Georgia Bulldogs at G-Day

I know, I know, this is supposed to be a blog about movies.

Well, looking at my options this morning, I decided there was nothing new at my multiplex that I could with a good conscience pay to see. That really left only one option: G-day in Athens.

For those of you unfamiliar with the rituals of the Bulldog Nation, G-Day is the culmination of spring practice, a fairly hands-on scrimmage for the fans.

Although coach Mark Richt went to great lengths this morning to tell us in the Telegraph that you can't learn much from spring, I made the drive anyway and joined a fairly large crowd of curious fans in Sanford Stadium.

OK, to get right to what everyone wants to know: Matt Stafford, on his first play from scrimmage with the second-team offense, through a 64-yard TD bomb to Mikey Henderson. That's 64 yards in the air, mind you ... just amazing to watch. Dead accurate, and best of all, Henderson, unlike many of last year's options, CAUGHT THE BALL. You'll be hearing his name a lot this fall.

As for Stafford, he looked comfortable in the pocket and is obviously fundamentally sound, executing play-action smoothly. He just looked as game ready as you can expect an incoming freshman to be. He didn't play much (if at all) in the second half due to the QB rotation, but he made his mark.

And starter-for-the-moment Joe Tereshinski. I felt bad for him because he made some fairly accurate throws into tight spots and had his receivers drop the ball. Tight end Martrez Milner, in particular, has a LONG way to go to be a top-shelf TE. That said, Tereshinski didn't seem to be thinking fast enough, and he clearly would have been leveled several times by Hawkinsville's own Charles Johnson if he wasn't wearing that no-contact jersey.

Redshirt sophomore Joe Cox, though, probably, had the most time at QB and he looked, well, acceptable. None of them were able to lead a genuine drive down the field, but that is to be expected this time of year: the defense is always further along.

The verdict: I think Joe T will be on a very, very short leash, and will probably lose his starting job by, if not before, the South Carolina game. However, thankfully for everyone involved, I'm not the coach.

Oh yeah, before I forget, the red team (starters) won, 14-10.

Other thoughts: There were two pick-sixes, Ramarcus Brown and Asher Allen. Brown, in particular, is a speed demon on defense, and Allen was all over the field. As I mentioned, Charles Johnson also had a great day, breaking into the offensive backfield seemingly at will. He and Quentin Moses will be monsters on the D-Line in the fall.

We didn't see too much of ringer receiver Mohammed Massaquoi, but the aformentioned Henderson, recently converted from defense, and T.J. Gartrell both should be solid second options this fall. Tripp Chandler had a lot of balls thrown his way on the second team, but only caught about half. Milner, as stated earlier, was simply atrocious.

At running back, Kregg Lumpkin was fun to watch, showing all the speed and power we expected when he arrived in Athens. And a vision of the future: youngster Jason Johnson ran like his britches were on fire with the second team, and looked fearless. The stable will never be empty.

These, of course, are only my observations, not those of an actual sports reporter. For that, turn to Josh Kendall in tomorrow's Telegraph.

One further note, I've forgotten the young lady's name, but UGA apparently has a baton twirler who is representing the U.S. at some kind of world championship. During halftime Saturday, she twirled four batons at once. I had planned to just read the paper at halftime, but she was much more entertaining to watch.

Tomorrow, it's back to movies, sort of: I plan to go to the Tubman African American Museum to see their blaxploitation movie poster exhibit.