News is breaking all over that starting Georgia left tackle Trinton Sturdivant tore three knee ligaments and will require reconstructive surgery. With that kind of catastrophic injury, you’re hoping it’s just season ending and not career ending. We send our best for a complete recovery.

I posted last night that I expected Clint Boling to end up as Sturdivant’s replacement, but the question is more complicated than that. Boling of course is suspended for the opener, so there’s a more immediate question of who starts in the Ga. Southern game. Here’s a run down of all of the names mentioned as possible replacements:

Josh Davis: RSo. 6’6″, 293. Currently working behind Sturdivant at the left tackle position, but that’s no guarantee. Davis saw reserve action in eight games last year as a RFr.

Vince Vance: Jr. 6’8″, 320. Vance is currently the starting left guard, and he does have the size to move outside. Tanner Strickland seems to be coming on behind Vance at guard, so the interior line would still be OK if Vance moved outside. Speed is a concern with Vance though, and speed is important given the left tackle’s key role in pass protection.

Cordy Glenn: Fr. 6’5″, 313. Glenn has been very impressive so far in fall camp and actually started Monday’s scrimmage at right guard ahead of Justin Anderson. Rivals.com had him as one of their top 20 tackles in the 2008 recruiting class. The biggest question is experience. Georgia dodged a bullet with a true freshman at left tackle a year ago; are they willing to take that risk again?

Clint Boling: So. 6’5″, 290. Boling proved to be a athletic and versatile lineman who played at both right tackle and guard as a freshman before settling into the right guard spot. His consistency and experience might tip the decision in his favor.

Kiante Tripp: RSo. 6’6″, 270. It made news when Tripp moved from defensive end to the offensive line a year ago. He had the prototypical offensive tackle frame and the recruiting pedigree to go along with it. After getting some playing experience in his RFr. season, he’s been the unquestioned starter at right tackle since spring. Now with the higher-profile left tackle position open, will the staff move their remaining starting tackle to the other side of the line and focus on developing a new right tackle?

We knew that talking about injuries was whistling past the graveyard, and it might now be Georgia’s turn to face a significant season-ending injury. Starting left tackle Trinton Sturdivant was taken from the field today with a knee injury. Though the severity of the injury is still unknown, the AJC account doesn’t paint a pretty picture.

Those who have read Michael Lewis’s The Blind Side know that the left tackle stands above the other line positions, and it’s a significant loss when you’re without a good one. Sprain or tear, Georgia’s going to be without Sturdivant for some length of time, and they’re going to have to find an answer at the position that’s responsible for protecting Matthew Stafford’s blind side.

A great deal of Georgia’s success last year came because Sturdivant was up to the job as a true freshman. Now the job will likely turn to sophomore Clint Boling who was also a key contributor as a freshman in 2007.

A coaching change and unconventional offense doesn’t exactly have them lining up for tickets in Atlanta.

The Yellow Jackets have sold 25,767 season tickets, 271 short of last year’s total, associate athletics director Wayne Hogan said last week.

The AJC cites a weak home schedule as one reason for lagging sales, but this is a home slate that includes Virginia, FSU, and Miami. There’s also an SEC showdown with Mississippi State.

Every year there are tweaks to the tailgating experience. There’s nothing this year on the level of the family-friendly areas (which cling to life on North Campus), but there are a few changes. Tailgating rules changes from recent years (7 a.m. start time, bring your own power source, etc.) live on.

This information comes from the 2008 Fan Guide that came with season tickets. Note that the information, rules, and prohibitions apply only to lots and tailgating areas under UGA control. Additional information and maps are at gamedaygameplan.com.

No Smoking in Sanford Stadium

Beginning with the 2008 football season, smoking will not be permitted in Sanford Stadium. In the past, smoking had been prohibited in the seating areas of the stadium but allowed in designated locations. This new policy covers all areas of Sanford Stadium as smoke-free.

Main Library Closed on Game Day

The University will close the main library on football Saturdays. While a popular location for bathrooms, fan behavior and damage to the building prompted the closure. Additional portable toilets will be stationed near the building.

Deep Fryers Prohibited at Campus Tailgates

For safety reasons, beginning with the 2008 football season, fryers can no longer be used in campus tailgate areas. Hot oil is an unsafe cooking method to the unsuspecting, large number of fans in popular tailgating areas.

New Reserved Parking Lots

Construction on the new Tate Center Parking Deck will be completed in time for the start of the 2008 season. Spaces in this deck will be distributed through the Athletic Association. Athletics will also operate a reserved parking lot near the intersection of Williams and Broad Streets (Ed: this is the old O’Malley’s / DialAmerica lot). Both of these locations can be found on the UGA Football Parking Map.

