Change will be the theme for both the Georgia football team and the men's basketball team going into the 2009-10 season.

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On the gridiron, the transition will come from the need to replace two of Georgia's biggest playmakers in recent memory: Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Both were taken in the NFL Draft.

On the hardwood, change has come in the form of a new coaching staff, led by the hiring of former Nevada head coach Mark Fox on April 2.

Fox and football coach Mark Richt spoke about the changes Monday at the Augusta stop of the UGA Bulldog Club Tour, at St. Mary's on the Hill gymnasium.

Two days after watching Stafford go No. 1 overall to the Detroit Lions, Richt expressed confidence in his new starter, Joe Cox.

"Joe is in pretty good position right now to be our starter," Richt said. "I can't sit here and say there's no possible way anything could change that, but it would be very, very difficult to knock Joe out of that spot right now. He's earned that position, he's ready for that position and I think he gives us our best chance for success."

While Cox might be locked in as Stafford's replacement, Richt said the battle to replace Moreno, who became only the second player in Bulldog history to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, is still undecided.

"At running back, it's very wide open, in my opinion," said Richt, who is 82-22 overall as Georgia's head coach. "I think Caleb (King) had a very solid spring, Carlton Thomas proved that he deserved some playing time, Dontavius Jackson practiced a little bit but it's hard to get a good gauge on him, and you know what you get from Richard Samuel. So no one has established themselves at that position."

North Augusta's Brian Redd and his two sons, Jackson and Brandon, have been coming to the annual meeting for about four years and said they're always pleased to listen to the Bulldogs' head man.

"Coach Richt, he takes time to come here and he's real pleasant to talk to. I'm glad he represents our university" said Brian Redd, a neighbor of former Georgia defensive back CJ Byrd.

Fox was a less familiar face, but his mission is no less challenging.

Fox, who led the Wolfpack to three consecutive NCAA Tournament bids, was named Western Athletic Conference Coach of Year three times during his five-year tenure as head coach in Reno. He takes over a Bulldogs team that won just three games in the Southeastern Conference last season and has not earned an at-large bid to the Big Dance since 2002.

"The one thing we're focused on now is creating a culture of winning," Fox said. "I want our young people to understand they must expect some success from themselves. We do expect them to play hard and act right. If they do that, they'll give themselves a chance to win."

Fox had immediate success after taking over in Nevada in 2004, leading his team to 25-7 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Though he would certainly love to experience a similar instant turnaround in Athens, Fox cautioned that rebuilding the program will be a process.

"We have a lot of work to do," Fox said. "It doesn't happen overnight, and we're not naive enough to think it will. But we're excited about the challenge; hopefully we'll get a little better each day."

Reach Joey Jones at (706) 724-0851 or joey.jones@augustachronicle.com.