Transfer may soothe Dogs' kickoff woes

ATHENS, Ga. --- Kickoffs left many Georgia fans kicking and screaming last season.

Coach Mark Richt addressed the issue in March by signing junior college kicker Brandon Bogotay, who displayed an ability to boot it deep.

That would be a change from recent years for Georgia, which has relied on directional kicking. That strategy was particularly ineffective last year, when the Bulldogs ranked 73rd nationally in kickoff return yardage defense, allowing 21.7 yards per return.

Enter Bogotay, who could cause Georgia's coaches to ask themselves whether a change of philosophy is in order.

"Do you change?" asked assistant coach Jon Fabris, who oversees the unit. "That's kind of like saying we've been running the offense we've been running here and we sign a Michael Vick -- that kind of guy. Do you implement some things for (Georgia's dual-threat backup quarterback) Logan Gray? Do you emphasize some things to show him off? That's no different than that deal."

Richt was so intent on fixing the kickoff issue that he signed Bogotay from San Diego based strictly on game film.

"He's capable," Richt said. "Just from the times that I've looked at it, they all have at times done exactly what we had hoped, but no one had a day where even 80 percent of them were out of the end zone or deep enough where they probably would not return it. There still has to be a level of accuracy or we'll be in trouble."

Sophomore Blair Walsh, who struggled on kickoffs last season while also handling field goals and extra points, is trying to hold on to that responsibility.

Bogotay and Walsh are the top contenders for the spot. Walk-ons Andrew Jensen, Jamie Lindley and Jordan Stowe are in the mix.

"It's too early to say, 'That's the guy,' " Fabris said.

Bogotay knocked 20 of 52 kickoffs for touchbacks last season at Grossmont College. Now he's looking for the success in the Southeast that he had in Southern California.

"I haven't noticed too much of a difference," Bogotay said of kicking on the other side of the country.

The NCAA moved kickoffs from the 35-yard line to the 30 before the 2007 season. Walsh had four touchbacks and kicked eight of his 75 kickoffs out of bounds last season.

The out-of-bounds kicks were particularly painful because they carry a penalty that can give the receiving team possession at its 40-yard line.

"Go way, way back and the idea of kicking the ball to a certain area of the field certainly isn't to kick the ball a yard from the sideline -- just to get it down in the general area," Fabris said. "If the ball is sprayed out of bounds, it's like a wide-open receiver if the ball is thrown 15 feet over his head.

"After a while, if that ball keeps not being thrown right, you have to say, well, what else can we do?

"If you were the head coach and you had a guy that could put the ball in the second row of the end zone every time, what would you do?"

Georgia coaches are not learning about Bogotay's ability to kick the ball in the second row, but into the end zone.

"I've never been in front of 92,000 people so I can't say exactly, but I feel like I can step up to the plate," Bogotay said. "We'll see how it goes."