Tuesday morning notes

Greetings from Stegeman Coliseum, where Mark Richt is T-minus a half-hour from his weekly news conference. I’ll have details afterwards, but before that here are a few extra notes:

- Punter Drew Butler acknowledged that he’s disappointed in his performance so far. He had a down day at South Carolina, then his final punt against Arkansas helped the Razorbacks decide to go for the game-winning drive.

“That last punt, I just didn’t execute it well, kinda put the defense in a bad spot,” Butler said. “I’ve taken responsibility for that. I’ve talked to the coaches about it. I’ve gotta move on.”

Butler said he’s healthy. The poor punting has just been

“Kicking’s a lot like golf. I know people say that a lot," Butler said. "But if you have a bad front nine, you kind of go to the halfway house, take a deep breath and go play well on the back nine. And that’s how punting is.

“I was kicking the ball well, and then just had a bad 18th hole, I guess you could say. I double-bogeyed the final hole. But there’s always another week. And the season’s young.”

- Players did notice last Saturday that fans were leaving Sanford Stadium early in the fourth quarter.

Jakar Hamilton was on the sideline, having been benched following his second facemask penalty. The Bulldogs were down 24-10 when some fans headed for the exits, but a couple big drives probably made them regret it.

“People were leaving the stadium, thinking the game was over with,” Hamilton said. “So when we stopped them, and we scored, it just brought back life.”

- Finally, count me among the many who were baffled, and disheartened, upon the news of Kenny McKinley’s death. The former South Carolina receiver reportedly took his own life in Denver, where he was in his second year with the Broncos. He was on the injured list this season.

I covered McKinley almost his entire career at South Carolina, where he finished as the school’s leading receiver. If you were at the Georgia game a couple weeks ago, you might have seen his name and stats painted on one of the walls. He broke Sterling Sharpe’s school records.

McKinley, who grew up and played high school ball in Atlanta, was at the Georgia-South Carolina game, and was introduced to the crowd during a timeout. He was cheered wildly.

Kenny always had a smile on his face, and was one of, if not my favorite, interview on the team. Such a pleasant disposition, and came from a good family. It just doesn’t make sense. Rest in peace.