ESPN College Football

Gentry Estes of Dawgs247.com is reporting that senior safety Jakar Hamilton is likely to miss the season with stress fractures in his right ankle.

Hamilton, who transferred to Georgia last year from junior college, has not practiced since the early part of preseason camp. He entered the preseason in a battle with junior Shawn Williams for one of the starting safety spots.

The Bulldogs were already pretty thin at safety. In fact, junior cornerback Sanders Commings had been working some at safety. Junior Bacarri Rambo is the starter at the other safety spot.

If Commings were to slide over to safety full time, that would mean junior Branden Smith would move to the top of the depth chart at cornerback opposite Brandon Boykin. Smith, one of the fastest players on Georgia's team, is also getting some work on offense in a couple of different spots.

Spring game: 1 p.m. ET on ESPN3.com

Questions answered: Aaron Murray’s soccer-related ankle injury didn’t get to him this spring. He was sharp and pain free. No worries there. Also, good news came out of the receiving corps where Tavarres King made strides to become the go-to-guy for Murray. He’s replacing A.J. Green at the flanker and held his own during spring practices. Jarvis Jones also eased minds about Justin Houston’s old position at the hybrid outside linebacker/defense end spot. He’s showed that he might have a little bit more athleticism and speed for the position.

Questions unanswered: The running game still remains a mystery. Senior Caleb King stepped up, but didn’t really separate himself from the pack. Washaun Ealey, who returned from a suspension this spring, suffered a hamstring injury late and hasn’t returned to full speed. Carlton Thomas and Ken Malcome made plays, but like the other two, they aren’t consistently standing out. The offensive line still appears to be a bit of a trouble spot since losing Trinton Sturdivant at left tackle. Converted guard Cordy Glenn is expected to take over at left tackle, while Justin Anderson could play right tackle. Sophomores Kenarious Gates and Chris Burnette are working with the first team at the guard positions. Inconsistency plagued the safety positions last season for the Bulldogs and injuries there this spring didn’t do much to clear that up.

Spring stars: Defensive end Derrick Lott received a lot of praise from players and coaches this spring. He will be relied upon to be a major contributor for this defense. While the wide receiver position is still a bit of an unknown, Marlon Brown has performed well this spring. He’s underachieved since arriving on campus, but drew high praise for his work this spring. Outside linebacker Cornelius Washington also made some strides this spring, especially with his ability to make big hits on defense. Freshman quarterback Christian LeMay won’t usurp Murray, but he’s impressed his coaches so far.

Of note: Christian Robinson is making the move over to mike linebacker. Safeties Bacarri Rambo (MCL sprain), Jakar Hamilton (concussion) and Marc Deas (hamstring) are all out. … Linebackers Dexter Morant (shoulder) and T.J. Stripling (knee) will be held out of spring practice. … Sanders Commings moved from cornerback to safety. … Safety Alec Ogletree moved to outside linebacker. Cornerback Brandon Boykin, linebacker Christian Robinson, wide receiver Israel Troupe and tight end Aron White could be out for Saturday’s game with injuries.

Schedule: The Bulldogs will practice once on Thursday afternoon and then take next week off for spring break before returning to spring drills.

What’s new: Will Friend takes over for Stacy Searels as offensive line coach, and Kirk Olivadotti is the new inside linebackers coach. In addition, Joe Tereshinski was promoted to director of strength and conditioning.

On the mend: Linebackers Dexter Morant (shoulder) and T.J. Stripling (knee) will be held out of spring practice.

On the move: Sophomore Alec Ogletree is moving from safety to inside linebacker. Senior DeAngelo Tyson is shifting from nose guard to defensive end. Senior Justin Anderson is moving back to the offensive line and will compete for one of the starting guard spots after spending an injury-marred season at nose guard a year ago. Senior Cordy Glenn will move over to right tackle after starting for three years at guard. Christian Robinson will slide into Akeem Dent’s middle linebacker spot. Sophomore Jarvis Jones heads into the spring as the starter at strong side outside linebacker.

Key battle: Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is looking for more consistency at the free safety position. Senior Jakar Hamilton and junior Shawn Williams will battle it out this spring, although Grantham said another possibility could be junior Sanders Commings moving from cornerback to safety.

New faces: He’s not entirely new, but Jarvis Jones will be on the field for the first time this season. He practiced last season but couldn’t play in games after transferring from Southern California. Also, signees Chris Conley, a receiver, and Christian LeMay, a quarterback, enrolled early and will go through spring practice.

Breaking out: After catching 23 passes as a freshman and 26 passes last season, junior tight end Orson Charles is primed for an All-SEC season in 2011. He’s had a great offseason and is pushing a chiseled 250 pounds. The Bulldogs plan to move him around and use him in a number of different ways. He’s athletic enough to split out wide and make things happen on the perimeter and is an impossible matchup for linebackers down the middle of the field.

