Kevin Price commentary: Crowell will have a lot to learn

HOOVER, Ala. -- The starting tailback position at Georgia won’t just be given to Isaiah Crowell.

When Georgia begins fall practice in a couple of weeks, the former Carver High standout will not start the preseason atop the depth chart.

That perch will belong to Richard Samuel, who was returned to tailback earlier this month after a stint at linebacker. Samuel played tailback his first two seasons at Georgia before being moved to linebacker prior to last season.

That’s not to say Crowell will not be able to overtake Samuel and be on the field for Georgia’s first play against Boise State at the Georgia Dome on Sept. 3.

But Georgia coach Mark Richt, who spoke at SEC media days Thursday, said Crowell has a lot to learn.

“He is a freshman like the rest of them,” Richt said. “He’s got to learn. I think he is doing well.”

Crowell was one of the most highly sought after recruits in the past year, and Richt is well aware of the hype surrounding him since national signing day in February.

On Thursday, Richt sought to squelch some of that hype.

“We don’t expect Isaiah to save the program,” Richt said. “We don’t expect Isaiah to put the team on his back. We expect Isaiah to learn what to do and do things the Georgia way.”

Crowell enrolled at Georgia last month, but due to NCAA regulations, Richt and other coaches are unable to work with players during the summer. But other players are allowed to do so.

Rising sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray said several of the players have been in contact with Crowell this summer.

“(We) went to his dorm, took him outside, talked to him, ran through some plays,” Murray said. “We told him ‘we are here for you no matter what. We are going to push you. In the end we are going to make sure you are ready to go.’ ”

Murray said that Crowell has taken to everything well.

“He is working hard,” Murray said. “ We went outside his dorm room to start doing drills. That is how excited we are to get him out there and learning the playbook.”

Richt said he is anxious to see how Crowell does on the field.

“There is a sense of anticipation,” Richt said. “I am excited, curious to see when we put the pads on the first time and do an inside drill, see the team run and see what he does, see how he handles getting hit real hard, how he handles the speed of the Southeastern Conference. I am like any other fan to just to be curious as to how it is going to go.”

Crowell or any other freshman running back has a steep learning curve, especially in an offense such as Georgia’s, which counts on its backs to be an important part of the pass protection.

“At receiver, you can have a missed assignment and not be nearly as devastating as a tailback missing an assignment when it comes to pass protection or even going the wrong way on a run,” Richt said. “When a running back makes a mistake, it’s not good. When a receiver makes a mistake, you probably line up and play another down, you don’t have to punt or turn the ball over.”

Kevin Price, kprice@ledger-enquirer.com, 706-320-4493

This story was originally published July 22, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Kevin Price commentary: Crowell will have a lot to learn."