to get that mental edge back after realizing they can break.
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Editor's note: Over the next couple of weeks, we'll clean out our notebook from Georgia's spring practice to tell the stories we didn't get to before the Bulldogs' G-Day game. Previously we featured fullback Quayvon Hicks, tight end Jay Rome and defensive end Ray Drew. Today we recap a conversation with safety Connor Norman from a few days before the G-Day game.
ATHENS, Ga. -- Connor Norman doesn’t necessarily want to become a coach, but he assumed that role almost by default this spring.
As the only Georgia safety who has actually started a game on defense, he naturally felt somewhat like a teacher as he helped younger teammates such as early enrollees Tray Matthews and Quincy Mauger experience their first taste of college football.
“There’s a lot of young guys and I feel like I have a pretty decent understanding of the defense, so I feel like if that’s part of what I do, then I’m out there helping,” said Norman, a fifth-year senior. “I guess I do see myself as a teacher.”
ATHENS, Ga. -- Connor Norman doesn’t necessarily want to become a coach, but he assumed that role almost by default this spring.
As the only Georgia safety who has actually started a game on defense, he naturally felt somewhat like a teacher as he helped younger teammates such as early enrollees Tray Matthews and Quincy Mauger experience their first taste of college football.
“There’s a lot of young guys and I feel like I have a pretty decent understanding of the defense, so I feel like if that’s part of what I do, then I’m out there helping,” said Norman, a fifth-year senior. “I guess I do see myself as a teacher.”
ATHENS, Ga. -- Over the last two weeks, we reviewed the competition for playing time at each position on Georgia’s depth chart and identified a player to watch at each position.
A defense that lost 12 significant players will be a focal point well into the fall, and it was in our post-spring recaps. Let’s take a look at the defensive positions first:
A defense that lost 12 significant players will be a focal point well into the fall, and it was in our post-spring recaps. Let’s take a look at the defensive positions first:
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ATHENS, Ga. -- Without question, the highlight around DawgNation this week came Tuesday when tight end Jeb Blazevich (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian) became the first ESPN 150 honoree to join Georgia’s 2014 signing class -- just three days before another one, running back Sony Michel (Plantation, Fla./American Heritage), joined him.
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Editor’s note: DawgNation's post-spring positional analysis continues this week after focusing on the offense last week. Today we examine the safeties:
Returning players/stats: Connor Norman, Jr. (Two starts. 18 tackles); Corey Moore, Jr. (One start. 14 tackles, one tackle for a loss); Marc Deas, Jr. (One tackle, one blocked punt); Josh Harvey-Clemons, So. (14 tackles, one TFL, one pass breakup);
Returning players/stats: Connor Norman, Jr. (Two starts. 18 tackles); Corey Moore, Jr. (One start. 14 tackles, one tackle for a loss); Marc Deas, Jr. (One tackle, one blocked punt); Josh Harvey-Clemons, So. (14 tackles, one TFL, one pass breakup);
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ATHENS, Ga. -- Considering how he accounted for all of 14 tackles as a true freshman, perhaps it is premature for some observers in the media to declare Josh Harvey-Clemons as Georgia’s next big defensive star. But Georgia’s coaching staff didn’t do anything to diminish the hype when it named the versatile sophomore as the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP at the end of spring practice.
At 6-foot-5 and around 220 pounds, Harvey-Clemons looks more like a shooting guard on Georgia’s basketball team than the SEC football star he could become this fall. And yet his multi-positional versatility could make him one of the league’s more difficult defenders to plan for, as -- at least for now -- it’s unclear where defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has in mind for him right now.
We know he plans to use Harvey-Clemons as a strong safety in Georgia’s base defense and in a nickelback/outside linebacker hybrid role at times when the Bulldogs employ a nickel defense. It might take a game or two, though, before opponents develop an idea of where Harvey-Clemons might line up at any given time.
Even when they finally figure out Harvey-Clemons’ probable location, it will be another thing altogether to make plays against him. He’s quick, he has strong coverage skills and he likes to hit. That sounds like a solid SEC defender -- and a player Georgia fans will enjoy watching for at least the next two seasons.
2012 review: Although he made some noise with a handful of interceptions during preseason practice, Harvey-Clemons’ role was limited almost exclusively to special teams as a freshman. He played in all 14 games and totaled 14 tackles, one tackle for a loss and one pass breakup.
2013 preview: Count on seeing the sophomore all over the place this fall. He’ll play some safety in the base defense. He’ll play nickelback. He’ll play outside linebacker. And there’s a better-than-average chance that he’ll wreak some havoc from all three.
Spring prospectus: Harvey-Clemons was one of the most scrutinized players entering spring practice, but he won the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP award just before G-Day. Grantham said Harvey-Clemons won the award because he was one of the Bulldogs’ most consistent playmakers throughout the spring.
Career potential: The ceiling for Harvey-Clemons is perhaps as high as it is for any player on Georgia’s roster. Questions remain as to where he will eventually settle positionally, but the hybrid role Grantham envisions will be allow him to take advantage of Harvey-Clemons’ wide range of skills. Perhaps if he adds weight, he can become a full-time outside linebacker -- the position where ESPN listed him as the top prospect of 2012 -- but it might simply be that Harvey-Clemons never fits into a particular box. Regardless, he will almost certainly become one of Georgia’s top defensive players this fall and seems on track for college stardom.
At 6-foot-5 and around 220 pounds, Harvey-Clemons looks more like a shooting guard on Georgia’s basketball team than the SEC football star he could become this fall. And yet his multi-positional versatility could make him one of the league’s more difficult defenders to plan for, as -- at least for now -- it’s unclear where defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has in mind for him right now.
