Notes from Richt teleconference

First let's get the major issue out of the way: Georgia head coach Mark Richt said he had nothing to add on the A.J. Green situation.

“Same answer right now,” Richt said on his Sunday teleconference.

One receiver who will return to the field is Tavarres King. The sophomore is coming off his one-game suspension following an alcohol-related arrest.

King had a “super summer,” according to Richt, who added that the receiver is becoming a better blocker and “more tenacious.”

“I would think he would he’ll definitely have an impact on this game,” Richt said.

More notes:

- No further injuries were reported. At least that’s what Richt inferred after not hearing from the training staff as of 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, which he took to be a good sign.

Even linebacker Richard Samuel, who was on crutches Saturday, isn’t ruled out to return soon. Richt said the crutches were a precautionary measure because of the swelling in his knee.

- Richt called South Carolina a “more honest” test. And the same goes for freshman quarterback Aaron Murray.

“He played a game in front of a big crowd. He got a chance to get hit a little bit,” Richt said of the opener. “But I think next week’s gonna be another new experience for him. Playing away, playing in a hostile environment, playing against another Southeastern Conference opponent.”

- The carries among the running backs will be “interesting” to see, Richt said. That’s after Carlton Thomas’ performance and the pending return of Washaun Ealey. Thomas did have one near-fumble near the goal-line, when he was ruled down, but Richt said Thomas did a good job overall of securing the ball.

“With Washaun coming back, it’s gonna be hard to see exactly how the reps are distributed,” Richt said.

- That said, the coach granted that the run game in general could have been better. He traced that back to the offensive line having a rash of preseason injuries – a concern Richt voiced some time ago.

“Overall it was a good day, it wasn’t a great day, running the ball,” he said on Sunday. “I think once we play a little bit longer together, practice a little more together, I think we’ll be fine. I think the time that some of those guys missed certainly made a difference in this game. So hopefully as the season goes on we’ll get sharper and sharper.”

- As you would expect, Richt scoffed at the idea that Florida's fumble-itis in its opener gives notion to the idea of the SEC East being "wide open." Richt first said he always thought the division was wide-open, then went into why he didn't think the Gators' problems were a long-term one.

“I’m assuming our guys watch highlights of all these games," Richt said. "But fumbles on QB-center exchanges, those things can be easily repaired. If you take those plays out of what happened to Florida, it’s a whole different ballgame. You can’t just sit there and hope a team is gonna fumble it five or six times.”

- Upon reviewing the tape, Richt was even more impressed by the pick by Sanders Commings.

“That was about as fine an interception as I have seen,” Richt said.

- Finally, Richt was very impressed with how South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia looked on Thursday.

“It just looks like he’s in charge,” Richt said. “Like he has taken on the leadership.”