Notes: Smith Will See Work on Offense

A year ago, Branden Smith had five more touches on offense than he had tackles on defense. But for the speedy cornerback, his sophomore campaign figures to include a lot more time in the defensive backfield – and perhaps a bit less time making plays for the offense.

While Smith is currently listed behind Vance Cuff at corner on Georgia’s depth chart, he still has a strong shot at winning the starting job in the fall, and he would almost certainly be the first defensive back off the bench in nickel situations. That could complicate things a tad when the Bulldogs’ offensive coaches want to give Smith a chance to get a few touches on that side of the ball this season.

“We want to use Branden offensively still because he was very effective,” Mark Richt said. “But he will probably be getting a lot more work on the defensive side of the ball, and he may very well be the starter by the time the season rolls around.”

That doesn’t mean the increased workload on defense will necessarily stifle Smith’s potential on offense. Richt said his goal is to make sure Georgia’s most explosive players get a chance to score as often as possible on offense, and that includes the speedy Smith. Just how much Smith sees action on offense, however, likely depends on the progress of Georgia’s other receivers and on Smith’s conditioning in the early part of the season.

“Those first three games are going to be high noon, and it’s going to be tremendously hot,” Richt said. “So we’re going to have to look in his eye and decide if he’s got enough juice to go run that reverse or whatever play and still have the energy he needs to cover guys throughout the ballgame. But I think as the weather cools down, that shouldn’t be a factor.”

BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER

Marlon Brown’s slow start to his college career came as a surprise to many fans who expected the highly recruited wide receiver to blossom as a freshman the way A.J. Green had the year before. Richt knew better.

“Marlon played in a league (in high school) that didn’t challenge him much physically in my opinion,” Richt said. “He was kind of a man among boys in that league, and I really felt like it was going to take him a little time to get up to speed with SEC play.”

At Harding Academy in Memphis, the 6-foot-5 Brown had an easy go of things. At Georgia, however, growing pains were in store.

So none of Brown’s early struggles proved disappointing to Richt. Instead, the coach is thrilled to see just how much his young receiver has developed since catching just two passes his rookie year.

“He’s in tremendous condition, and he’s big, strong, physical,” Richt said. “He might be the best blocking receiver right now, and he’s only getting stronger.”

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENTS

After saying goodbye to five senior defensive tackles – including three who were taken in April’s NFL draft – Richt figured there would be some big transitions in store on the defensive line. On the plus side, however, the team’s move to a 3-4 defensive scheme – with just three down linemen used in a base set – there was one fewer hole to fill.

“Interior D line, we lost five seniors inside, and you’d think that would be a big issue,” Richt said. “And it probably will. That’s one of our concerns. Some guys might just mature fast enough to play that position. But just people learning in general, there’s a lot to learn out there.”

Still, there are some reasons for optimism, including the progress made by junior DeAngelo Tyson, sophomore Abry Jones and redshirt freshman Kwame Geathers – all who figure to play prominent roles on the line in 2010.

The wild card, however, might be Justin Anderson – a converted offensive lineman who has yet to practice with the defense, but whose 330-pound frame could make him a one-man wrecking crew at the nose position.

"It's going to be a challenge to see if these guys can really control the double teams that they need to inside,” Richt said of the nose position. “That's part of the reason we moved Justin Anderson in there is because he is a big, giant, powerful man and if he can take to it, I think he's going to be tough to block."

EXPANDING ISSUES

With the first dominoes of conference expansion beginning to fall, the questions about what will happen in the SEC continue to abound.

With Colorado and Nebraska appearing close to a move, the ripple effects of what could be the demise of the Big 12 could be huge. And with that in mind, even Richt, who had been skeptical that any big changes were in store, admits things are heating up everywhere.

“There’s some really serious stuff going on out there,” Richt said. “I don’t know about our league. I really feel like we have a great league, and a lot of people believe that. … I don’t think we’re in a rush to change much, but I do think Commissioner (Mike) Slive will make a good decision. I’m sure he’s thinking about what’s going on in the college football landscape and I think he’ll keep us on top.”

While teams like Texas, Virginia Tech or Miami have been discussed as potential SEC additions should expansion occur, the most prevalent rumors seem to surround Georgia’s neighbors on the recruiting trail, including Georgia Tech, Clemson and Florida State.

While the Bulldogs already go head to head with those schools for the top recruits, Richt’s coaches currently have the distinct advantage of being the only one among that group that can provide the prestige of a career in the SEC. And while that’s no doubt a luxury, Richt said, he doesn’t believe expansion would necessarily have a big impact on how the Bulldogs recruit.