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Radi Nabulsi/ESPNJosh Harvey-Clemons might not have a specific position, but he'll be positioned to wreak havoc for the Georgia defense this fall.
Even when they finally figure out Harvey-Clemons’ probable location, it will be another thing altogether to make plays against him. He’s quick, he has strong coverage skills and he likes to hit. That sounds like a solid SEC defender -- and a player Georgia fans will enjoy watching for at least the next two seasons.
2012 review: Although he made some noise with a handful of interceptions during preseason practice, Harvey-Clemons’ role was limited almost exclusively to special teams as a freshman. He played in all 14 games and totaled 14 tackles, one tackle for a loss and one pass breakup.
2013 preview: Count on seeing the sophomore all over the place this fall. He’ll play some safety in the base defense. He’ll play nickelback. He’ll play outside linebacker. And there’s a better-than-average chance that he’ll wreak some havoc from all three.
Spring prospectus: Harvey-Clemons was one of the most scrutinized players entering spring practice, but he won the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP award just before G-Day. Grantham said Harvey-Clemons won the award because he was one of the Bulldogs’ most consistent playmakers throughout the spring.
Career potential: The ceiling for Harvey-Clemons is perhaps as high as it is for any player on Georgia’s roster. Questions remain as to where he will eventually settle positionally, but the hybrid role Grantham envisions will be allow him to take advantage of Harvey-Clemons’ wide range of skills. Perhaps if he adds weight, he can become a full-time outside linebacker -- the position where ESPN listed him as the top prospect of 2012 -- but it might simply be that Harvey-Clemons never fits into a particular box. Regardless, he will almost certainly become one of Georgia’s top defensive players this fall and seems on track for college stardom.
Editor’s note: Our DawgNation post-spring positional analysis continues this week after focusing on the offense last week. Today we examine the outside linebackers:
Returning players/stats: Jordan Jenkins, So. (Six starts in 2012, 31 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery); Chase Vasser, Sr. (Two starts, 19 tackles, four TFL, 1 FF); T.J. Stripling, Sr. (Eight tackles, one TFL, one sack, one FF); Brandon Burrows, Jr. (No tackles); Josh Dawson, So. (five tackles, 1.5 TFL); James DeLoach, So. (four tackles)
Newcomers: Davin Bellamy, Fr. (ESPN’s No. 299 overall prospect, No. 25 defensive end. Expected to enroll this summer); Leonard Floyd, Fr. (The four-star prospect had no position rating as a player from Hargrave Military Academy. Expected to enroll this summer); Shaun McGee (No. 43 DE. Expected to enroll this summer.)
Returning players/stats: Jordan Jenkins, So. (Six starts in 2012, 31 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery); Chase Vasser, Sr. (Two starts, 19 tackles, four TFL, 1 FF); T.J. Stripling, Sr. (Eight tackles, one TFL, one sack, one FF); Brandon Burrows, Jr. (No tackles); Josh Dawson, So. (five tackles, 1.5 TFL); James DeLoach, So. (four tackles)
Newcomers: Davin Bellamy, Fr. (ESPN’s No. 299 overall prospect, No. 25 defensive end. Expected to enroll this summer); Leonard Floyd, Fr. (The four-star prospect had no position rating as a player from Hargrave Military Academy. Expected to enroll this summer); Shaun McGee (No. 43 DE. Expected to enroll this summer.)
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ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia’s spring football practice wound to a close this week, clearing the way for both the spring recruiting season and for a first-ever event in 84-year-old Sanford Stadium.
We’ll get to the recruiting in a minute. The big event on campus Saturday evening is the historic stadium’s first concert, headlined by country music superstars Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan -- a pair of native Georgians who also happen to be huge Bulldogs fans.
Fan interest has been enormous -- more than 60,000 are expected to attend the concert -- so we caught up with Aldean to discuss playing his favorite team’s home stadium and also broke down how Saturday’s concert came to be.
Just a week ago, Georgia held its annual G-Day game in the stadium, with the Black team (featuring the starting defense) rallying to beat the Red (and the starting offense). We took a look at the defense’s impressive performance in the game and also caught up with backup quarterback Hutson Mason to discuss his first game in a year after redshirting last season.
We’ll get to the recruiting in a minute. The big event on campus Saturday evening is the historic stadium’s first concert, headlined by country music superstars Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan -- a pair of native Georgians who also happen to be huge Bulldogs fans.
Fan interest has been enormous -- more than 60,000 are expected to attend the concert -- so we caught up with Aldean to discuss playing his favorite team’s home stadium and also broke down how Saturday’s concert came to be.
Just a week ago, Georgia held its annual G-Day game in the stadium, with the Black team (featuring the starting defense) rallying to beat the Red (and the starting offense). We took a look at the defense’s impressive performance in the game and also caught up with backup quarterback Hutson Mason to discuss his first game in a year after redshirting last season.
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David Ching
David Ching came to ESPN.com in 2011 after six years covering UGA for the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer and Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald. He lives in Athens. Email him at davidchingespn@gmail.com.
Radi Nabulsi
Radi Nabulsi joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering the University of Georgia for Rivals.com for four years and for the UGA Athletic Association since 1993. Nabulsi is a graduate of the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and lives in Athens. He can be reached at radinabulsiespn@gmail.com.
Kipp Adams
Kipp Adams joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering University of Georgia football and basketball recruiting for five years at Rivals.com. He lives in Sandy Springs, Ga., and enjoys spending time with his two sons. He can be reached at kippadamsespn@gmail.com.