Don’t forget about: Cornerback Brandon Boykin elected to come back for his senior season after checking out his draft stock. Getting him back was huge for the Georgia secondary and also solidifies the Bulldogs’ special teams as the best in SEC. Boykin returns as one of the most polished cornerbacks in the league and is also one of the SEC’s most dangerous return specialists. He’s returned four kickoffs for touchdowns during his career.

All eyes on: Quarterback Aaron Murray had a terrific freshman season with 3,049 passing yards, 24 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. But gone are his top two receivers, including A.J. Green. More than ever, this is Murray’s offense now, and establishing the right kind of chemistry and timing with his new corps of receivers this spring will be critical.

Todd Grantham got a glimpse of the hand he was dealt in the spring.

The first-year Georgia defensive coordinator will get a more definitive look beginning Monday when the Bulldogs open preseason practice.

The freshmen and players who were injured during the spring will be added to the mix as Georgia completes its move to the 3-4. Grantham, whose previous 11 seasons were spent coaching in the NFL, is one of three new defensive assistants on the Bulldogs’ staff.

Their challenge is pretty straightforward: to return the edge to Georgia’s once-proud defense. The Bulldogs were 10th in the SEC last season in scoring defense and have given up 34 or more points in 10 of their 26 games over the last two seasons.

I caught up with Grantham recently to get his thoughts on the upcoming season, his first in college football since 1998 when he was the assistant head coach/defensive line coach at Michigan State under Nick Saban.

Where will the hottest battles be this preseason?

Todd Grantham: The corner position will be interesting. Brandon Boykin, Vance Cuff and Branden Smith will all play, but they will be battling it out for the two starting spots. At safety, we have Bacarri Rambo starting at one, but [junior college transfer] Jakar Hamilton and Nick Williams will be a good battle at the other safety. We moved Darryl Gamble from inside linebacker to outside linebacker, and we’ll see how that turns out with Cornelius Washington. I’m also curious to see what freshmen T. J. Stripling, Dexter Morant and Brandon Burrows do at linebacker and how they fit in. On tape, I like Stripling at our will linebacker position [weakside linebacker] behind Justin Houston. We’ll see how it plays out when everybody gets here.

How much will you experiment this preseason, especially given the move to the 3-4?

TG: I come from pro football, and you’re going into the game with 21 or 22 guys on defense, and that’s it. What you learn is that you have to be flexible, and we will be. If somebody goes down, I’d rather play the next best guy instead of the next guy at that position, and there’s a difference in that. We’re going to find out which guys can play different roles.

What will be key for you up front defensively?

TG: We’ve got to develop a rotation up there, and those guys have to be relentless. DeAngelo Tyson will start out at nose, and Kwame Geathers is behind him. We also have Justin Anderson moving over from the offensive line. If those other two guys come on, it might give us a chance to move DeAngelo around and see what we can do with him at end. I just believe you have to play a lot of guys up there. You expend so much energy playing in the defensive line. If a guy feels like he has to play 60 plays, he’s going to coast. But if he knows he only has to play 35, he will give you more and knows when he gets tired that he’s going to come out and the next guy’s going in. We’ve got to find a way to develop that kind of rotation. If you don’t, when the fourth quarter comes around and it’s time to win the game, your best guys are going to be tired.

What kind of outside linebacker will Houston be in your scheme after recording 7.5 sacks last season at defensive end?

TG: I’m expecting a big year out of him and have talked to him about that. Everybody on your team isn’t the same, and he’s got to be one of those guys who rises above for us. We need to expect more out of him. You have to manufacture production from your linebackers in the 3-4, particularly your outside guys, because that’s where you generate your pass rush. I think Justin is made for the 3-4, and it’s a very good fit for him. That showed up in spring ball with some of the things he did.

Georgia was tied for next to last nationally last season with 12 forced turnovers. How do you turn that around?

TG: It starts with the quarterback. In pro football, we did a study, and the guy who fumbles the ball the most is the quarterback. He’s also the guy throwing the ball, so the more you can do to disrupt him, the more you’re going to create turnovers. You can do that a lot of ways -- disguising what you do, by bringing pressure, four-man and six-man rush, and the biggest thing is the disruption of routes. You can’t allow free access. If you disrupt them and jam them, they’re not always going to be in the spot they’re supposed to be. There’s no question that we need to create more turnovers. Again, going back to the NFL, the teams that were plus-1 in turnover margin over the last 11 years won 80 percent of their games.

Will you call the defensive plays from the booth or be on the sideline during games this season?

TG: I’ll be on the sideline. You have more time to get the calls in when you’re on the sideline. You have more time to think about what you want to do, and you also get a better feel for the players down there. I was on the sideline in the NFL and am used to it. You get used to watching the game from down there and seeing everything develop from down there.

What do you hope the Georgia fans see in this defense?

TG: What I want them to see is improvement and that we’re aggressive, fundamentally sound and relentless in our pursuit of the ball. I want them to see a defense that doesn’t give up explosive plays, a defense that plays with a swagger. I know this, that the Georgia fans have a passion for defense, the “Junkyard Dawg” defense that is so famous around here. I anticipate working toward giving them the things they have a passion for.