The coaches’ preseason selections were announced earlier in the week, and this morning the media named its All-SEC teams.

Georgia had five players on the media’s all-conference teams: Knowshon Moreno and Dannell Ellerbe (first team), and Mohamed Massaquoi, Matthew Stafford, and Asher Allen (second team). Geno Atkins, a second-team selection by the coaches, did not make the media’s list. It’s a little odd that the media announced their All-SEC defenses according to a 3-4 format when the 4-3 is the prevalent alignment in the conference.

LSU had the most All-SEC selections by the coaches, but Auburn led the way among the media with nine players. LSU had eight, and Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina each had five players selected. All five of Florida’s selections were first-teamers.

There were no unanimous first-team selections, though Percy Harvin came close with 68 out of 70 votes. This guy will surely be calling for an investigation after his bold prediction earlier in the week:

What’s the biggest certainty at SEC Media Days? That Tebow will be a unanimous first-team pick at quarterback this week at SEC Media Days….The names of the voters aren’t released, but they do have to put their name on the ballots they submit. No one would risk the embarrassment of being ratted out as the person who omitted Tebow.

Make that six persons, slick.

Georgia might be at the top of several preseason national polls, but the SEC media says that the Bulldogs aren’t even the best team in their own conference.

Florida was the media’s pick for SEC champion, getting 36 of 70 votes. Georgia was the projected SEC champion on only 18 ballots. Florida’s advantage was even greater when it came to picking the SEC East champion: 45 ballots picked Florida while 23 named Georgia. Tennessee was a distant third with two votes.

Auburn was the overwhelming favorite to win the SEC West with 48 votes.

As Marc Weiszer notes though, Georgia fans might not mind so much that the media have anointed the Gators.

The SEC preseason poll hasn’t usually been a good barometer. Until LSU won last year, the media swung and missed in the previous 11 years on their pick. Only three times in the past 16 years has the favorite won the SEC title.

What I want to know is who the one media member was who picked Ole Miss to win the SEC. Whether that’s an honest mistake or a cute Spurrier-voting-for-Duke gag, some public ridicule is in order.

Back in April, I mentioned the upcoming book Top Dawg: Mark Richt and the Revival of Georgia Football written by accomplished author and Georgia fan Rob Suggs. (Pre-order the book here…it should be out soon.)

Rob has started a blog in support of the book, and he dives in by talking about the book’s first chapter – the 2001 Tennessee game. Head over to read a great entry and add your own memories from the game.

Somehow I think this book will be just slightly better than Urban’s love letter to himself.

Both of Georgia’s 2009 quarterback commitments, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger, got some big-time recognition at the end of the Elite 11 national quarterback camp.

Camp “counselors” that included Matthew Stafford, Chase Daniel, Mark Sanchez, and Colt McCoy named Murray the camp’s MVP. Leadership is a crucial trait for a successful quarterback, and Georgia fans have got to love that Murray also picked up the camp’s Best Leader award.

Mettenberger wasn’t left out of the awards. He took home the Strongest Arm honors, and Georgia coaches have to be excited about having yet another big thrower to work with.

But Murray stole the show, and for the second time in a week he has gone against the best quarterbacks in the nation and came out on top. The guy even plays video games better than anyone else. Here’s just a little of what people were saying:

“He has it all,” Elite 11 QB coach Tee Martin, a former standout at Tennessee and quarterback with the Steelers, told ESPN.com. “He needs to continue to work on playing under center and taking his drops. We’ve been working with him on making faster decisions and he has improved a lot there. He’s just a very gifted player.”

“As soon as I saw him last week at the Nike thing I was like, man, this school from Florida is going to win it all because of the quarterback,” said (Bengals WR T.J.) Houshmandzadeh.

Tennessee head football coach Phillip Fulmer was served with a subpoena Thursday during SEC Media Days to appear for a deposition on improper recruiting by the University of Alabama.

They even have a copy of the damn thing.

Anyone else scheduled to speak at SEC Media Days this week can go ahead and book another round of golf…this one story should just about take care of the Alabama and Tennessee media.

Via Anthony Dasher of UGASports.com, Mark Richt announced this morning that neither Justin Anderson nor Trinton Sturdivant will miss any game time for their offseason simple battery arrests. Richt mentioned that in-house punishment was possible (i.e., a whole lotta running), but they will be in the lineup for Georgia Southern.

Given the news and what the media wants to focus on these past few days, this calls for…wait for it….

Yep.

Yes, it’s all QB, all the time here this week.

Aaron Murray isn’t just tearing up the national camps on the field, he’s even mastered the electronic version of the game. Murray won the highly-competitive EA SPORTS NCAA 2009 videogame tournament, and he had to knock off a future teammate to do it.

