Every season brings its share of new faces, but for some reason this year’s Georgia team seems to have more than usual. With so much of the two-deep sophomores or younger, it’s likely that there are several 2007 contributors we haven’t seen much of – if at all.

It’s a good time to become familiar with some of the names we’ll be hearing about in the next couple of weeks. This is by no means an exhaustive breakdown of the entire team, but these are several guys who could be thrust from obscurity into key roles this season.

Offense

• Tailback Knowshon Moreno (RFr.): If there’s a newcomer who needs no introduction, it’s Moreno. The New Jersey native had a strong year of practice and turned heads at G-Day. Though the running back depth chart seems solid with Lumpkin and Brown returning, Moreno will push for carries.
• Offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant (Fr.): Some are calling him one of the keys to the season, and that’s an awful lot to put on a true freshman’s broad shoulders. But the job of protecting Matthew Stafford from the important left tackle position will likely fall to Sturdivant.
• Offensive guard Scott Haverkamp (Jr.): Haverkamp is another newcomer to the program (via JUCO) who might find himself in a starting role. He chose Georgia over Arizona State, Illinois, and also had interest from FSU.
• Offensive guard Chris Davis (RFr.): Davis will be new on the field, but he at least has a year in the program. That experience gives him the edge over several of the other young linemen.
• Tight end Tripp Chandler (Jr.): Chandler takes over the legacy of Georgia tight ends from Martrez Milner. Chandler had 2 receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown last season. His first career catch was memorable: he caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in traffic on a 4th-and-1 play against Mississippi State. Chandler will be suspended for the first game of the season, so Coleman Watson and NaDerris Ward will get an opportunity.

Defense

• Defensive end Marcus Howard (Sr.): Howard is hardly a newcomer, but it couldn’t be easy to make a splash alongside former defensive ends Moses and Johnson. Howard began his career at linebacker but has since made the move to the line. He might still be considered undersized at 235 lbs., but he has speed and strength to compensate. It’s true that Howard might be used situationally, but that will depend on the progress of the younger ends.
• Defensive end Roderick Battle (So.): Battle is the other likely starter at defensive end. He, too, is a little undersized for the typical SEC defensive end. JUCO transfer Jarius Wynn could push Battle before long.
• Defensive tackle Geno Atkins (So.): Atkins saw limited time as a true freshman last season, but he’ll be placed in a much larger role this year as a possible starter on the defensive front. Sophomore Kade Weston and JUCO transfer Corey Irvin will compete here.
• Linebacker Akeem Dent (RFr.): Though Dewberry, Miller, and Ellerbe seem established as the starting linebackers, Dent might be the reserve most ready to step in if necessary. I see him in a "Danny Verdun-Wheeler" role where he might be the first off the bench at any linebacker position.
• Safety C.J. Byrd (Jr.): Byrd is a known name to more serious observers of the team. He has contributed for several seasons on special teams and saw more time at safety last season. He’ll step in as a starter this year replacing Tra Battle.
• Safety Reshad Jones (RFr.): Everyone saw Jones at G-Day, so he’s hardly a secret anymore. The only question will be finding a spot and playing time for this playmaker.

Which other new faces will you be watching during the preseason?

I can’t remember it happening before. Usually, there are at least one or two signees (sometimes many more, unfortunately) who fail to qualify academically.

Not this year.

For once, we can say that all 23 men from Georgia’s 2007 signing class are eligible. We learned today that safety John Knox had made a qualifying test score. The news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that cornerback Vance Cuff had met eligibility requirements.

Vance and Knox join a deep defensive backfield, so neither was counted on for immediate playing time. Regardless, the value of a freshman year spent developing inside the program is far greater than the alternatives.

Hopefully years like this will become the rule rather than the exception.

Just a couple of months after leading Georgia to the collegiate national title, it didn’t John Isner long to find success at the professional level.

In just his second professional event, Isner reached the finals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic before falling to superstar Andy Roddick. He beat three top-ten seeds along the way with his dominant serve and clutch performances in tiebreakers. His finish earned him a $43,700 paycheck, and he will move up into the top 200 in the ATP rankings.

