Christian LeMay never wavered on Dogs decision

ATHENS, Ga. - Aaron Murray's rousing redshirt freshman season as Georgia's starting quarterback never deterred Christian LeMay from signing and enrolling early with the Bulldogs.

It was going to take more than that.

"I've been committed to Georgia for a long time, and there was no second-guessing anything that would make me not completely committed here," LeMay said. "The only reason would have been if Coach [Mark] Richt or this coaching staff were to leave. Once I knew they were here, I was completely in.

"I'm glad to be here, and I'm glad the coaching staff gave me the opportunity to play ball here."

LeMay, a 6-foot-2, 195-pounder from the Charlotte suburb of Matthews, N.C., is the 11th quarterback to sign with the Bulldogs in Richt's 11 recruiting classes. He is the first to come off a senior year in which he didn't complete a pass.

After leading Butler High to a 15-0 record in 2009, when he threw 44 touchdowns and was intercepted twice, LeMay was suspended last July for violating the Charlotte-Mecklenberg school system's code of conduct during the spring. The suspension was for 30 days and would have wiped out half his senior season, so LeMay withdrew from Butler after an unsuccessful appeal in August.

"It was a tough time, but I prayed about it and I felt that it was the best option left for me," LeMay said. "I was glad my younger brothers did well and everybody else I knew did well."

LeMay committed to the Bulldogs last April, but any interview requests after his suspension went through his father and were exchanged via e-mail on his father's terms. Despite the incident and the resulting punishment, LeMay was ESPN.com's No. 5 quarterback in this year's class and Rivals.com's No. 3 pro-style quarterback.

Arriving at Georgia last month has helped him move on, as reflected by his laughing at a daily ability to get lost on campus. He has welcomed the winter conditioning program under new head strength coach Joe Tereshinski, already having added 10 pounds to his lanky frame.

"He has impressed not only our coaches but our players, and that's what you're looking for in a quarterback," offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. "You want him to lead on the field, in the weightroom and in the locker room. When players on the team are saying, 'Hey, this Christian LeMay is something,' that gets you excited.

"He and Hutson Mason and Aaron Murray are three capable quarterbacks who I look forward to working with this spring."

When asked how he's packing on the pounds, LeMay smiled and said that "free food definitely helps."

Murray exceeded all expectations this past season by throwing for 3,049 yards and 24 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. His yardage total ranks second among freshmen in SEC history behind former Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen, but Bobo said he never discussed Murray's success with LeMay.

"I addressed recruiting him and making him the best possible player he could be," Bobo said. "People ask me if he can be the number-two guy, but I want people coming in here expecting to be number one, and that's what Hutson Mason and Christian LeMay are striving to do. If you come in here thinking you can't beat out somebody, then we are recruiting the wrong guy."

Said LeMay: "Aaron is a great player, and everybody that watched Georgia football last year saw that. I'm just going to go in there and learn from him and help this team get better than 6-7, that's for sure."

Belin bolting

The Bulldogs now have two coaching vacancies.

Warren Belin, who coached Georgia's inside linebackers in 2010 after spending the previous eight years at Vanderbilt, is leaving to join the defensive staff of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. Offensive line coach Stacy Searels left last month for the line job at Texas.

"Warren made some outstanding contributions to our team and program in his year with us," Richt said, "and we wish him the very best in his new role with the Panthers."

This is the first time two Bulldogs assistants have left on their own accord since 2004, when defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder left to become Jacksonville Jaguars linebackers coach and running backs coach Ken Rucker left for the same post at Texas.

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