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Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Foltz at 8:28:16 AM
IS LOGAN GRAY THE NEXT BLAKE BARNES?
Almost every year, Georgia scours many high schools in hopes of luring the next great quarterback to Athens. Big arm, fast legs, and accuracy coincide with football knowledge, growth expectations, and proven competitiveness to create a highly-touted field general with hopes of becoming a future signal caller for the Bulldogs. And while each shows up with high expectations from “the Nation” and themselves, sometimes they never develop into the player everyone hopes. Blake Barnes was a top recruit out of the state of Mississippi. Not only did he have the size (6’3”, 225lb) most programs are looking for in a quarterback, he backed up his statistics by breaking most of Brett Favre’s high school records along the way. The sky was the limit for Blake, who immediately became the “Next David Greene – Only Better.” The future of the program stood on his arm and it would only be a matter of time before he took over. After the 2005 season, it should have been obvious who the starter would be the very next year. He was entering his third season with Georgia and seemed the logic choice as the next heralded quarterback to take the helm from Shockley’s departure.

That never happened. Not only did the 2006 season fall into a two-quarterback race, he never even beat out JT3 during the offseason. He wasn’t going to hold off the talents of Matthew Stafford for long but he should have had the talent to give him a redshirt in 2006. Out of desperation, Richt had no choice but to start a true freshman over a fifth year senior and a Brett Favre record breaker. What happened to Blake Barnes? After hardly seeing the field at Sanford Stadium, he transferred to Delta State during the 2008 season so he could play his final year of college eligibility. Why he never developed is a thing of mystery and another top quarterback may be headed down the same path.

Logan Gray was football player of the year in Missouri and a highly respected basketball player who held offers from places like Drake and Creighton. A four-star quarterback from the Midwest, Gray had his pick of Division I schools offering scholarships. He could have easily gone to the pass-happy Big XII conference but he chose a top SEC school to play his college ball instead. After the 2008 season, it was clear who would get the first chance to start since Joe Cox waited patiently for four years like DJ Shockley. However, it should have been clear who would eventually take over the reins. So far, that hasn’t happened. While Joe Cox isn’t a terrible quarterback and he’s shown to be very efficient under center, he’s certainly beatable. He doesn’t possess the great arm, he isn’t mobile, he doesn’t have a Drew Bledsoe frame, and the jury is still deliberating whether or not he can make good decisions during the game. If you were recruited with the hype of Logan Gray, you would expect to have developed and beaten a 3-star quarterback by now.

Because he can’t beat out Joe Cox, the window for Logan Gray is starting to narrow just like it did for Blake Barnes. He couldn’t beat out a fifth year senior in Joe Cox, just like Barnes couldn’t beat out Shockley, and next year will be eerily similar to 2006 as Aaron Murray is expected to ascend to the top of the depth chart. As most of you know, Aaron Murray received many of the same accolades Matthew Stafford received out of high school. He is a prized recruit who some analysts said was the best high school quarterback in the country, just like Stafford. Logan Gray is now caught in the middle and could be “Barnes Bound” if he does not do something quickly. Maybe he’s good enough to play in most other programs. I’m inclined to think he isn’t good enough to beat Joe Cox, so what makes me think he’s going to beat Aaron Murray next year? The time is now for Logan Gray or he may be researching the depth chart at Delta State very soon.


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COMMENTS:
Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Joe at 10:38:40 AM
I dont understand the groups infatuation with Logan Gray. Baring injury, his playing time will be spotty at best. Murray will be the starter next year. Gray will continue to provide fair catch ability on punts and may help in an occasional red zone appearance. I dont expect anything else from Gray than what we have already seen - not only this year, but for the rest of his eligibility.

Yes, he did make some nice plays in the spring game, but it`s pretty clear to me that he doesnt have SEC starter talent.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Nate at 11:32:42 AM
Joe, What I don`t understand is how "clear" it is to you that Gray can`t be a starter in the SEC. What have you seen to back that up (especially if you say he made some nice plays in the spring game)? I understand the angle "Well, obviously if the coaches don`t have enough confidence to play him, then he can`t be that good." But to be honest, I`m just not buying that. The coaches didn`t play Knowshon his true freshman year either and look how that worked out. I liked what I saw in the G-Day game, and obviously if he`s used as the "good-decision" making punt returner, the coaches have confidence in him between the ears.