"Some (recruits) really want to play in the Southeastern Conference, but there's a lot of them that are just trying to find the best fit for them," he said.

EVANS TAKES BLAME

Two weeks ago, Georgia athletics director Damon Evans told the school’s athletics association board of directors that he had a clear mission for the Bulldogs’ teams in 2010: “We must do better.”

While that means ratcheting up expectations for sports like football and baseball – both of which drastically underperformed expectations during the 2009-10 seasons – Evans isn’t taking any heat off himself for Georgia’s unusually lackluster athletics during the past year.

“I take full responsibility because at the end of the day the buck stops with me,” Evans said. “I’m not the guy doing the Xs and Os and recruiting and all of that, but I do believe that as the leader of an organization that I’ve got to provide them with the necessary resources to be successful – whether that’s from money to facilities or what have you – and at the same time, am I providing the leadership that’s going to allow us to rise and be where we should be. That’s why I have to take a look at myself as well. You can’t run away from things.”

Five Dawgs Who Could Surprise

Yesterday Georgia announced it had placed five players on Phil Steele's All-America teams and 14 on his All-SEC teams. That's a pretty impressive tally, putting the Bulldogs on par with reigning national champ Alabama.

But while having 14 players make Steele's All-SEC teams, here's my question: Could there be more by season's end?

With that said, here are five players who didn't make Steele's preseason list who I think could turn into All-SEC caliber performers by year's end.

5. Branden Smith. If things fall right, Smith could find his name on the All-SEC teams twice at year's end. He's in line to earn a significant amount of time at corner -- and possibly the starting job -- and as a five-star recruit with blazing speed, there's no reason to think he won't develop into a legit playmaker. He could also end up returning punts this season and, if he avoids the fumbling problems he had last year, could turn in a Brandon Boykin-esque performance.

4. Akeem Dent. Last year was a lost one for Dent, but he made some nice strides in 2008 and appears to be fully healthy for 2010. He's the veteran leader of the linebacking corps, and he'll be counted on heavily in Todd Grantham's 3-4 defense. If he can turn in the type of senior season he's capable of having, that would be huge news for both Dent's future prospects in the NFL and for Georgia's defense as a whole.

3. Tavarres King. Perhaps Kris Durham should be here instead. Or maybe Marlon Brown or Rantavious Wooten. But someone is going to be the beneficiary of all the attention A.J. Green gets, which means there will be plenty of opportunities for another WR to step up and turn in a strong season.

2. Abry Jones. Any kid that impresses Rodney Garner within a few weeks of arriving on campus as a true freshman has to have something going for him. Jones is strong and fast and could be a force as a pass rusher in the 3-4. How well he holds up against the run as part of the new-look D line will likely be what defines his sophomore campaign, but the potential is definitely there.

1. Cornelius Washington. Justin Houston's inclusion on Steele's first-team All-SEC list was well deserved, but Washington -- the other starting OLB -- is going to be given a chance to shine this year, too. For one, his skill set makes him a perfect fit at OLB, whereas he was a bit out of place in the more traditional DE in a 4-3. Secondly, Houston had such a strong 2009 season that he'll have to command more attention from the opposition, which could help free things up for Washington. The sophomore showed flashes last season, had an excellent G-Day performance, and I'll be shocked if he doesn't become a consistent threat as a pass rusher in 2010.

I should probably also include Caleb King on this list, but I'm guessing Phil Steele essentially flipped a coin on Georgia's running backs and went with Washaun Ealey as his rep. Odds are only one of the two will make an All-SEC team, but the chances are strong for either one. And, if by chance both prove to be All-SEC worthy by year's end, there's probably a good chance Georgia will be playing for an SEC title, too.

So… who do you think might also step up and surprise?

Notes: Smith Stictly on D... For Now

(*Note: Be sure to check out my story in today's Telegraph on how Georgia's offensive players see the defense improving.)

With the dearth of healthy wide receivers Georgia has been able to work with this spring, it might be a surprise that rising sophomore Branden Smith hasn’t run a snap on the offensive side of the ball.

But after splitting time with the offense and defense as a freshman, Smith is spending this spring concentrating on his primary job – winning the starting job at cornerback.

“For the most part, he’s been working at corner,” said new defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos. “He’s got some things he does with special teams, but as far as how they’re going to utilize him of offense, that’s to be determined.”

Lakatos said he’s not averse to sharing Smith with the offense, but for now the speedy corner is working on fine-tuning his coverage skills as part of Todd Grantham’s new defensive scheme.

