By Drew Champlin
Just some of my personal thoughts on backup QBs Tanner Jones and Jamie Hampton, since both have a chance to play a lot Saturday if starter Omar Haugabook can’t play because of a hamstring injury.
TANNER JONES
6-foot-2, 200 RS Freshman
Right-handed
5-15-0-59 yards, 1 TD pass
7 carries, 20 yards, 1 TD rush
Jones has a strong arm and can make a lot of throws on the field, but has struggled with accuracy. He also has a year in the system - last year’s redshirt year - and was the most impressive backup quarterback in the spring. Jones isn’t as mobile, so accuracy is a key.
JAMIE HAMPTON
6-foot-2, 193 True Freshman
Left-handed
1-4-10 yards
15 carries, 117 yards
Hampton’s ability to run the ball makes him able to run the offense better if the arm strength is there. It’s not as good as Jones’ but Hampton does have nice touch. You can say he has more potential, but every true freshman has potential. One thing Hampton has going for him in the future is that he is a Tony Franklin recruit (who was once committed to Purdue), whereas Jones was not, but he’s been around the program a year less than Jones.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 10/31 at 01:21 PM
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By Drew Champlin
Just spoke with head coach Larry Blakeney, and I’ll tag most of this onto my notes in tomorrow’s paper, about quarterback Omar Haugabook‘s health. As you know, he injured his hamstring Saturday in the win over ASU.
“We called a faith healer, and the results were good,“ Blakeney said. Obviously, he was just kidding.
But, for real..
...“He moved around without pain, and he threw without pain. Chuck (Ash, head trainer) will make the call. We have to try to make sure we don’t jeopardize Omar, the team and Omar’s future. He’s a competitor. He’ll do everything he can to play.“
Right now, Haugabook hasn’t taken any real practice reps - just some preliminary practice stuff like drills, etc. Blakeney did say “He’s jogging a little bit without pain, but the process is going to be long.“
Backups Tanner Jones and Jamie Hampton have split the reps.
“They understand the magnitude of this game and they’ll prepare as well as they can for it. Coach (Tony) Franklin knows them better than anyone.“
The “thinking out loud” part by me on receiver Gary Banks taking some snaps was just that - thinking out loud. Blakeney said “throwing out of the pocket was not really an option, but he could do what he’s been doing,“ which are those double passes where he has thrown two touchdown passes this year. If you remember, Banks came in as a quarterback from minor league baseball but moved to receiver.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 10/31 at 10:18 AM
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By Drew Champlin
From me, a feature on Sherrod Martin.
From the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, UGA head coach Mark Richt looks for answers for UGA’s rollercoaster season, plus UGA may be without two starters for Saturday’s game. Also, here is UGA beat writer David Ching’s blog.
From the Macon Telegraph, Georgia is weary of Troy.
From the AJC, here is a blog from Chip Towers, saying they better be ready for Troy. Also, Richt is poor-mouthing his team for this upcoming game.
From the Athens Banner-Herald, UGA’s offense is showing more life.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 10/31 at 09:21 AM
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By Drew Champlin
From me, we talk about Haugabook’s injury, plus a notebook checking in with Brandon Lang.
From the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Richt hears it for his team’s antics, plus the heavy workload doesn’t bother Knowshon Moreno, the ‘Dawgs talented redshirt freshman RB.
From the AJC, some notes and Richt’s sorry.
From the Macon Telegraph, some more notes.
From the Athens Banner-Herald, they know about Troy, plus some notes leading with Omar’s status.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 10/30 at 07:26 AM
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By Drew Champlin
This was brought up to me twice today (not by any coaches or players)
What if Gary Banks played some QB Saturday?
Got to remember, he was signed as a QB and was a very good one in high school. He was moved to WR before I got here, so I’m guessing that’s because they thought they had the future in D.T. McDowell, but he stayed there after D.T. was ineligible and didn’t return. Now, he’s the leading WR for three years running.
Banks will be 26 in November. He knows the offense, can throw it, and can run it.
Anyone else out there think it’s not something too crazy?
Guess we’ll find out Saturday.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 10/29 at 07:13 PM
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