Tuesday Practice Notes (10/22)

Two days ago, head coach Mark Richt was optimistic. After watching linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and tight end Tripp Chandler at practice this week, however, those hopes aren't quite as high.

Ellerbe has missed the past two games with a knee injury he suffered in the first quarter against Alabama nearly a month ago, but Richt said the senior hasn't regained the lateral movement he would like to see.

"He didn't look quite as agile as we had hoped," Richt said of Monday's practice session. "We are still going to let him go (the rest of the week) and see how he does. I would say I came out less optimistic he would play, but we still have a few more days."

Chandler also hurt his shoulder during the Alabama game, and he has struggled to get back into shape, too.

"There is some soreness," Richt said of Chandler's shoulder. "That is not necessarily an ending to his week of practice, but we were certainly hoping he would come through a little bit better."

-- After starting out the season as Georgia's primary punt returner, Asher Allen hasn't seen much special-teams work the past few weeks. His fellow cornerback Prince Miller has emerged as the primary returner since bringing a punt back 92 yards against Alabama, and freshman Logan Gray has split time as well.

That doesn't mean Allen is out of the rotation for good.

"Still practicing that," Allen said. "We have a lot of people, everybody's still catching them because you never know what can happen in the game."

Reshad Jones and Knowshon Moreno have also returned punts this season, and both could get more work in the future, Allen said. A year after setting the school record for most kickoff return yards in a season, Allen said he wouldn't mind seeing a few more touches, too.

"I've always been comfortable with the ball in my hand," Allen said. "I would love to, but coach is going to put the person he feels is best out there."

-- In his first six games at Georgia, Blair Walsh didn't miss a kick inside 50 yards. In his seventh, things weren't so pretty.

Walsh missed his first two kicks a week ago against Vanderbilt, one from 40 and one from 37 yards out. On the Bulldogs' final drive of the game, Richt said he considered punting the ball despite being inside Walsh's typical range, but gave his freshman one more shot instead.

The kicker connected from 39 yards, another sign, Richt said, that Walsh wouldn't be affected by a couple of misses.

"The first one maybe missed by (a few feet), and the second hit the post, so, It is not like he is yanking 'em or got the yips or anything," Richt said. "He is still striking the ball extremely well. I think he will be fine."

-- The SEC decided Tuesday there would be no punishment for an official who appeared to tackle South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia last weekend in a game against LSU.

While the league has downplayed the incident in which the official appeared to throw a shoulder into Garcia, knocking the quarterback to the ground, the clip has become a YouTube hit, even making the rounds within Georgia's locker room.

"I just thought it was funny," Moreno said. "I'd never seen anything like that before."

So would it be a problem if a referee were to ever send Moreno to the ground when he was carrying the ball?

"Nah," Moreno said. "He can't tackle me."