Georgia 2014 news

Georgia safety Josh Harvey-Clemons did not join his team for the trip to the Gator Bowl this past bowl season, but his suspension from the team will linger in to the 2014 season. Harvey-Clemon has been suspended for the first three games of the 2014 season for a violation of team rules. According to a report, the violation has to do with the school’s drug policy

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Georgia senior offensive tackle Mark Beard plans to transfer to another school for his final year of eligibility after graduating this summer.

An NCAA rule allows players to transfer without sitting out a year after completing graduating requirements.

Beard played in 26 games, including two starts, in his two seasons at Georgia following his transfer from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. He was a backup left tackle in 2013.


And he changes his mind

In yet another release sent out Friday morning, UGA confirmed that the offensive lineman has changed his mind and will remain with the Bulldogs. The release stated that, after giving it some thought, Beard asked to return to the Bulldog team.

A career that featured plenty of downs to go with the ups has come to an end for Josh Harvey-Clemons, at least at Georgia.

In a very brief statement released Tuesday afternoon, UGA announced that the sophomore defensive back has been dismissed from the football program.

Georgia will shift junior John Theus from RT to LT.

Theus was announced as starting left tackle after spending the past two seasons starting on the right side. The 6-foot-6, 298-pounder from Jacksonville is a former five-star recruit. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining to woo NFL evaluators.

Positionally, we've got a few adjustments to go through. The starting OL will be most fans' primary concern offensively, aside from how well Hutson Mason can take over the reigns from the record setting Aaron Murray. The unit getting the first shot to protect Mason will be at John Theus at LT, Mark Beard at LG, David Andrews in the middle, with Watts Dantzler and Kolton Houston lining up as RG and RT respectively. The somewhat unexpected part there is sophomore Brandon Kublanow not being LG, while Theus is moving from RT to LT and Houston taking over as RT full time. But expect this to be a fluid thing, with the aforementioned Kublanow, as well as guys like Greg Pyke, Xzavier Ward, and others still pushing the starters, and then more competition once Isaiah Wynn, Dyshon Sims, and Kendall Baker arrive on campus in the summer.

Depth issues will cause Quayvon Hicks to work at TE, since we'll be without an injured Jay Rome, a departed senior in Arthur Lynch, and incoming freshman Jeb Blazevich and Hunter Atkinson aren't on campus yet. Expect fans to speculate on this being a sign that we're going to use the FB less going forward.

As far as defensive positional moves, the shift to more 4 man fronts means bigger OLBs James Deloach and Josh Dawson are sticking their hands in the dirt to stay. I'm not sure Dawson actually played any OLB last year though, as most of his snaps appeared to be as a DE in nickel groupings. Also, as was guessed and then debated back in January here, two freshman who worked on the offensive side of the ball last year will be in the defensive backfield this spring. Redshirt freshman Tramel Terry's bowl practice switch from WR to S is going to continue. While the addition of Sony Michel and Nick Chubb has given the offensive backfield enough quality depth to allow Camden County's J.J. Green to work at CB.

Georgia linebacker Paris Bostick will transfer from the program in hopes of a better situation. The redshirt freshman came to the decision mutually with head coach Mark Richt, who confirmed the roster change through a news release.

An injury ended up sidelining Keith Marshall for more than half of the 2013 season. A handful of months later, it’s looking as if a coach’s decision will determine whether he misses all of the 2014 season as well.

According to Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph, Georgia has not ruled out having Marshall use a redshirt this season. That possibility was raised by offensive coordinator late last year,m and it was something that another of Mark Richt‘s assistants hinted around this week.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt will have another key position to fill on the starting roster this fall after losing a defensive starter to a transfer. Cornerback Shaq Wiggins is leaving the Bulldogs via transfer, according to Seth Emerson of The Telegraph.

Georgia has granted wide receiver Uriah LeMay a full release from his scholarship, allowing him to transfer to another program without interference from the Bulldogs. LeMay, a redshirt freshman, informed head coach Mark Richt of his desire to transfer and Richt was understanding.

As noted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, LeMay’s older brother, Christian, has already transferred from Georgia to FCS Jacksonville State.

It appears that Tray Matthews’ departure was far from voluntary.

In a press release, Georgia announced that the defensive back has been dismissed from the football program. No reason was given, although head coach Mark Richt’s 14-word, very terse statement pretty much said it all.

While Georgia head coach Mark Richt is working through some headaches with his roster this offseason, he is also adding an option in the receiving game. Wide receiver Charlie Hegedus has completed his transfer from NC State and will join Georgia in time to begin summer workouts in Athens. 247 Sports was the first to report the transfer news.

“They are moving quick,” Hegedus said to 247 Sports. “I thought I was going to move in over the weekend, and they informed me I had class tomorrow.” Yep, that would be moving quickly. Better yet, Hegedus had a hardship waiver approved by the NCAA, making him eligible to play this fall for Georgia.

A Georgia native who once dreamed of playing for Georgia, is stepping away from football before ever getting a chance to suit up for a game. According to a statement released by Georgia on Wednesday afternoon, incoming freshman tight end Hunter Atkinson has decided to step away from football. No reason for his decision has been given, but he does so with Mark Richt sending along his best wishes.

Following an arrest for aggravated assault earlier this week, Georgia has dismissed defensive tackle Jonathan Taylor. As reported yesterday, Taylor was arrested for the second time this offseason, this time being charged for aggravated assault on a female.

Joseph Ledbetter, a former wing at Pfeiffer University, is enrolling at Georgia to try his hand at football at TE.

Via Great Blue North Draft Report: More tough news for UGA WR … Georgia junior WR Malcolm Mitchell has undergone arthroscopic surgery on the knee he injured last August. Mitchell had been considered to be a rising prospect for the 2014 after an outstanding camp last summer, but he tore an ACL while celebrating a TD in the Bulldawgs’ season opener last fall and missed the remainder of the season. It doesn’t appear that the latest setback is overly serious, but there is still no timetable for his return. Mitchell had also hurt the other leg during spring practice and missed the remaining workouts.

http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2014/08/08/georgia-bulldogs-malcolm-mitchell-book-club-women

WR Mitchell spent most of his off time last season being a part of a book club.

When a four-star recruit goes through his first fall camp as a collegiate player, the thought of switching from the defensive side of the football to offense probably isn’t expected. Yet, that’s exactly what happened to Georgia’s Detric Bing-Dukes.

Bing-Dukes was recruited as a linebacker and began camp as part of the defense. However, Georgia’s coaching staff decided to permanently moved him to fullback, according to The Macon Telegraph‘s Seth Emerson.

Concussions and head trauma awareness is stronger than it has ever been, and hopefully it is helping to reduce problems later in life for a number of young football players. That should be the hope for Georgia fullback Merritt Hall, who has been forced to step away from the game after being medically disqualified to play football as a result of a recent concussion.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Hall suffered the third concussion in the last two seasons and it was so severe it put his career at risk. During a scrimmage on Saturday, Hall took a blow to the head in a scrimmage with the first-team offense. After sitting out three days of practices, Georgia head coach Mark Richt confirmed Hall’s playing days have come to an abrupt end.

Cue up the Louisville jokes, because Georgia has dismissed yet another defensive back.

This time around it’s freshman defensive back Shaquille Jones, who had to set some sort of record in moving from penthouse to doghouse. The Palm Bay, Fla., native was arrested and charged with shoplifting at 4:53 p.m. on Sunday and kicked off the team 90 minutes later,