Last year, Smith rushed 17 times for 208 yards and two touchdowns, caught two passes for seven yards and finished with 14 tackles and two pass breakups while playing in all 13 games.

This spring he’s been splitting time between the first- and second-team units with fellow corner Vance Cuff and working occasionally at the nickel position.

“We’re trying to get him exposed to as much stuff as we can,” Lakatos said.

MURRAY BACK AT WORK

Aaron Murray has collected plenty of headlines this spring as he battles for the starting quarterback job, but it’s his brother who received some good news last week.

Josh Murray, a walk-on defensive back who arrived at Georgia with his brother last year, resumed practicing after missing most of the past nine months with a knee injury.

“He’s rehabbing,” Aaron Murray said of his brother. “He’s getting better. He’s slowly getting back. He started doing drills with the DBs finally.”

Josh Murray was a second-round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in the Major League Baseball draft in 2007 but after two seasons in the minors decided to give football a try.

A knee injury flared up during fall camp last season, however, and Murray only practiced sporadically before undergoing surgery to clean up the injury. Although Murray is working at practice again, he is still limited but expected to be fully healthy by the fall and will compete for special teams and reserve defensive back duty.

“They pretty much had to get in there and clean it all up,” Aaron Murray said. “Hopefully it’ll be better in the next month or so.”

MORE INJURY UPDATES

Tailback Caleb King and wide receiver Marlon Brown, both in green non-contact jerseys last week, are expected to be back to full practices as early as today, giving Georgia a relatively complete roster to work with during the final week of spring drills.

The handful of players who remain sidelined, including linemen Trinton Sturdivant and A.J. Harmon and fullback Fred Munzenmaier, all are expected to be ready when fall camp opens in August, giving head coach Mark Richt reason to smile.

“It is by far the least amount of green shirts we’ve had in a long time,” he said.

The good news spread even further as freshman offensive lineman Austin Long was cleared to resume lifting weights more than a year after undergoing back surgery. Long has yet to practice fully in a Bulldogs uniform.

As of now, Richt said the only player still questionable for the start of fall camp is incoming freshman lineman Brent Benedict, who injured his knee in a game last October.

“That’s still up in the air, but we’re still very hopeful that he’ll be able to practice,” Richt said. “We’re not sure, but we’re hopeful.”

Monday Mini Mailbag

Running through a handful of questions from the past week or so on this lovely Monday afternoon...

Story: It seems odd that with all the depth issues at wide receiver the coaches are standing firm Branden Smith will focus primarily on defense. I'm not so sure Thing One couldn't be a Percy Harvin clone.

David: For now, Smith is only working on defense, according to DBs coach Scott Lakatos.

“For the most part, he’s been working at corner," Lakatos said. "He’s got some things he does with special teams, but as far as how they’re going to utilize him of offense, that’s to be determined.”

I think this is more of a spring practice mentality though. There's a new defense being installed and a new coach at Smith's position, so it was important to maximize his time on that side of the ball. When the fall rolls around, my guess is we'll see a bit different approach, and Lakatos said he doesn't mind sharing.

“That’s up to whatever we need to do to win games,” Lakatos said.

As for how Smith is doing in his job at corner, it's been a little bit of an up-and-down spring, but he's not lacking for action.

“We’ve had him with the second unit and in the nickel stuff and he’s worked with both groups," Lakatos said. "He’s played corner and some nickel, and we’re trying to get him exposed to as much stuff as we can.”

Carter writes: We fans found out after the season ended that Joe Cox's actual height was significantly shorter than his listed. We were told he was a Drew Brees when he was actually a Doug Flutie. Please allay my fears and tell me that Murray is a legit 6'1".

David: Well, I've never held a tape measure up to make sure, but Murray looks to me to have an inch or two on Cox for sure. That said, he's definitely the shortest of the three QBs competing this spring.

But it's about more than height, too. Cox's physical issues were threefold:

1.) He wasn't particularly tall -- probably in the 5-11 to 6-foot range.

2.) He didn't have the strongest of arms and was also battling a shoulder injury. Despite what most fans seemed to think, this didn't bother him on the deep throws, which he actually connected on at a decent clip. It was the throws over the middle that needed some extra zip to float over a linebacker. Cox's arm strength issues weren't about throwing for distance, they were about throwing with heat.

3.) Cox was slow-footed, which exacerbated the issues with his height.

In Murray's case, he isn't significantly taller than Cox, but every little bit helps.

Moreover, his arm is a good bit stronger. While Zach Mettenberger gets the hype for his Stafford-esque cannon, Murray's not that far behind. The kid can zip passes over the middle with plenty of heat.