The finals had a decidedly Georgia flavor. Roddick’s brother John was a former Bulldog standout himself.

No news is usually good news in preseason practice. There will eventually be some hard news as the depth charts take shape, but much of the real information coming out of the first few weeks of practice is often bad – injuries, suspensions, and so on. So take it as a good sign that Bryan Evans’ hamstring injury is the only update of substance to come from the weekend.

One of the reasons why I appreciate listening to press conference audio is that you can get a sense of how different writers will try to establish themes that will become the basis of future articles. There’s nothing wrong with it – writers need an angle and perspective for their stories. After a while, you can tell who the regular beat writers are, and you can tell who the infrequent visitors are. The visitors are pretty easy to spot: they’ll already have their storyline decided, ask a few questions that seem completely random to get some quotes for that storyline, and they won’t ask anything else. We saw that Saturday when Mark Bradley started asking Richt about the importance of a single back getting 100+ yards per game.

There were some good table-setting features this weekend. Thomas Brown is 100% back. The receivers claim they have something to prove.

When the first couple of days are dominated by a disciplinary non-issue and "Scooter 101", you can relax a little. Let’s hope the long-term injuries continue to stay away.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Frank Beamer was accusing Georgia of spying on Virginia Tech’s Chick-fil-A Bowl practices:

“We practiced out at Georgia Tech and we let all kinds of people through there … people we didn’t really know,” Beamer said. “And I thought it hurt us in the bowl game. I’m not blaming anybody … but I thought Georgia knew exactly what we were doing in several situations.”

The plan was masterful:  allow Virginia Tech to get up 21-3 in order to maintain the illusion of a close game.  It didn’t matter that Virginia Tech constantly let the tight end slip past them.  It didn’t matter that they tried to block NFL-bound Charles Johnson with a freshman tight end.  Never mind film study and preparation.  “I’m not blaming anybody…”  Sure, Frank.

Virginia Tech has now closed “team” part of practices to the public.  It’s a policy that most schools use, including Georgia.  Now when his quarterback implodes in the second half, Beamer will have to look elsewhere for an excuse.

Citing “medical reasons”, Mark Richt announced Friday that Georgia center Ian Smith has left the team.  He will remain enrolled at Georgia.  The sophomore was one of only three returning linemen with playing experience.

Smith was in the middle of a season-spanning suspension that would have placed him on the bench for the first five games of 2007.  Following his second alcohol-related arrest during 2006, Smith was placed on University probation for the remainder of his academic career.  Smith, once a likely starter at center, now will try to hang on and earn a degree.

In other disciplinary news, Richt announced that quarterback Blake Barnes and starting tight end Tripp Chandler will receive one-game suspensions for their alcohol-related arrests in June.  They will miss the opening game against Oklahoma State.

The preseason USA Today Coaches’ Poll is out this morning, and the Dawgs check in at a respectable #13.  That’s third-highest for any SEC team (LSU and Florida are #2 and #3).  Too high?  Too low?  Who knows?  We do know that poll position matters when it comes to the national title race, and the Dawgs aren’t far away from cracking the top 10.

The preseason top 10:

• Southern Cal
• LSU
• Florida
• Texas
• Michigan
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Oklahoma
• Virginia Tech
• Ohio State

Six SEC teams are ranked:  LSU (#2), Florida (#3), Georgia (#13), Auburn (#14), Tennessee (#15), and Arkansas (#20).  South Carolina, Kentucky, and Alabama also received votes.  Out-of-conference opponents Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State were also among the “others receiving votes” category.

As a reminder, here’s Georgia’s consensus preseason position over the last decade or so:

This came via e-mail today.  You probably got it too.

