GeauxTo
12-02-2005, 10:48 PM
December 2, 2005
http://cmsimg.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=D9&Date=20051202&Category=SPORTS0202&ArtNo=512020337&Ref=AR&Profile=1001&MaxW=375
LSU’s Skyler Green (5) is just one of the many weapons that have Georgia’s defense on alert. (Robert Ruiz/The Times)
By Glenn Guilbeau gguilbeau@gannett.com (gguilbeau@gannett.com)
BATON ROUGE -- An NFL scout who recently attended some LSU practices said there are about 30 players on the football team -- freshmen through seniors -- who could play in the NFL.
Georgia coach Mark Richt and his players sounded like they would agree as they prepared this week to play No. 3 LSU in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta on Saturday.
"I hope our talent is as good as what they have," said Richt, who has been one of the SEC's best recruiters. "I mean, when I look at the film, I'm not so sure that that's true. I think as I look at their personnel, it's pretty impressive. And I'm not trying to downgrade our players at all because we've got some very fine players without a doubt. But they're awfully talented, too. I hope that physically we can match up with them and match up with them speed wise.
"Hopefully we'll put a plan together that will allow our players to get after it."
Georgia cornerback DeMario Minter is particularly concerned with LSU's group of receivers, which includes Olympian sprinter Bennie Brazell along with Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis, Early Doucet and Skyler Green.
"Oh, man, their speed is unbelievable," Minter said. "Bennie Brazell, Skyler Green, man, hey. I think this will be the hardest, toughest receiver corps that we have faced this year."
LSU (10-1, 7-1 SEC West) is No. 2 in the SEC in scoring offense with 30 points a game and No. 3 in pass offense with 232 yards a game. No. 13 Georgia (9-2, 6-2) is No. 2 in the SEC in pass defense and ninth nationally with 175 yards allowed a game and is No. 3 in scoring defense and fifth nationally with 14.6 points allowed.
"The LSU offense, they have weapons, man," Minter said.
"With their receivers, their running backs, quarterback, they have the offense where somebody can make a big play any time."
LSU's weapons often misfire, though. Bowe, as he has throughout the season, dropped three passes last week as LSU struggled to beat lowly Arkansas 19-17, and tailback Justin Vincent has fumbled in each of LSU's last two games.
"I'm just looking for a time and place where our offense can put on a show for everybody that we know we can," Vincent said.
Despite the many dropped passes, quarterback JaMarcus Russell remains second to Georgia's D.J. Shockley in pass efficiency. Russell has completed 176 of 291 passes for 2,315 yards and 15 touchdowns with eight interceptions. Richt has seen the numbers, but what struck him during film study was Russell's 6-foot-5, 245-pound size as compared to the 6-1, 206 Shockley.
"JaMarcus is a very big guy," Richt said. "I mean he's got to be at least 6-4 and in the 250 range if not bigger. They both are able to move and buy time and cross the line of scrimmage from time to time. But Shockley's definitely going to slide and get down, where I think JaMarcus can hammer some of the biggest safeties in the league if he wanted to."
Minter is a 6-0, 198-pound safety, who would give up nearly 50 pounds to Russell.
"Playing on defense, they have so many weapons that you don't know which one to guard," Minter said. "Hey, we've got to defend all of them, so that's what we're going to try to do. It's going to be a hard game for us."
http://cmsimg.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=D9&Date=20051202&Category=SPORTS0202&ArtNo=512020337&Ref=AR&Profile=1001&MaxW=375
LSU’s Skyler Green (5) is just one of the many weapons that have Georgia’s defense on alert. (Robert Ruiz/The Times)
By Glenn Guilbeau gguilbeau@gannett.com (gguilbeau@gannett.com)
BATON ROUGE -- An NFL scout who recently attended some LSU practices said there are about 30 players on the football team -- freshmen through seniors -- who could play in the NFL.
Georgia coach Mark Richt and his players sounded like they would agree as they prepared this week to play No. 3 LSU in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta on Saturday.
"I hope our talent is as good as what they have," said Richt, who has been one of the SEC's best recruiters. "I mean, when I look at the film, I'm not so sure that that's true. I think as I look at their personnel, it's pretty impressive. And I'm not trying to downgrade our players at all because we've got some very fine players without a doubt. But they're awfully talented, too. I hope that physically we can match up with them and match up with them speed wise.
"Hopefully we'll put a plan together that will allow our players to get after it."
Georgia cornerback DeMario Minter is particularly concerned with LSU's group of receivers, which includes Olympian sprinter Bennie Brazell along with Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis, Early Doucet and Skyler Green.
"Oh, man, their speed is unbelievable," Minter said. "Bennie Brazell, Skyler Green, man, hey. I think this will be the hardest, toughest receiver corps that we have faced this year."
LSU (10-1, 7-1 SEC West) is No. 2 in the SEC in scoring offense with 30 points a game and No. 3 in pass offense with 232 yards a game. No. 13 Georgia (9-2, 6-2) is No. 2 in the SEC in pass defense and ninth nationally with 175 yards allowed a game and is No. 3 in scoring defense and fifth nationally with 14.6 points allowed.
"The LSU offense, they have weapons, man," Minter said.
"With their receivers, their running backs, quarterback, they have the offense where somebody can make a big play any time."
LSU's weapons often misfire, though. Bowe, as he has throughout the season, dropped three passes last week as LSU struggled to beat lowly Arkansas 19-17, and tailback Justin Vincent has fumbled in each of LSU's last two games.
"I'm just looking for a time and place where our offense can put on a show for everybody that we know we can," Vincent said.
Despite the many dropped passes, quarterback JaMarcus Russell remains second to Georgia's D.J. Shockley in pass efficiency. Russell has completed 176 of 291 passes for 2,315 yards and 15 touchdowns with eight interceptions. Richt has seen the numbers, but what struck him during film study was Russell's 6-foot-5, 245-pound size as compared to the 6-1, 206 Shockley.
"JaMarcus is a very big guy," Richt said. "I mean he's got to be at least 6-4 and in the 250 range if not bigger. They both are able to move and buy time and cross the line of scrimmage from time to time. But Shockley's definitely going to slide and get down, where I think JaMarcus can hammer some of the biggest safeties in the league if he wanted to."
Minter is a 6-0, 198-pound safety, who would give up nearly 50 pounds to Russell.
"Playing on defense, they have so many weapons that you don't know which one to guard," Minter said. "Hey, we've got to defend all of them, so that's what we're going to try to do. It's going to be a hard game for us."