And the most important thing with Murray is that he's mobile -- not just in terms of breaking contain and picking up yards downfield, but he moves in the pocket.

When you're shorter, you need to be able to move around to find a throwing lane. Cox did that, but not nearly as well as Murray can. Heck, even if you're a QB who is 6-5, there are going to be a number of linemen who still tower above you, so movement in the pocket is still going to matter. Murray does it as well as anyone.

Meat writes: I was doing the Red and Black crossword while reading this blog while not studying for my test tomorrow and one of the answers was Hale. The definition is healthy. For whatever that's worth.

David: I ate tacos for breakfast today. For whatever that's worth.

Trae writes: What are the "rolls" that you keep speaking of? I know they are punishment but what exactly do the players do?

David: They're pretty much exactly what they sound like. Players essentially roll from one end zone to the other and back again. And if this doesn't sound all that bad, I'd encourage you to try it. I think Thursday was the worst I've seen players look coming off the field in a long, long time.

Dawgjammin writes: Odd to not see any receiving stats on the TE's Charles or White. How is Figgins doing this spring? What about WOOTEN DA BALL CARRIEAH?

David: The scrimmage stats we get from Richt are generally the leaders in the stat categories, rather than a complete list. If you notice, the QBs had 30 completions total, but we only had 15 receptions listed on the stat sheet. So most of those were going to guys like White, Charles, Wooten and Figgins.

As for Bruce Figgins specifically, I talked to Orson Charles about him and he said Figgins looks great so far.

HVL Dawg writes: I've heard more about hips this year than any time before in life. Who knew hips were this important in football?

David: It's amazing how much you can learn from Shakira about football, isn't it?

AppleDawg writes: People better prepare themselves for our D to have major issues at time for 2010.

A 3-4 D is not put in and working in less than a year. Glance at Saban's first years of installing his system at MSU, LSU, and Bama and you see struggles and embarrassing loses his first year (UAB at LSU, ULM at Bama)

We will have a LOT of players out of position during big games, imo

David: I wrote about reasons for optimism last week, and I think there are plenty.

This, however, is not one of them.

As much as I believe this defense will be improved longterm, it's not an overnight fix. The players are learning more each day, but being able to execute a new scheme at full speed during game conditions takes a lot more than 15 spring practices to perfect. Moreover, Grantham is still coaching with players brought in for a 4-3 scheme, not a 3-4. There's no traditional nose, far too few outside linebackers, and while the corners should be decent this year, Scott Lakatos much prefers taller players for the job.

I'd say there's a good chance the defense will be better overall in 2010 than it was in 2009, which is a good thing. But make no mistake, there will be problems, there will be some big plays, and there will be some games you'll leave shaking your head wondering what happened.

It's a work in progress, which means a good bit of the situations these players see on the field this year will be situations they'll be seeing for the first time. I think Grantham is a heck of a coach, but as you wrote, if it takes Saban at least a year to get things right, it's hard to hold anyone else to a higher standard.

BigMuddyDawg writes: I feel really terrible for all of those involved. I've read that Montez has led a rough life and I'm certainly not making any excuses for his actions. But I was very hopeful that under the guidance of Mark Richt and his staff, Montez would be able put a lot of the bad stuff behind him. I still believe in him and will continue to hope for the best for him.

David: That's been one side of the fallout from Montez Robinson's dismissal. This has been the other...

Trey writes: Really? You are on scholarship to a great school and you can't keep from beating the crap out of people even though you know it will probably be strike three? Nobody should feel sorry for this young man, what an idiot.

David: And I get that, too. If you're a fan who has seen your school's reputation take a hit because of a player who had multiple chances to do the right thing, you have every right to be angry.

I'm not going to make any excuses for Montez. He had more than enough chances, and Mark Richt's decision was no doubt the right one. But having said that, anyone who doesn't think this is sad news all around simply doesn't have a clue what Montez has been through.

I had planned to write an in-depth story on Robinson's background and what led him to Georgia. I may still do that, but obviously it will have a far different tone now. In order to finish the story, I'd need to talk to Montez again, too, and for a kid who has some very serious trust issues, I can't help but wonder if that will be an option. We shall see.

I did start working on the story though, and I learned more than enough about who Montez Robinson is to share a few things:

1.) The people who are blaming Rodney Garner now for bringing Robinson to Georgia are absurd. First off, Garner recruited a heck of a football player, and Georgia was hardly the only top school going after Robinson.

