Last week, I took a look at a few members of the Georgia wide receiving corps. If you didn’t get a chance to see that article, you can find it here.
There has been one semi-major development since the publishing of that article, junior wide receiver Tony Wilson has left the team due to an injury.
Had he not left, he likely would have been suspended by Mark Richt.
He, along with defensive end Justin Houston and tight end Bruce Figgins, were involved in behavior which was deemed inappropriate and in “violation of team rules”.
Figgins and Houston will miss eight games combined, while Wilson’s voluntary departure saved him from any disciplinary action by Coach Richt.
You may read the Atlanta-Journal Constitution article here if you haven’t already heard the story and you can see Bill King’s take on the impact of said suspensions in his Junkyard Blawg.
However, I can say without question that the impact of Tony Wilson’s departure will be minimal. If anything, it frees up a little more room on the depth chart for one of the other guys to make a play for a spot.
So, in continuing my profile, I take a look at the next group of guys.
A.J. Green (So)
For anyone who follows SEC football, A.J. Green hardly needs an introduction.
Last season, as a true freshman, he burst onto the scene in the game against Arizona State, and never looked back on his way to claiming SEC Freshman of the Year honors.
With a year under his belt, the question will be, what will he do for an encore?
A.J. has all the skills he needs to be an elite receiver in the SEC once again but may find it hard to duplicate the numbers he had last year without Stafford to throw it and MoMass to balance out the field.
However, he’s a fierce competitor and honestly believes that there isn’t a ball thrown his way that he shouldn’t or couldn’t catch–regardless to the number of defenders who will try and prove otherwise.
A.J. has great size, but not great speed. He could stand to put a few more pounds of muscle onto that lanky frame (he’s up to 207 pounds now) and would benefit from the extra weight as I anticipate defenses will key in on him early and often–He will sneak up on no one this year.
His greatest asset is his ability to control his body and make the catch. He’s got a very keen sense of where he is on the field and can make adjustments on the fly without breaking stride.
The one physical concern for Green at the moment is the nagging groin injury that limited him in the spring. He is feeling better but is not yet 1oo percent and that could spell trouble for the young receiver as he tries to continue his dominance of last year.
He will miss the presence of Mohammed Massaquoi and will need to see another wide receiver pick up the slack in order to be consistent from week-to-week.
Mike Moore (RsSr)
Moore had a break-out game in last season’s Capitol One bowl. He caught six passes for 97-yards and a touchdown.
That performance set tongues to wagging as to how much Moore’s role will expand coming into this season.
He wasn’t exactly out of the limelight last year, even with MoMass and A.J. hogging the majority of the yards and catches Matthew Stafford, Moore still managed to haul in 34 catches for 515-yards and two scores.
His increased production leads to two questions, where was he before now? and Can he expand on that success?
Well, the answers to both questions point to bad timing and injury.
He was redshirted as a freshman and then suffered through a knee injury which kept him out the following spring.
His first taste of on-field play was uneventful and then came A.J. Green–the rest is history.
Now that Massaquoi is out of the picture, look for Moore to try and grab hold of a key role in the offense.
He isn’t very fast, but what he lacks in speed, he more than makes up for in hustle and toughness. He’s tough to jam and once he gets separation, it can be difficult to stop him in the open field.
He has a good awareness for the game, stemming in part from his experience playing defensive back, and that makes him a good ball-tracker.
He’s got a 41.0″ vertical, which makes him a good bet for a jump-ball in the end zone and his dedication in the weight room has made him the type of receiver you want on the field when it comes to being physical against some of the tougher safeties in the league.
The departure of Tony Wilson and the loss of Kris Durham for the year could lead to some tight competition between King and Moore for that coveted number two slot.
Zach Renner (RsSo)
Renner is likely going to be more valuable as a special teams player than a wide receiver so I don’t expect him to be pushing any of the other roster guys for playing time come spring.
His claim to fame is the punts he blocked in back-to-back weeks against Arizona State and Alabama respectively.
Two blocked punts in one season. A feat that hadn’t been completed since All-American David Pollack did it in 2004.
Not bad for a guy noone recruited or even heard of prior to that point.
Don’t look for Renner to play much at wide receiver unless the unthinkable happens, but do look for him to continue his hardcore play on special teams.
Marlon Brown (incoming freshman)
Talk about a guy that a lot of us in the Bulldog Nation are looking forward to seeing on the field next season.
Brown, the big-time wide receiver out of the State of Tennessee, is thought to be the guy who will take over the slot left vacant by Mohammed Massaquoi.
The tandem of him, at 6′5” and Green at 6′4”, seems like a dream team of dynamic proportions.
However, he has to get on-campus first, learn the playbook second, and win the position third. Even with all that talent, none of these things are a given, but the prospect of him doing just that and giving our quarteback two legitimate all-stars to throw the ball to has a lot of Dawg fans panting.
Brown is big but he isn’t strong. He did a lot of his damage in high school against weaker opposition and will likely get pushed around in the SEC if he doesn’t hit the weight-room and learn to play more physical.
His height makes him a nightmare in the red zone and, coupled with that 4.50 speed, he is definitely not going to have too many issues getting open against even the best of cover-corners.
One of his best assets is his elusiveness. He has some nice moves once he has the ball and can make defenders miss with a variety of fakes and cut-backs that seem to come naturally to his game.
Further, he has soft hands and good focus when making the catch. He’s patient and confident when playing and is not phased by the spectacle of it all.
A good trait to have when you have to play those big road games in the SEC.
His versatility makes him a definite threat to play anywhere on the field offensively as he has experience at running back and quarterback as well, but I don’t see him making a positional switch anytime in the near future.
It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out come spring, but I expect Brown to be in the thick of it very early on.
Next week: the tight ends
