Dawn of the Dawg
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Georgia Football Weekly round up: First Scrimmage and more

By Alistair Penny

ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 24: Georgia Bulldogs mascot Hairy Dawg runs in the end zone with the Georgia flag after a touchdown during the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 24, 2007 at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 24: Georgia Bulldogs mascot Hairy Dawg runs in the end zone with the Georgia flag after a touchdown during the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 24, 2007 at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 19: Punter Collin Barber
NASHVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 19: Punter Collin Barber /

Does UGA have a new starting punter?

Last year, Georgia saw it’s starting punter Marshall Long go down towards the end of the season. That meant that Brice Ramsey, the 3rd string QB had to punt for the dawgs the rest of the year. After that experience, Georgia brought in some extra help in 2017 in the form of Cameron Nizialek. Nizialek is a graduate transfer from Columbia and his signing didn’t draw much attention in the 2017 class.

That being said, he seems to be pushing for a place on the field in 2017. Kirby Smart mentioned this past weekend that Nizialek has been better in practice so far than Long and he doesn’t believe that’s because of the injury. Long seems to be fully recovered, it just seems that Nizialek has been kicking better which is a good sign. Last season, Nizialek averaged over 44 yards per punt compared to Longs 39 yards. That being said, Long did punt the ball 15 times more so there was more room for error.

Either way, it seems that Smart continues to build competition throughout the team. By bringing in a one year option, he’s pushing Long to get better and may have found a new starter for 2017. Fans should also not forget that the 2018 signing class includes Jake Camarda, who is a top 5 recruit at both kicking and punting. Special teams is an area that should continue to improve under Smart.

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