Ball has raise at Georgia

photo Georgia receivers coach Tony Ball.

Georgia receivers coach Tony Ball and running backs coach Bryan McClendon each will make $200,000 this season after receiving raises that countered offers from other schools.

Ball, a former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga running back and return specialist who has worked with the Bulldogs the past five seasons, made $165,480 last year when Georgia suffered its first losing season since 1996. McClendon, a former Bulldogs receiver, has been an assistant the past two seasons with a $90,000 annual salary.

A university official confirmed Tuesday that both assistants received the hikes as a result of offers from other schools.

New offensive line coach Will Friend was hired in January for $200,000, so Georgia's lowest-paid assistants entering the 2011 season will be secondary coach Scott Lakatos ($180,000) and tight ends coach John Lilly ($165,480).

The waiting game

Former Bulldogs receiver Kris Durham was drafted early in the fourth round by the Seattle Seahawks last Saturday. Now all he can do is stay in shape and hope the NFL owners and players can work out their labor differences relatively soon.

"With the whole lockout thing, I don't know when I'm going to be heading out there," Durham said. "When I get the phone call, I'll be on the first flight out."

Durham had doubters when he signed out of Calhoun High School in 2006, and nothing has changed. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay has rated Durham the "most questionable" decision among Seattle's selections.

"Durham is a developmental wide receiver who benefited from playing alongside A.J. Green in college," McShay wrote. "Durham is a No. 3 receiver at best and may never even become that."

Floyd makes six

Leonard Floyd, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound defensive end from Eastman, Ga., recently became the sixth player to give a nonbinding pledge to join Georgia's 2012 signing class. According to Rivals.com, Floyd picked the Bulldogs over scholarship offers from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi State and South Carolina.

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