Aron White doesn’t have the prototypical size for a tight end.

That’s OK with Georgia tight ends coach John Lilly, whose most productive player at the position at Florida State played at 228 pounds, the same weight as White.

Brandon Warren was a freshman All-American in 2006 when he had 28 catches for 301 yards. He transferred to Tennessee, which announced Tuesday that the NCAA has cleared him to play.

A year ago, the 6-foot-4 White worked with the receivers in the preseason and called himself a tight end/receiver. No more.

The Columbia, Mo. native played at 214 pounds this spring, but was up to 228 this preseason.

“Aron has kind of flicked the switch now that he’s going to be a tight end,” Lilly said. “He’s not a hybrid guy. He’s not going to move outside or stay inside or not sure what my position is. That’s the No. 1 most important thing.”

I feel like we have a little pot and kettle action going on with this whole
China substituted a “cute kid” for a “not as cute kid*” to sing a song during the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

Sure it sucks — for the “not as cute kid.”

Is it just me, or does it seem a tad bit hypocritical for Americans to be judging the Chinese after we gave the world Milli Vanilli and C+C Music Factory.

The fact of the matter is this country puts beauty above all else when it comes to ratings (see almost any show in primetime) and entertainment (see any number of celebutantes who do nothing except be pretty and go to parties).

Good morning, all.

Don’t blame Jay Cohen for this mess.

The career Navy man turned Homeland Security undersecretary of science has drawn serious fire for his mishandling of everything from process to tax dollars since he was appointed to his post in August 2006. Time and time again, he has refused to separate himself from the vast array of politically motivated stooges speckling this administration. So the fact he muddied up the site selection of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense facility with politics should come as no surprise.

Jay Cohen was just doing his job.

In fact, we should view his actions as a blessing. At least we know now that we’re playing a crooked game.

So, let’s decide if we want to keep playing.

For almost a year now, the death lab freedom fighters have been spamming anyone who’ll listen with forwards and links regarding the National But not in Athens Facility.

Personally, I don’t mind – I get NBAF Google alerts, but hey, maybe I missed it – so whatever anyone wants to send me, keep it coming. I can understand, though, why Athens-Clarke Commissioner Andy Herod finally snapped.

Activist Nancy Zechella sent a link about the Connecticut attorney general opposing the NBAF to Mayor Heidi Davison, all 10 commissioners me and Flagpole news editor Ben Emmanuel. It was the organic straw that broke the free-range, grass-fed, humanely raised camel's back.

Georgia has had a little success with former high school quarterbacks turned defensive backs since Mark Richt’s arrival.

Sean Jones went from playing quarterback at Westlake High School into an All-American safety. Thomas Davis played some quarterback and running back at Randolph-Clay before he made 272 tackles and 10 ½ sacks during his Bulldogs career.

Georgia can only hope for similar success from the batch of former high school quarterbacks that are making waves in Willie Martinez’s secondary in their first preseason in the program.

Brandon Boykin, Sanders Commings, Baccari Rambo and Nick Williams all were threats as quarterbacks before Georgia.

“I knew we were all athletic--the freshmen coming in,” Boykin said. “It was really a coincidence that we all played quarterback in high school Me, Nick, Sanders and Rambo.”

Good morning, all.

OK, so I’ll play the bad guy here: Who the heck is Rick Warren?

I know, I know. The guy leads a 20,000-member social club/mega church in Orange County, California. He’s a best-selling author of pop religion tomes that plaster his smiling face across the back cover. And he’s known for wearing wacky, Dom DeLuiseian Hawaiian shirts to church. He provides the kind of palatable, spoon-fed, strip-mall religion lapped up by modern flocks. Fine.

As we have seen his type come around every few years – the ever-smiling Joel Osteen and the hypocritical-closet case Ted Haggard – we knew Rick Warren before we knew Rick Warren. He’s the latest in a long line of men, who despite their proclamations to be servants of God, don’t mind using The Word to elevate their own standing in the world as well. Again, that’s all fine.

Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, won’t be attended John McCain’s fundraiser in Atlanta today. He has a birthday party to go to.

As the AJC pointed out Sunday, Georgia’s Republican congressmen didn’t exactly save the date for the McCain event.

Only one, Tom Price of Marietta, confirmed he would attend. Ben Smith quotes Broun as saying he wasn’t sure if he’d be there.

I followed up with Broun’s spokeswoman, Jessica Morris, who said the congressman had a scheduling conflict. He had already agreed to attend the birthday party of a 100-year-old Habersham County woman in Gainesville. Sensing where I was going with this, Morris emphasized that Broun has endorsed McCain and appeared with him at several events in Washington.

It was easy to forget about Israel Troupe among the Georgia wide receivers.

Incoming freshmen A.J. Green and Tavarres King created much buzz this summer.

Mohamed Massaquoi looked like he was ready to grab the leadership role and finish his Georgia career strong.

Kris Durham had a big game spring game. So did Michael Moore.

Coaches love the toughness that Tony Wilson brings to the field.

Don’t look now but Troupe, a redshirt freshman from Tifton, is the one taking advantage of some of the injuries at the position.

“Troupe’s come on because Troupe’s been out at practice,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “He’s a guy that’s needed reps and needed to get tougher and compete and he’s done that. He got a little banged up (right elbow/wrist/shoulder) and he got back out there and practiced. If you practice, you’re going to get better.”

At the end of the football season, the coaches’ ballots in the USA Today poll are released for public consumption.

It’s the only time during the season the curtain is pulled so you can form your own opinion about which coach is on top of the national scene and which one has been focused entirely on his next opponent.

The voting for the Associated Press poll is transparent from the get-go.

The Bulldogs got 22 first-place votes from as far away as Honolulu to as close by as Savannah.

The lowest Georgia was pegged was No. 7 by Mitch Vingle of the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia.

Voters who have a national profile ran the gamut. ESPN’s Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit put Georgia No. 2, Stewart Mandel of SI.com had the Bulldogs No. 3. and ABC’s Craig James listed Georgia as No. 6.

Jon Wilner, of the San Jose Mercury News, was one of three voters to put Georgia at No. 6.

Mark Richt isn’t downplaying Georgia’s No. 1 ranking, he’s embracing it.

The Associated Press media members ranked the Bulldogs No. 1 Saturday. Just like the coaches who vote in the USA Today coaches’ poll.

Instead of saying it’s how you finish that matters, the Georgia coach took a different approach with the dual No. 1 rankings.

“To me, I can’t think of any other word than just `excitement,’” Richt said after a Saturday morning practice. “I think it’s exciting for our program that people feel that way about us. It fires me up. There’s a lot of responsibility that goes along with it, but let’s face it, the football world thinks we’ve got a shot and they are holding us in high esteem right now. We need to do everything in our power to keep it there.”