Five Dawgs named to preseason lists

ATHENS, Ga. ‹ The Maxwell Football Club has released its 2005 watch lists for the Maxwell and the Chuck Bednarik awards, and five Georgia football players appear on those lists.

Tailback Thomas Brown, tight end Leonard Pope and quarterback D.J. Shockley are among the players on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is presented annually to the collegiate player of the year. Safety Greg Blue and defensive end Quentin Moses are candidates for the Bednarik Award, which goes to the nation¹s top defensive player.

Ten semifinalists will be announced in October, and then three finalists will be selected in November for each award. The winners will be announced at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show in December. The formal presentations of the awards will be take place in February at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Banquet.

Brown, a sophomore from Tucker, led the Bulldogs last season with 875 yards and eight touchdowns. He ended the 2004 campaign with 111 yards, his fourth game over the century mark, in the Outback Bowl. His 875 yards rank third in school history among freshman running backs.

Shockley, a senior from College Park, has thrown for 967 yards and 10 touchdowns the past three seasons in a reserve role and he is coming off a solid spring that he capped with three touchdown passes in the G-Day Game.

Pope, a junior from Americus, caught two of Shockley¹s touchdown passes in the G-Day Game. Pope became a force in the Georgia offense last year, catching six touchdown passes among his 25 receptions.

Blue, a senior from College Park, is Georgia¹s leading returning tackler with 80 (just one behind All-American and first-round NFL draft pick Thomas Davis). Blue paced Georgia with 64 solo tackles and three caused fumbles, and he notched three tackles for loss.

Moses, a junior from Athens, quietly had 6.5 sacks among his 23 tackles last season, and he seems poised for a breakout season after spelling three-time All-American and first-round NFL draft pick David Pollack.