Murray talks of a desire to 'change the culture' around program

Last week's announcement of a change in the strength and conditioning program seems to have been met by Georgia players with dual reactions: Surprise that Dave Van Halanger was moved off, but support for Joe Tereshinski II.

In fact, quarterback Aaron Murray said on Saturday that while Van Halanger will be missed in the weightroom, Tereshinski's promotion should have positive results.

“It caught us off guard a little bit,” Murray said of the job moves, which were announced on Dec. 2. “Coach Van’s a tremendous coach. We loved him greatly. He did a great job of getting us ready for each season.

“We definitely have a lot of faith in coach T that he’s gonna get us going for this offseason. We’re pretty excited for that. We’re ready to work hard and change the culture around here a little bit.”

Murray was asked what he meant by changing the culture.

“We just wanna win. It’s not good enough to go 8-5, and hopefully 7-6 this year," he said. "We want to win the SEC championship, and an NCAA championship. That only comes with working hard, and that’s our goal this offseason.”

The announced changes in the strength and conditioning program have already begun, at least one part of them.

Since the job change was announced, Van Halanger has spent his time at the Butts-Mehre building, with his assistants working with players in the weight room. Van Halanger was assigned new administrative duties to Richt.

Tereshisnki II, who was put in charge of the strength program, is due to start the job on Jan. 1, the day after the Liberty Bowl.

Interestingly, linebacker Marcus Dowtin said he was already closer to Tereshinski, whose official title included assistant strength and conditioning coordinator.

“I know he’s probably going to expect a lot out of me,” Dowtin said. “It’s something to look forward to.”