Secondly, Robinson and Garner have a similar past, and I know Garner saw something in Montez that made him want to believe this kid could turn his life around. I didn't spend nearly as much time with Robinson as Garner did, and I wanted to believe, too.

But most importantly, football at this level is often about giving kids a chance, and Montez is hardly the only player with a problematic background to come to Georgia. In fact, he's not the only player on this year's team with a background that involves group homes, foster families and very little parental oversight. The impressive thing is how many of those kids have become exactly what Garner hoped Montez would become.

I'm sure I'll be ripped for being a flaming liberal by a handful of people who think I'm making excuses for people who aren't taking responsibility for their own behavior, but I think Garner -- and obviously Mark Richt and all the college coaches who undertake the responsibility of trying to change the lives of kids like Montez -- should be credited for the immense number of success stories rather than trashed by fans because a few didn't manage to overcome the immense obstacles set before them.

For someone like Montez to turn his life around, to become the person his background never gave him the chance to be, to find happiness in a life that has been filled with disappointment -- that almost takes a miracle. And while it's the sad situations like Robinson now finds himself in that steal most of the headlines, I'm continually amazed at how many miracles the game of college football continues to provide for kids like him.

2.) Montez ruined his best chance to turn his life around, and he did so by hurting the people who most wanted to help. I can understand why some fans now think he's not deserving of their sympathy. But this is a story that goes well beyond Montez. He supported his family. His younger brothers looked up to him as if he were some sort of god. He was supposed to be blazing the path out of an awful situation that the rest of his brothers and sisters could then follow. I can't fathom what a crushing blow this is for them, particularly given all the disappointment that they've already faced in their lives. The ripple effects of this situation go well beyond the depth chart at outside linebacker.

3.) I understand the sentiment that Robinson had more than his share of chances, and I understand the frustration that comes when he knew what would happen if he messed up again, and he did it anyway.

But I'll share one final story with you that I hope helps shed a little bit of light on all of this.

I talked to Rodney Garner about Montez back in November, and he told me that he was particularly happy about a recent breakthrough the two of them had. A few weeks earlier, Garner had sent Robinson a text message telling him he loved him.

Robinson's reaction was utter confusion. He didn't understand why Garner would say something like that. Garner told me Montez was actually afraid Garner might be gay, or that responding to the sentiment would make him gay.

It was the first time in Robinson's life that an adult male had said he loved him, and Robinson had no idea how to respond.

This is the inherent problem for kids like Montez. What most of us take for granted as normal ways of handling our emotions are completely foreign for him. For Montez to properly channel his anger or communicate his feelings is like you or I trying to speak Latin. He simply was never given the training or education or tools to do it, and that's not something that a few months of therapy or coaching oversight can change.

In the weeks after that, however, Montez came to grips with things. He talked to Thomas Settles, the chaplain at Georgia, and he talked about his feelings a bit with Garner, too. Those were big steps for a kid who doesn't trust anyone easily. By the time I interviewed Garner for the story, Robinson was at a point where he could tell Garner he loved him, too.

That was a monumental step forward for Robinson. The shame of it is, I can't help but wonder how many more steps forward he might have been able to take if he hadn't let down the people who care the most about him.

Ultimately, we're all responsible for our own actions, and I have no doubt Montez knows that, too. His decisions and his actions are what led him to where he is now.

Mark Richt made the right decision Sunday. Montez made too many of the wrong decisions along the way. But I think the best response to all of this -- and perhaps the only thing to take from a very sad situation -- is this one...

Young Swole writes: Life is more important than football. I hope you can find some peace in your life one day Montez.

David: Well said.

Georgia returns to the practice field tomorrow. We're still waiting to hear if there will be any announcement from Mark Richt today about the taxi incident. If anything comes up between now and then, I'll have it posted here.

And if you have a question for future mailbags, feel free to email me at dhale@macon.com.

Notes: Outside Look at Inside Linebacker

It’s safe to say Justin Houston is excited about his new role on Georgia’s defense. His job – mainly crushing a few quarterbacks – won’t change much, but he’s loving the new setting of the 3-4 defense, where he moves to outside linebacker from defensive end.

“It was a good experience to be out there learning what we’ve got to work on,” Houston said of the Bulldogs’ first taste of the new scheme last week. “I just have to drop back (into coverage) every now and then. I like to drop back. I get tired of just banging all the time.”

Houston admitted he wasn’t always fully aware of where he was supposed to be or what he was supposed to do during Day 1 of practice, but he thinks he’ll pick up the basics pretty quickly. His teammates playing inside linebacker, however, won’t have it quite so easy.