While Mark Richt is full on into the new football season, we can’t forget about the water girl. Here’s an interview with Katharyn Richt via Georgia Life & Style.

Speaking of interviews, check out Kit’s talk with Top Dawg author Rob Suggs.

After this news, the Tar Heels should think very seriously about clearing up this whole “Carolina” thing. By the time everyone’s done, their uniforms will simply read 33° 58′ 22″ N, -81° 1′ 9″ W.

Those who have kept up with the climate on campus in Athens could probably see this coming a mile away.

Just more than a week after the Princeton Review cited UF as the best place to party, the university revised its alcohol policy, specifically prohibiting some popular college-drinking activities….

“We are trying to encourage responsible behavior,” said UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes. “Drinking games encourage those things we are trying to discourage, which is excessive drinking and underage drinking.”

The next step as we all know is mandatory suspensions for student-athletes for some of this stuff. We’ll commiserate over a glass of tea at the WLOCP.

Other than sorting out the depth chart, injuries are the biggest stories to come out of fall camp. With a single injury on the most insignificant practice play, a season can turn.

Fortunately the injury news has been relatively kind so far to Georgia’s depth chart. There’s only one serious injury so far. Redshirt freshman Walter Hill broke his hand yesterday and will be out 4-6 weeks. Injuries to anyone are a letdown, but it always gets me whenever it’s a redshirt freshman early in camp. These guys put in their time during the redshirt season and spring ball, and then an injury just as they were trying to earn playing time puts them in catch-up mode right out of the gate.

There were a pair of more minor injuries earlier in the week. Freshman A.J. Green was nursing a hip flexor injury, and though it’s not a serious injury the staff is erring on the side of caution when it comes to protecting a player that could make a difference this year. Don’t worry too much – AJ was out there running positional drills yesterday. Also, cornerback Prince Miller came down with a shoulder injury going for the ball. The injury won’t require surgery, but he will be out for a week or so. Meanwhile, Bryan Evans will see the reps as the starting corner opposite Asher Allen.

From the whistling-past-the-graveyard dept., the news isn’t so good for Florida as TE/WR Cornelius Ingram is out with a knee injury. The team is calling it a “strain”, but MRI results are still pending. Harvin might be the most dangerous player on that team, but Ingram is one of the more imposing pass catchers to set foot on a field. He’s got good hands, receiver speed, and can drag five or six undersized defensive backs a good 25 yards or so.

UPDATE: It’s still unconfirmed, but word is starting to spread that Ingram has been lost for the year. If true, count this as one of those big moments of suck that are inevitable each year as bright-eyed optimism for the upcoming season gets an unceremonious kick in the groin. He would have been a high draft pick coming out after last season but chose to return for his senior year.

Not to be crass this soon after the news breaks, but Ingram’s decision to return was high-profile enough that it will be brought up when some other players face the same decision after the 2008 season. There are no guarantees on either side of that decision, but you can bet that “remember what happened to Ingram” will be part of some though processes.

The NFL and its teams have created a fan code of conduct that will serve as the starting point for individual team policies. College football fans will probably tell you that this is just another reason why our game is better, but most college stadiums already have similar policies.

Most of the core guidelines are things that would get you kicked out of any sporting event, but I’d like to see how prohibiting “verbal…harassment of opposing team fans” goes over. The code of conduct also targets intoxication, but I haven’t read anything yet about the NFL discouraging beer sales at games. Strange…it seems like an obvious solution.

• The Georgia Sports Blog has info on the 2008-2009 basketball schedule. Meanwhile, Sundiata Gaines will start his professional career in Italy.
• Costs for that Vince Dooley statue and plaza have doubled to nearly $2 million. What’s an extra million dollars to the athletic board? Ridiculous and wasteful stuff, this.
• Offseason suspensions open the door for a Bulldog legacy.
• WSB will re-air some of the better games from last season over the next few Saturdays leading up to the season opener. The Tech game will get it started this weekend followed by Florida on the 16th and then Auburn on the 23rd.

Didn’t seem to be too much of a jinx back in the day…

Nice article on Andy Landers and his son Drew. Drew has recovered after a very serious car accident last summer.

A comment by Mike Bobo in a Chris Low piece today caught my eye.

The next step for Stafford, according to Bobo, is to become a more efficient quarterback on first and second down.

"That’s his next progression in going from a very good quarterback to a great quarterback," Bobo said. "He’s always been good on third down. But sometimes it gets down to making the average play or the easy play on first and second down."