The 2007 football season is rapidly approaching, and the anticipation of another successful year continues to build.  Season tickets are scheduled to be shipped the week of August 10th.  We would, however, like to make you aware of a revision to the originally scheduled single home and out-of-town shipment date of August 10th.  The University of Georgia Athletic Association Ticket Office is awaiting delivery of ticket allotments from two institutions before fulfillment of all orders is reached.  The traditional mail date will be delayed until the week of August 20 in order to include these tickets with the single game ticket shipment. We appreciate your patience, and thanks for supporting the Dawgs.

Considering the news last week that Tech and Florida point total cutoffs are still unknown, I think we have a pretty good idea which schools and games are holding up the second shipment.

A pair of Bulldogs, one a veteran and the other a newcomer, received news within the past day that they’ll be playing football on scholarship for Georgia this fall.

First, incoming defensive back Vance Cuff learned this morning that his academic credentials were finally accepted by the NCAA.  Cuff had been denied eligibility based on a disputed core class,  but he got a call from an athletic administrator letting him know that his appeal was successful and a waiver had been granted to allow Cuff to count that class.  Cuff will be able to enroll later this week and join the team as preseason practice begins next week.  Safety John Knox is the only 2007 signee whose qualifying is still in doubt.

It’s the dream of every walk-on to contribute to the program and eventually earn a scholarship in recognition for his efforts.  From Billy Bennett to Verron Haynes to Brandon Coutu, some very famous recent Bulldogs have taken that path.  Snapper Jeff Henson of Gainesville is the latest to realize this dream.  He won the job last year, and he’s now on scholarship as a junior.  “Jeff has done an outstanding job handling this very difficult position,” said head coach Mark Richt. “He’s provided stability at an important spot and we feel he’s well-deserving of the scholarship.”

Congratulations to both of these guys.

The Senator has some thoughtful posts up in the past couple of days about preseason polls and their effect on the postseason.

I looked at the story of Auburn 2004 myself last month (more from a scheduling perspective) and came to a similar conclusion but with one key difference: Auburn’s problems started long before the preseason polls. I believe that the mess left after the 2003 BCS established default 2004 contenders from the second that the final whistle blew. The 2004 preseason polls were just the culmination of the controversy and eight months of debate.

We see a similar thing already happening this season. Even before any official preseason polls have been released, those who help to guide the discussion are already setting the table for a Southern Cal – LSU national title game. It’s theirs to lose.

I don’t disagree with the merit and logic of delaying official polls. It’s clear that "name" programs get the benefit of the doubt. I do think though that delaying polls runs contrary to the nature of a football fan. We are constantly measuring ourselves against our rivals and opponents in everything from recruiting to scheduling. Many of the preseason polls included in Stassen’s analysis do nothing but drive magazine sales. If an Auburn fan can hold something over the head of an Alabama fan, it doesn’t matter how premature, inaccurate, or trivial the poll is. Mascots? Been there. Stadiums? Done that. Coaches? Finebaum stirs that pot every summer.

Will that change if official polls are delayed? I don’t think so. Fans will still support the preseason magazine industry, and the rankings are the core of that business. I even suspect that the official polls themselves wouldn’t change much. Why? Because, as the Senator reminds us, people who vote in polls are lazy. How true that is. What that means in terms of releasing polls later in the season is that the pollsters will "cheat". The groupthink would be established over the summer by the pundits and the magazines, and no observer of the game can remain untainted. Why take the time to pour over a month of football when Phil Steele has done all of the work for you? Take the preseason consensus, adjust for the losses over the first month of the season, and you’re done. For that reason, I don’t expect that any poll released for the first time in October would be much different than the polls we already see in the fifth and sixth week of the season.

While the flaw the Senator points out is very real, I’m not so sure that delaying polls would provide any real changes.

The Georgia-Florida game as-is still has at least three years left. All it took was a mention from Coach Richt to get opinions flying again on the subject. Nearly every Georgia fan has a pretty strong opinion on the issue, and variations on alternatives are about as numerous as playoff proposals. As we get closer to the decision, just think how much more heated this discussion will become.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that any change to the Georgia-Florida game, especially if initiated by the Georgia side, will have as divisive an effect as the Dooley-Adams flap of 2003.