“The inside guy has a lot to learn,” Houston said. “The outside guys, to me it’s simple. I’m picking it up pretty fast. But the inside guys, Akeem Dent and Darryl Gamble, we were talking about it coming off the field that the things they have to learn, they’ve got a long ways to go.”

New defensive coordinator Todd Grantham will be coaching the outside linebackers and said their primary role is still to rush the quarterback. The inside linebackers, however, will have an increased presence in the running game, will be required to work in coverage and the Mike linebacker position will essentially be the quarterback of the defense.

“It’ll mean more communication, especially from my part,” said Gamble, a senior who played middle linebacker for much of the past two seasons. “You’ve got to be able to see more, get the line and even the DBs adjusted to what’s going on in front of us.”

It’s no surprise then that the two top contenders for the job are Georgia’s most veteran linebackers – Gamble and Dent.

“Me and him, we’ve got a lot of reps under our belt, more than a lot of other guys on the defense,” Gamble said. “So it’ll be better off hearing it from us than hearing from somebody else that doesn’t know a lot about what’s going on on Saturdays.”

ON THE MOVE

Nick Williams arrived at Georgia as a safety. Midway through his freshman season, he moved to linebacker. When injuries disrupted the depth chart at safety last spring, he moved back to safety. By the time the season started, however, he was a linebacker once again. And now, as spring begins for Georgia in 2010, Williams is once again on the move – and he couldn’t be happier.

“I was excited when I heard I was back at safety,” Williams said. “I liked linebacker, but I wasn’t big enough. I knew that, but I was going to play it regardless. So when Coach (Mark Richt) told me I was going back to safety, and this was my permanent spot, I’m like, ‘That’s good.’ It wasn’t hard switching back.”

Williams said he needs to drop a few pounds before the season starts – he’s at about 220 now – but beyond that, safety feels like home.

Even better than the new position, however, is the new style, Williams said. In Grantham’s new defense, the safeties are given a lot more room to run and make plays, and that’s exactly what Williams wants to do.

“This is just a fun defense to play in,” he said. “You’re running around making plays. You’re not just assigned to one gap. You’re making plays. You never know who’s blitzing, the safeties are always running and moving around. It’s fun.”

Of course, before Williams can make too many plays, he needs to land a starting job. Both of last year’s starters are gone, which leaves the competition this spring tight between Bacarri Rambo – last year’s top backup – junior college transfer Jakar Hamilton, veteran Quintin Banks and Williams.

During Georgia’s first practice, Williams said he and Hamilton split most of the first-team reps, but said the other safety position really isn’t up for grabs.

“I see it as one open position because Rambo’s got his locked,” Williams said. “He’s ready to go.”

ANY WAY YOU WANT IT

Branden Smith had plenty of highlight moments in his freshman campaign, but he didn’t exactly secure his place in the pecking order of the defensive backfield. In fact, much of Smith’s impact in 2009 was felt on the offensive side of the football.

That should change a bit this season as Smith battles to land the starting job at cornerback opposite Brandon Boykin, but his playing time on offense last year didn’t necessarily maximize his study time for his current job.

“I wish I could have played defense a little more last year, but on the other hand, I’m just here to help the team win, that’s all,” Smith said.

Smith finished last season with just 14 tackles and two pass break-ups, playing in a back-up role on defense, generally in nickel coverages.

On offense, Smith met with a bit more success – rushing for 208 yards and two touchdowns on the season. He handled kick returns, too, but has occasional problems hanging onto the football.

This spring, Smith said he plans to focus on developing his skills at corner and said he hasn’t spoken with new defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos about playing offense or special teams, too. Still, the idea of being an all-purpose contributor remains of keen interest for Smith.

“I like playing both ways, but my main focus is just winning,” Smith said. “If I had to play offense the rest of the season to help the team win, that’s what I’d have to do.”

For now, however, Smith's role is to be the student, and he's enjoying the early lessons from his new coach.

“Coach Lakatos is real different from (former) Coach (Willie) Martinez. Both of them have their ways, just teaching different stuff," Smith said. "Now we’ve got to learn the things (Lakatos) is teaching us, and … his teaching style is way different. Coach Lakatos, he sits down and shows us how to do things. He is a teacher, really.”

HEAD OF THE CLASS

Kris Durham is thrilled to be suiting up this spring in order to finish out his Georgia career on a high note. But it's not just on the field.

Durham gets decked out for his other full-time gig each day this semester, too. He's student teaching a history class at Oconee County Middle School to finish up his degree, and while he's in charge of the classroom, he said he's learned a few lessons along the way.

