Georgia’s leading returning rusher from last season autographed anything and everything fans put in front of him Saturday at the sixth annual “Countdown to Kickoff” — T-shirts, pennants, footballs, a book.
Georgia’s Carlton Thomas is the Bulldogs’ leading returning rusher after the recent departures of Caleb King and Washaun Ealey.
Morris News Service
Carlton Thomas showed he can multi-task as well, signing and talking at the same time about a Bulldogs tailback position reshaped after the departures of top two rushers Washaun Ealey and Caleb King, the arrival of freshman Isaiah Crowell and the return of Richard Samuel from linebacker.
“(My) mindset hasn’t changed,” said Thomas, a redshirt junior. “Since day one it’s been to win and to do what I can do for the team. Because a couple of my teammates have left, it’s just a bigger role for me stepping into a leadership position and pushing the position, so when it’s time to play Boise State everyone’s going to be on board and get the job done and get that win.”
The 5-foot-7, 175-pound Thomas rushed for 272 yards and two touchdowns last season and seems likely to begin the preseason atop the tailback depth chart.
Georgia coach Mark Richt, of course, said on signing day — before Ealey transferred and King was declared academically ineligible — that he wouldn’t be surprised if Crowell runs the ball on the opening play against Boise State on Sept. 3.
“We’ve gotten to know each other a lot,” Thomas said of the player from Carver High in Columbus rated by some as the nation’s No. 1 tailback recruit. “We spend a lot of time. We see each other over here in the film room. Isaiah’s a really down-to-earth guy. He’s here to work.
“His mindset is where it needs to be. The times we’ve talked, he seems like he’s ready to learn and ready to attack his first summer camp with a strong mind to try and get some playing time. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s competition.”
Crowell and the other freshmen that arrived this summer weren’t at the Woodruff Practice Fields on Saturday for the fan event hosted by former Bulldogs David Greene and Matt and Jon Stinchcomb.
“Countdown,” which benefits the Georgia Transplant Foundation and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, brings out current and former players.
Greene remembered back in 2004 when another freshman, Thomas Brown, arrived at Georgia and led the Bulldogs in rushing with 875 yards and eight touchdowns.
Brown, in his first season as a Georgia strength assistant, did not have nearly the level of expectations surrounding him as Crowell does. He didn’t start a game until November.
Danny Ware was also a freshman in a tailback stable that included Michael Cooper and Kregg Lumpkin, who was lost for the season with a knee injury.
“Thomas was one of these guys who came in, who I think all the players instantly loved because how hard he worked,” said Greene, Georgia’s starting quarterback from 2001-04. ”He was fairly quiet, but when he stepped on that field, he was a man. He came to work every day. He worked hard. That’s really what you’ve got to do as a freshman. You don’t need to be the one that’s really loud and outspoken. You just need to come to work every day and do your job.”
Crowell will work at a position that also includes Samuel and redshirt freshman Ken Malcome.
“With them moving Richard back, I think that’s going to give us a better chance of him making the other guys compete better and try harder during camp,” safety Shawn Williams said
Thomas said Crowell has asked questions and has learned at a good pace.
“He’s doing what he’s got to do and hopefully by summer camp he’ll be ready to show what he’s got,” Thomas said.
Said Williams: “It’s a big transition from high school to college because you have people on the defensive side of the ball that are going to hit you and make you bring it the next time you come back.”
And those people aren’t all on the other team.
“When camp comes, I want to be one of the first ones to go against him,” Williams said. “To see if he’s that No. 1 running back.”