My biggest problem with the QB situation is that Richt`s whole story behind playing DJ back in the day was that (1) we needed to have a prepared, experienced quarterback with Greene left, (2) we didn`t want to waste the talents of Shockley and (3) DJ offered a different skill set than Greene. I`m not necessarily trying to imply that Gray is as talented as Shockley, but I am implying that the situations are mirror images of each other. I want to see the coaches do everything in their power to avoid a situation like 2006. I`ve been very pleased and impressed with Cox`s play so far this season, but he will not be here next year. To be honest, I really don`t care who the back up is, but I want that player (whether Gray, Murray or even Mett) to get some meaningful snaps this season. Not the 4th quarter of a blow out mop up duty where all he does is take the snap and hand the ball to Kalvin Daniels.

Also, I HATE having Gray returning punts. It`s one thing to have a 3rd stringer helping out the team in non-tradional ways, but IF Gray really is the backup, he should be focused on playing quarterback. And with all the skill talent we have (Carlton Thomas, Wooten, Branden Smith, Boykin, Reshad Jones, Mike Moore, T King, etc), you can`t tell me none of those guys can decide to fair catch or not.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Nate at 11:46:36 AM
As for Gray potentially being the next Blake Barnes, he may be, but it doesn`t really concern me if he is. You are right that UGA recruits top QB talent every year. With a philosophy like that combined with the recruiting ability to actually pull in these guys, there will always be guys that don`t like up to their billing. I am a Gray fan, so I hope he gets his shot, but it really wouldn`t surprise me if he didn`t. DJ was a 5 star and could never unseat DG. Luckily he got his 1 year to shine. JoeT III was a 4 star and didn`t work out. Barnes was a 4 star and Mississippi player of the year. And now, at least 1 of Murray and Mettenberger likely will not work out (and that`s regardless of whether or not Gray`s name is added to this list).
Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Foltz at 2:35:31 PM
I agree. Whether or not he actually works out at Georgia isn`t a big concern to me unless someone steps up and plays like a 4-star. This blawg wasn`t an ode to Logan Gray. I just saw a very similar quarterback recruit who was going down a strikingly similar career path based on the same types of talent in front and behind a recently departed recruit. I thought it would be interesting to talk about it but apparently the conversation went in the wrong direction and probably bordered on irrelevant to someone else (Nate). My apologies. I`ll stick to predicting season stats for 3rd string tight ends.

Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Joe at 2:50:42 PM
You guys are douche bags.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Joe at 2:53:26 PM
I`m kidding.

Seriously, what I have seen out of Logan Gray does not make me confident of his QB abilities. He obviously has great athleticism, but it doesnt translate into the type of QB we need to run our offense.

I agree that we should have a 2nd string QB get some experience to prep for injuries and 2010. However, I think the coach`s want to redshirt Murray and Mett.....it`s a catch 22. More for long term preparation than this season`s safety basket.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Joe at 2:54:33 PM
by long term preparation, I mean 2 or 3 years down the road, not necessarily for this year or next.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Posted by Nate at 8:40:28 PM
But Joe, I want to win every year, not 2 or 3 years down the road. Why do you HATE Gray so bad? Did he pull a Cory Phillips or something and hit on Karen??!

Foltzie Poo, I`ll get you some extra Spicy Three Pepper Sauce on Friday if it`ll make you feel better. I actually thought your post was pretty interesting...Joe and I have just been debating the whole Logan Gray situation for a while anyway, so this was just an opportunity for it to spill onto the interweb. Honestly didn`t mean to shoot down your post with my comment. I was just trying to point out that unfortunately he may well become the next in a line of QB busts. I hate to term it bust, but I guess that`s what it is. QBs are just different than other positions, so I squirm at calling them busts. It`s not like you`ll ever see a 2-QB set, or need to be a solid 3 deep at QB to be fresh in the 4th quarter. Anyway, the comparison to Barnes does have some interesting parallels. I guess I was just never that big on Barnes, and I`ve had high hopes for Gray since he made it to campus. I do think that Cox is better than JoeT (even if rated lower as a recruit) and I definitely think Stafford is better (at least at this point in their careers) than Murray. So by that thought, I guess I don`t look at it as being so bad that he hasn`t beaten out Cox, though I do expect/hope him to give Murray a stronger run at the job next year than JoeT gave Stafford.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Posted by Foltz at 7:49:42 AM
Yea, it sounded like I got into a touchy subject. Anything to spark interest. I know most fans are thinking Aaron Murray will be the starter next year but know that he`s hurt at UGA and broke his leg last year as a high school senior, we should be talking about his durability. If his health continues to be an issue, expect Logan Gray to stay in the mix.

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