“It’s definitely different," said Durham, who plans to begin grad school at UGA this summer. "I used to think I was getting away with a lot of stuff, but teachers see more than you think they do.”

Each weekday from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., Durham is in the classroom, with recent lectures focusing on civil rights, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott.

Of course, before he could get to teaching, he had to get past the excitement among his students that they would be learning from a Georgia football player.

Durham didn't reveal his other job, but his students had no trouble unveiling his true identity.

“They figured that out after about the first 20 minutes," Durham said. "I had to get that out of the way real quick and make sure they saw me as not just a football player, but I’m here to help you guys learn and help educate.”

As much as Durham is looking forward to getting back on the football field after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury, his off-field work is proving every bit as rewarding.

“I’ve been blessed by having so many good teachers and coaches, I just feel like that’s how I’ve got to pay it forward,” he said. "I get to enjoy the youth of America. I get to have my influence on them. It’s just a good way to give back.”

WHAT THE OFFENSE SEES

Not sure if I had posted this before, but here's Mike Bobo's take on the 3-4 defense:

“I think the big difficulty in the 3-4 is you have the outside backers that are backers/rush guys. As an offense, it’s hard to account – do I account for those guys as outside guys as a D lineman or as a linebacker? You’re worried about mismatches and blocking. I still want my left tackle to block that guy, but in that front, my fullback or my back might have to block that outside backer, and that’s a mismatch. So that’s where it causes some confusion for offenses is identifying personnel and trying to get the right matchup on those guys. In a 3-4, you can disguise and you don’t know where they’re coming from. You create mismatches, get to the quarterback and cause confusion.”

Video Mailbag: SEC East, Ealey's Number and Smith's Speed

You guys had questions for the players, and we got you some answers. Our pal Brandon Spoon put together the compilation video with Washaun Ealey, Darryl Gamble and Branden Smith answer questions you guys posed on Twitter last week...



We'll keep doing these, so be sure you're following me on Twitter to get your questions answered by your favorite Bulldogs.

If you missed Friday's printer-friendly mailbag, you can read that HERE. And if you missed Monday's, that one can be found HERE.

And I'll be back tomorrow with more answers to your reader mail in Part IV of the mailbag.

Practice Notes: Smith Wants Bigger Role on Offense

All season, he’s been Georgia’s secret weapon on offense, but Branden Smith is hoping his role on that side of the ball can continue to expand in Georgia’s bowl game and beyond.

Used primarily as a reserve cornerback, Smith has done a little of everything in his freshman season – returning kicks, running the Wild Cat, playing wide receiver and working out of the backfield. That role on the offensive side of the ball is something he’d like to do more of starting with Georgia’s bowl game against Texas A&M.

“I really hope so,” Smith said. “I would like to play offense a lot more during the bowl game. I think I deserve it. Our offense has been on a roll, so I really hope they use me more on offense.”

Smith finished the season with 17 carries for 211 yards rushing and two catches for seven yards, including two big plays for touchdowns against South Carolina and Tennessee Tech.

The problem, however, has been Smith’s ball handling. He has two fumbles on special teams this season that were recovered by the opposition and he has put the ball on the ground on offense as well. So despite his tremendous athleticism, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said he’s not ready to hand the ball to Smith with regularity until his fumbling problems are under control.

“He’s got to hang on to the ball,” Bobo said. “If he hangs on to the ball, he’ll get more of a role. Right now, laying it on the ground, he’s a bit more limited. We’ll still have things this game, but he’s got to hang on to the football to be able to carry the football.”

Beyond holding on to the football, Smith faces the challenge of adjusting to a new defensive coordinator and secondary coach next season, and his time on the defensive side of the ball had already been limited so he could work with the offense, too.

But while this season hasn’t been perfect, Smith has shown he can be a dangerous weapon in all three aspects of the game, and that’s something he expects to continue.

“I have high expectations for myself,” Smith said. “I think I played pretty good, but not as good as I expected. Next year I’m going to be coming into the season with my mind set and my goals high.”

DAVIS SPRAINS ANKLE

Heralded as one of the saviors of Georgia’s running game, right tackle Josh Davis could be in jeopardy of missing the Independence Bowl with a sprained ankle.

Davis, who was inserted into the starting lineup against Vanderbilt, helped revitalize Georgia’s offensive line and sparked a renewed rushing attack, but injured his ankle during Wednesday’s practice. He has not practiced since, but head coach Mark Richt said the team is hopeful that Davis will be able to play by the time the Bulldogs hit the field against Texas A&M on Dec. 28.

