MILLEDGEVILLE — Will this be the year for the GMC JC Bulldogs? Will they slither out of the pit of mediocrity and find their way back into the bowl picture?

The Bulldogs travel to Corsicana, Texas for their season opener Sept. 4 versus Top 10 Navarro, before their home opener Sept. 11 versus Top 5 ranked Snow, a game that could turn out to be the game of the year.

There is no doubt the Bulldogs have the talent to defeat anybody this season. Perhaps the biggest question mark is at quarterback, where they lost two starters and will work with several newcomers to see who has what it takes to get the job done.

“We just have to find out which quarterback can handle the pressure. Two guys went through spring that showed some capabilities. Signee Dylan Shaddix was a good quarterback in high school. He’s in the mix,” said GMC JC head coach Bert Williams.

Williams stated that his skill positions are still pretty solid and that the offense will need to go with what’s best for the team.

“We have to be willing to adapt our offense to what our tools allow us to be good at. Our offense is different — we don’t have the experience we had a year ago,” said Williams. “We have a strong group at running back, but we need to find our quarterback. We have a good tight end group and a good receiver group.”

The GMC JC defense is as good as any, and most teams won’t be able to just run the ball against them.

“I feel like we have the tools to be a very good team. The defense should be pretty strong. We have experience and talent and we have some good signees as well. We have the chance to make a strong unit even stronger,” said Williams.

The Bulldog offensive line should also be a formidable bunch once they all come together.

“We are still trying to evaluate that on the offensive side. One guy who has made tremendous improvements is (6-foot, 6-inch)  Kaleb Broome, who has already committed to an SEC school. He’s done a fine job in the classroom and in workouts. He had an injury that slowed him down but he’s back to 100 percent,” said Williams. “Micah James is another big, tall offensive lineman for us. He had a slow start, but he really worked hard in the offseason. He dropped weight and improved his foot speed.”

Williams said offensive lineman Rick Canty from Manning, S.C. seems to be motivated to do great things, and from an athletic and explosiveness standpoint is probably the best.

“Big (6-foot, 6-inch) Darvell Nelson is also a big body out there and he can move some meat for us,” said Williams.

At defensive end, All-American candidate Leroy Vick is coming off ACL surgery but is close to being back to 100 percent, which bodes well for the Bulldogs.

“Brad Spivey at the other end is one of our most consistent good players on the line. Brandon Johnson can also do some big things,” said Williams. [UGA recruit] Jalen Fields is also a big body and packs a lot of punch. He will do some big things for us. Keon Stowers is a converted linebacker and is super quick at that position.”

Williams is also excited about big Daniel McCullars (6-foot, 6-inches).

“He looks like a Paul Bunyan. He is super strong and he really worked super hard over the summer,” he said.

The defense’s most decorated player, linebacker Antonio Mitchum, is back, and is looking good after ACL surgery. He is now 100 percent.

“Demery Hawkins is also a very impacting player who can be a big play guy. He made several critical game-changing plays last year,” said Williams. “Qwontez Mallory, Marquis Lovett, Jarvis Brice — it’s a good group, a strong group. We are fortunate to have good players.”

GMC JC is also very strong in the secondary with Demario Gunn, Kentorious Jackson, Alex Brown and Demazio Skelton all returning. All made significant plays in 2009.

All in all, it’s going to be an exciting year for GMC JC, and Milledgeville really needs to come out Sept. 11 and root the Bulldogs back into the upper echilon of the NJCAA rankings.

2010 could turn out to be a very special year for the GMC JC Bulldogs.