How good has Stafford been on third down? Again, 63% of Georgia’s completions in 2007 came on third down. It would be interesting to see Stafford’s percentages on the various downs. I don’t necessarily expect that his third down percentage was that much higher because often defenses know that it’s a passing down. We do know that Georgia increased their third down conversion rate from 39% in 2006 to 45% last year.

UGASports.com has over 100 photos from yesterday’s practice offered as free content on their site today. Dive in:

• Gallery 1
• Gallery 2
• Gallery 3
• Gallery 4

Then you can decide just what Damon Evans and Mark Richt were talking about here.

“So they’ll have the ankle bracelets put on after practice?”
(Photo Radi Nabulsi / UGASports.com)

Preseason camp is all about position battles. Even with most of the starters set, there are a couple of key starting spots still up for grabs, and some of the more interesting position decisions will come further down the depth chart. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting positional storylines we’ll see this year.

Center: It’s a bit scary when a sophomore is considered the candidate with the most experience. I’m not sure we appreciate how important the emergence of Fernando Velasco was to this team and to last year’s green offensive line. Chris Davis, a converted guard, is the current starter, but all eyes are on true freshman Ben Jones. Jones enrolled for spring semester last year, so he’s not a completely raw freshman, but his experience level is still the biggest knock on an otherwise promising player. Davis, a redshirt sophomore, is entering his third year in the program.

Massaquoi counsels Green (Radi Nabulsi / UGASports.com)

Receiver: Most are focused on the shiny new receivers Green and King, and they’re already making a splash. But the questions at receiver go deeper and involve many more people than Massaquoi and the freshmen. You have last-chance seniors Harris and Goodman. You have Wilson, Durham, and Moore also trying to emerge into larger roles. Then there are redshirts Hill and Troupe. The big question is sorting out the starter after Massaquoi, but there will also be plenty of opportunities in other formations. With the running game in good hands and Stafford poised for a big year, the guys on the other end of the pass seem to be the biggest question in Georgia’s improvement on offense.

Placekicker: It’s Blair Walsh’s job to lose. Much like 2004, a former walk-on will be replaced by a freshman on scholarship. That didn’t work out particularly well last time, but Walsh seems like less of a gamble. His quotes so far have been full of confidence, and now he’s determined to make #57 a kicker’s number. Let’s hope he’s kicking mostly extra points for now.

Running back: It seems strange (and welcome) to write about the Georgia tailbacks without hearing indecisive things like "co-starter". Knowshon Moreno is the returning starter of course, but the rest of the depth chart is up for grabs. Most assumed that Caleb King would challenge for playing time as a redshirt freshman, but true freshman Richard Samuel has been getting a noteworthy amount of mention over the summer. Coach Richt has taken a curious liking to freshman Carlton Thomas who, for lack of a better comparison, could be considered the next Tyson Browning.

Quarterback: Even if Stafford and Cox are set at 1 and 2, the presence of Logan Gray makes things a little more interesting. The comparisons to D.J. Shockley can’t be helped, but Gray’s play at G-Day stood on its own. Whether or not he’ll have his own package within the offense (doubtful), it is within reason that that he’ll see more playing time than the typical third-stringer. It’s unlikely that Richt will shake up the depth chart, but it will become a much bigger point of scrutiny if the backup has to see any kind of significant time this year.

Defensive line: You can’t really argue with the expected starters (Battle, Owens, Atkins, Lomax), but what a problem it is when you’re deciding what to do with players like Weston, Crawford, Irvin, and Wynn. Even those we haven’t seen yet (Dobbs, Ball, Houston) are getting some mention. We know there will be a heavy rotation along the line; the challenge during preseason camp is sorting out that rotation.

Cornerback: Asher Allen seems set, but does Prince Miller or Bryan Evans get the other spot? This competition has been going on for a few years, and neither has settled it yet. Ramarcus Brown wants to be a part of this conversation too, but he’s running out of time.

One thing we should know from this staff is that they’re never in any huge hurry to make these decisions. Some could linger on into the month and even into the season. Besides performance during practices and scrimmages, outside factors like injuries and suspensions will have a role. For example, Darius Dewberry’s suspension has opened up a spot (however temporary) on the two-deep for true freshman Christian Robinson.

As far as injuries go, they’re inevitable – the only questions are "who?" and "how bad?". Georgia has been relatively fortunate in this area during the past few preseason camps, and that trend needs to continue this year to remain a contender. If some amount of injuries are a given, all you can do is hope that the severity of those injuries is measured in days instead of weeks or months and that the word "tear" is only used to describe what A.J. Green is doing to the field on pass plays. For now the most serious injury facing the team is Brannon Southerland’s foot, and he’s expected to return a few weeks into the season.