Spring Break
FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: OL Strickland to miss 2009 season
TYLER ESTEP
Issue date: 7/9/09 Section: Sports
The string of bad luck on Georgia's offensive line grew a little longer Wednesday.
Guard Tanner Strickland, a redshirt sophomore, will have surgery to correct a right shoulder injury sustained during offseason workouts, and will miss the 2009 season, the Athletic Association's Claude Felton said in a release.
Strickland's name was mentioned frequently as a potential backup during spring practice, but he will have to wait at least one more year to make due on the praise.
Georgia's offensive line has been a weakness in recent years, but improved greatly over the course of the 2008 season as experience was gained by a group of young linemen. Left tackle Trinton Sturdivant will be back after missing all of last season after an ACL tear, and linemates Chris Davis, Josh Davis and Vince Vance are all recovering from injuries.
Wheeling given scholarship: On a more positive note, walk-on defensive tackle Brandon Wheeling, in his last year of eligibility after transferring from West Georgia, was given a scholarship Wednesday - a lifetime dream made even more important by the fact that Wheeling's father, a truck driver, was recently laid off.
"With the economy and everything right now, it was huge," said Wheeling, a Dallas native. "My dad had been laid off recently, so that was huge for my whole family … It's just huge right now. Money's tight with everybody."
Wheeling, a 6-foot-3, 277 pounder who did not play last year, was named Outstanding Walk-On for the defense following spring practice.
"It's just a dream come true," he said. "To be able to come here and earn a scholarship before I even really get to play, really shows what kind of potential it looks like I have. I'm really excited about them showing me that respect."
Roommate found: Matthew Stafford inked the most lucrative NFL rookie contract in history in April, signing for six years and $72 million with the Detroit Lions.
But that doesn't mean he hasn't been a little delinquent with the rent for his former homestead in Athens.
Guard Tanner Strickland, a redshirt sophomore, will have surgery to correct a right shoulder injury sustained during offseason workouts, and will miss the 2009 season, the Athletic Association's Claude Felton said in a release.
Strickland's name was mentioned frequently as a potential backup during spring practice, but he will have to wait at least one more year to make due on the praise.
Georgia's offensive line has been a weakness in recent years, but improved greatly over the course of the 2008 season as experience was gained by a group of young linemen. Left tackle Trinton Sturdivant will be back after missing all of last season after an ACL tear, and linemates Chris Davis, Josh Davis and Vince Vance are all recovering from injuries.
Wheeling given scholarship: On a more positive note, walk-on defensive tackle Brandon Wheeling, in his last year of eligibility after transferring from West Georgia, was given a scholarship Wednesday - a lifetime dream made even more important by the fact that Wheeling's father, a truck driver, was recently laid off.
"With the economy and everything right now, it was huge," said Wheeling, a Dallas native. "My dad had been laid off recently, so that was huge for my whole family … It's just huge right now. Money's tight with everybody."
Wheeling, a 6-foot-3, 277 pounder who did not play last year, was named Outstanding Walk-On for the defense following spring practice.
"It's just a dream come true," he said. "To be able to come here and earn a scholarship before I even really get to play, really shows what kind of potential it looks like I have. I'm really excited about them showing me that respect."
Roommate found: Matthew Stafford inked the most lucrative NFL rookie contract in history in April, signing for six years and $72 million with the Detroit Lions.
But that doesn't mean he hasn't been a little delinquent with the rent for his former homestead in Athens.
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