Mettenberger’s status as a favorite was short-lived, however, as his similarly Georgia-bound roommate Aaron Murray scored a huge upset in the first round, knocking off his confident confidante 27-24. It was the start of just another winning effort for Murray, who took eventually took home the NCAA 09 title with three more victories, just four days after leading his Tampa Plant team to victory in the NIKE 7ON championship in Portland, Oregon.

Best part: Murray, playing with the Georgia team, beat Richard Brehaut’s Florida squad in the championship round.

Heh….as the media wait for the start of SEC Media Days, Steve Patterson of UGASports.com guesses the vehicles that will transport each school’s representatives to Hoover.

He asks for suggestions on Georgia’s ride, but there is only one correct choice: Mudcat Elmore’s 1988 Chevrolet Caprice.

Aaron Murray has been all over the news this week with some standout performances at two major national prep events. Kirk Herbstreit gushed over Matthew Stafford yesterday at the Elite 11 camp. It’s a good time to be a Georgia quarterback.

Greene and Shockley proved to be a productive and popular tandem, but they might end up being the opening act for an unparalleled level of quarterback talent at Georgia. With Moreno, King, Samuel, and others Georgia’s traditional strength at tailback is as solid as ever, but now the quarterback position looks to be just as deep and talented. At the very least, Georgia might soon have its first first-round draft pick at QB since Johnny Rauch in 1949.

Whenever a high-profile position gets loaded with talent, the depth chart always generates a lot of interest. Who plays, who sits, and – sometimes – who transfers? That will certainly be the case at the key position of quarterback. Stafford is set as the starter for as long as he’s in Athens and healthy, but at some point in the next two years we will once again be looking for a new starter.

The big wildcard of course is Matthew Stafford’s senior season. Does he stay or does he go? His name is all over the mock drafts, and Herbstreit isn’t the first to consider Stafford first round talent. On the other hand, Georgia’s accomplishments and Stafford’s stats in 2008 will have a lot to do with his potential draft position. He’ll have to put up better numbers as a junior of course, but it’s not out of reach. JaMarcus Russell became a top draft pick by throwing for nearly 2,800 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions as a junior. Stafford threw for 2,523 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions last year. A few more touchdowns, a bit more protective of the ball, and he’s right there.

It’s impossible to know Stafford’s decision at this point, so we’ll look at the question from both possibilities.

If Stafford Stays

If Stafford returns for his senior season, the 2009 season is taken care of. The only questions will be further down the depth chart. With two seniors and a legitimate redshirt sophomore on the depth chart, it seems a near certainty that the two incoming 2009 freshmen quarterbacks would redshirt.

Things would become more interesting in 2010. Stafford and Cox would have moved on, and the contenders for the position would be:

• Logan Gray (RJr.)
• Aaron Murray (RFr.)
• Zach Mettenberger (RFr.)

Gray would seem to have the advantage. He’d have seen at least limited action in 2008 and 2009, and the other two would be coming off of redshirt seasons and have only scrimmage experience.

If Stafford Declares for the NFL Draft

A quarterback competition in 2009 would involve the same three guys with one key addition.

• Joe Cox (RSr.)
• Logan Gray (RSo.)
• Aaron Murray (Fr.)
• Zach Mettenberger (Fr.)

At first glance, it almost seems like 2006 all over again. You have a career backup who suddenly rises to the top of the depth chart as a senior. Fans, perpetually attracted to that new recruit smell, will be likely more interested to see a pair of promising freshmen.

But I suspect that Joe Cox would do more to hold on to the job than Tereshinski did in 2006. The presence of Gray also complicates things, and it’s possible then that at least one of the true freshmen would redshirt. If you asked the Georgia fans who pay attention to these things, I suspect most would expect Gray to win the job if only on the basis of what they remember from G-Day. I would just hope that the situation doesn’t mirror 2006 in that the position is unsettled – to the detriment of the team – into the middle of the season. The depth chart at the end of the 2008 season will at least tell us who the favorite is going into spring.

The "cleanest" scenario seems to be if Stafford stays for his senior year. Gray would be ready to step in as a redshirt junior, and Murray and Mettenberger would continue to develop until their turn to fight it out as juniors. It might seem absurd to think that we’d have to wait until 2012 to see a quarterback as promising as Murray take the reigns, but isn’t that preferred to having to turn to a new freshman every four years or so? We value depth and the ability to turn over experienced players every few years at positions on the offensive and defensive lines, and Mark Richt looks to be setting up the quarterback position to do the same.

We mentioned Aaron Murray’s impressive outing at the Nike 7-on-7 event last weekend, and now Murray’s on to the Elite 11 QB camp. He’s keeping a journal for his hometown paper, so this should be something to watch during the week.

Murray notes today that he especially enjoyed working with Georgia quarterback and possible 2009 teammate Matthew Stafford.

