HOOVER, Ala. – Georgia football coach Mark Richt took just two seasons to win a Southeastern Conference championship and celebrated a second title three years later.
The quest for a third, however, has reached a decade.
After guiding the Bulldogs to the 2002 and ’05 league crowns, Richt’s Bulldogs enter the 2015 season where they always seem to be – among the favorites. Georgia was the overwhelming pick Thursday at SEC Media Days to win the Eastern Division, with Alabama a slight favorite over Auburn in the West.
“That’s our goal every year,” Richt said as the four-day event came to a close. “It’s a great league, and we’ve been to Atlanta over the years since the time we won it last, but we weren’t able to win that game. We’ll keep banging away, and we’ll get there.”
In the balloting for the overall league champion, Auburn edged Alabama, with Georgia a distant third. Thursday’s ballot marked the first time since the SEC went to divisional play in 1992 that the predicted overall champ was different from a predicted division winner.
“That’s why I just play,” Bulldogs senior receiver Malcolm Mitchell said. “I’m glad everybody believes in us, and I appreciate the support, but we’ve got to get the job done.”
That’s certainly the sermon Richt is preaching.
Georgia has made five appearances in the league title game since his arrival in 2001, more than any other SEC East school. Yet while the Bulldogs have been missing out on overall league titles since 2005, Alabama, Auburn, Florida and LSU have each won multiple league crowns, with all four capturing national championships as well.
“When I got here, it had been 20 years (since Georgia’s last SEC title),” Richt said. “It would have been nice to have nailed one or two since we last won one. You not only have to get there but win it, but if we start thinking about that stuff instead of what it takes on a daily basis, then we’re going to make a mistake.”
The Bulldogs are among the league favorites this season largely because of sophomore tailback Nick Chubb, who rushed for 1,547 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per carry last season. The 5-foot-10, 228-pounder from Cedartown capped his debut year with a 266-yard effort in Georgia’s 37-14 win over Louisville in the Belk Bowl.
“He’s the best running back we have in the SEC right now,” LSU sophomore tailback Leonard Fournette said Thursday at Media Days. “He’s better than me, so I’m trying to reach to where he’s at right now.”
Georgia has Mitchell back at receiver and an often overlooked weapon in sophomore tight end Jeb Blazevich. Four of the five starting linemen return.
Yet the trigger spot is a question following the graduation of Hutson Mason, who threw for 21 touchdowns and just four interceptions in his one full year as the starter. In the mix at quarterback now are Brice Ramsey, a redshirt sophomore, Faton Bauta, a redshirt junior, and Greyson Lambert, who started nine games at Virginia last year before transferring earlier this summer.
Ramsey replaced an injured Mason in the Belk Bowl, but Richt is offering no clues regarding a favorite or a timetable.
“There are probably more questions around the position than at any other time since my first year here, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing,” Richt said. “There were a lot of questions before David Greene became the starter, and he was the winningest quarterback in the history of college football when he finished.
“We’ve been used to knowing who the guy is in the offseason, and this year we don’t.”
Defensively, the Bulldogs return six starters and have a trio of standout outside linebackers: Lorenzo Carter, Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins. Safeties Quincy Mauger and Dominick Sanders were thrown into action sooner than later and have matured rapidly, but there could be new faces starting up front and at inside linebacker.
The big newcomers Georgia fans want to see are defensive tackle Trent Thompson and linebacker Roquan Smith. Thompson was rated the top overall prospect nationally by 247Sports.com in the 2015 signing class.
“One thing that’s different about this year, and I know people always talk about guys working hard, but these freshmen are not only working hard but getting into the playbook and spending extra time in the meeting rooms,” Jenkins said. “They’re asking older guys questions, and this freshman class seems eager to learn and does not have the egos of just wanting to wait until camp.”
When Richt first got to Georgia, he would leave SEC Media Days in late July and immediately welcome freshman players to Athens. Now that Media Days takes place in mid-July, might there be another family getaway between now and the Aug. 4 start of preseason camp?
“Those are done,” Richt said. “We may spend a day or two as a staff at the lake, but for the most part all the vacation time is over. As soon as the Fourth of July is over, that’s when you start cranking things up for the season.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.