…it’s unbelievable to be working out with [Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford]. He gave me pointers. I was in his group today and he was pointing little things out to me throughout the day and helping me out. If we were running a route, he would say “this is what we call it at Georgia.” He was very, very helpful today.

Other instructors include Chase Daniel from Missouri, Colt McCoy from Texas, Curtis Painter from Purdue, Bobby Reid from Texas Southern(formerly of Oklahoma State of course), and Mark Sanchez from SoCal.

With only three members on the 2007 postseason All-SEC teams, Georgia might have been one of the most anonymous teams in recent memory to finish the season ranked #2 in the nation.

The 2008 preseason All-SEC teams have been announced. Georgia might start the season ranked #1 in the nation by many polls, but according to the SEC coaches the Bulldogs are just third-best in the SEC when it comes to All-SEC selections. Nine Bulldogs received some mention, trailing defending champion LSU’s 14 and Florida’s 10. Here are Georgia’s selections:

First Team

• So. RB Knowshon Moreno
• Sr. LB Dannell Ellerbe

Second Team

• Sr. WR Mohamed Massaquoi
• Jr. QB Matthew Stafford
• Jr. DT Geno Atkins
• Jr. CB Asher Allen

Third Team

• Sr. DT Jeff Owens
• So. LB Rennie Curran
• Sr. P Brian Mimbs

It’s interesting that not even Trinton Sturdivant made the list from Georgia’s accomplished 2007 offensive line. Only three of the selections were from the offense, so are the coaches hinting that Georgia’s strength is once again on the defense?

Last season no Georgia player named to the preseason team made it onto the postseason team. I doubt that scenario will play out again this year. Brandon Coutu and Brandon Miller were Georgia’s only 2007 preseason All-SEC picks, and Georgia was the only SEC team without a preseason first team member last year. The season turned out pretty well regardless.

Aaron Murray might not see game action at Sanford Stadium until 2010, but recruitniks are buzzing today about an ESPN report from the past weekend’s Nike 7-on-7 event. Though neither has played his senior season in high school yet, the event offered an opportunity to compare Georgia commitment Aaron Murray with Southern Cal pledge Matt Barkley. Though both Rivals.com and Scout.com rate Barkley as the top overall prospect in the nation, Murray showed out just as well.

To sum up the scout on Murray: shorter than you’d like, but an “explosive” release with great speed and footwork. Throws hard, takes risks (sometimes too many risks). Needs work on his mechanics.

Bonus: Georgia’s other quarterback commitment, Zach Mettenberger, gets a nod for his arm strength.

No offense to the many Bulldogs who will be so honored over the next few weeks, but are there many more meaningless things than the preseason award watch lists? They’re basically an acknowledgment that a player is an upperclassman with a pulse.

Phillip Daniels is relatively anonymous among Bulldogs in the NFL. Most run-of-the-mill Georgia fans could list Ward, Seymour, Champ Bailey, Thomas Davis, and several others, but by now most of us have forgotten that Daniels, himself from a relatively anonymous time in Georgia football history, has been a 12+ year veteran of the NFL. He is well-respected around the league -especially for his workout routine and upper-body strength, and his 59 career sacks rank 17th among active players.

Daniels suffered a season-ending knee injury on the first day of summer camp for the Washington Redskins. At the age of 35 and his speed already waning, you have to wonder if he can come back from this. There’s only speculation now, and there’s still surgery and rehab ahead. Even if Daniels has played his last down, he’s had a full and successful professional career.

On a related note, another Bulldog, Demetric Evans, stepped in at Daniels’ spot in the drill.

Urban Meyer’s “syrupy” book, Urban’s Way, will be out in early September. Gene Frenette has a few words on it in today’s Florida Times-Union where he alternates between descriptions like “interesting” and “compelling” and saying the book “reads more like a recruiting pitch.” News about the movie rights can’t be too far away.

According to an excerpt from the book, Georgia fans should know that Urban Meyer will forever remember a certain incident. Urban Meyer is not amused.

That wasn’t right. It was a bad deal. And it will forever be in the mind of Urban Meyer and in the mind of our football team. … So we’ll handle it. And it’s going to be a big deal.

Got it? Urban Meyer says what was a bad deal is a big deal to Urban Meyer and Urban Meyer’s team. It’s not quite what Urban Meyer told Terence Moore though.

On a completely unrelated note, Frenette has some encouraging words for the Georgia fullback position.

Georgia fans who are worried because starting fullback Brannan Southerland might not return from a foot operation until the Sept. 27 game against Alabama would breathe easier if they watched film on backup Shaun Chapas, a Bolles School graduate. Chapas might not be the blocking machine that Southerland is, but he’s more versatile. Chapas’ value will become evident as he gets more plays.

Versatility is fine, but a “blocking machine” is more of what’s required from that position in Richt’s offense. Southerland has shown plenty of versatility himself in the passing game, and there is no Bulldog with a better nose for the end zone.