“He’s not practicing right now but the good news is that there’s a lot of time between now and then and no other obligations but to get treatment two or three times a day,” Richt said. “We’re all hopeful.”

Clint Boling opened the season at right tackle but has since moved to the left side, meaning Justin Anderson or Vince Vance would be the likely replacements if Davis is unable to play.

“Right now I think we’d put Vince in there first, but that doesn’t mean that’s how it will go,” Richt said. “But between Vince and (Anderson), that would be the next logical choice.”

GEATHERS ON THE GO?

Richt has lauded freshman defensive tackle Kwame Geathers for his efforts to get his body into shape this season, and Geathers even earned the defensive scout team player of the year award at the Bulldogs’ annual end-of-season gala, but defensive tackles coach Rodney Garner said the future remains a bit unclear for the freshman.

Geathers arrived late this fall after a delay in his academic qualification by the NCAA and he struggled badly with his conditioning early on. He has shed more than 35 pounds from his frame since then, however, and Garner said Geathers is ready for playing time next year. He’s just not sure whether that action will come on offense or defense.

“I think Kwame’s worked really hard,” Garner said. “He’s a great young man. We’ve just got to find a spot that he can help the team the quickest.”

Asked if that meant a transition to the offensive line could be in store for Geathers, Garner said it was a possibility, but nothing had been determined so far.

“He could play anywhere,” Garner said. “We’ve just got to find the best place for him and wherever is the best place for the team.”

MAKING THE GRADE

While fall semester grades are still trickling in for Georgia’s players, Richt said he doesn’t anticipate any problems among the team in remaining eligible to play in the bowl game.

“I’ve heard no concern that we’re on the ropes with anybody,” Richt said. “Usually by now if there was something cooking I would have heard something from an academic counselor that we’re waiting on this one with pins and needles. I don’t think we’re in that situation.”

Practice Notes: Dawgs Look to Jump Start Running Game

There have been plenty of problems on offense in the past three games for Georgia, but the biggest stumbling block has been the team’s inability to run the football.

Against Tennessee last week, the Bulldogs mustered just 89 yards rushing – more than half of which came in the fourth quarter after the Volunteers had the game well in hand – and for the season, their ground game ranks 104th in the country.

With those kinds of numbers, quarterback Joe Cox said, getting the rest of the offense to click can be a difficult task.

“It is tough just because a lot of people feel that they can just come at us when we’re in passing situations, especially once you get down,” Cox said. “It’s tough when you feel like you’ve become one-dimensional and we definitely need to pick up our running game.”

Turning around the moribund rushing attack has been a mystery to Georgia’s coaches so far. In six games, five different players have tallied the day’s longest run, and while Richard Samuel has started each game, Georgia has relied heavily on four different runners already.

“No one has really stood out. No one has really asserted himself to the point where he’s our guy,” head coach Mark Richt said. “No one really has made the offensive line look better than maybe they are blocking at times. We have pretty much been getting what we’ve been blocking for, which statistically hasn’t been a whole heck of a lot.”

Samuel will get another shot this week to prove he can handle the load, but Richt said he doesn’t expect anyone to get a bulk of the work. Still, of all the backs, Samuel has met with the most consistent success – even if that hasn’t been much.

“His deal is confidence,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “Coming into this year, he had a lot of expectations on him, and he kind of takes everything to heart sometimes when he doesn’t have success. But we think he’s a talented back, and we think he’s got to help us in the run game for us to be successful.”

For any of Georgia’s backs to be successful, however, the blocking up front needs to improve. While the Bulldogs’ offensive line has been reshuffled due to injuries since the start of the year, Bobo said the bottom line remains attitude.

“We need to play with more passion up front, we need to finish blocks and we need to have a sense of urgency when we’re running the football,” Bobo said. “That’s offensive linemen, that’s tight ends and that’s running backs. You’ve got to take pride in it, and you’ve got to play hard and physical.”

While there haven’t been many highlights, there have been glimpses of what the tailbacks and the line can do when everything clicks into place this season, highlighted by an 80-yard run for Samuel against Arkansas.

That’s what has been so maddening, Cox said, but it also offers some hope for improvement down the line.

“That’s probably been the most frustrating thing is that we know it’s there but it hasn’t been working,” Cox said. “It’s something that we got to just keep chipping away at. We know we have good backs, we know we have a good line and we just got to get it going so we know we can do it.”

FIGGINS TAKES REDSHIRT

Junior tight end Bruce Figgins missed the first six games of the season following a suspension for a violation of team rules, but he decided this week that he’ll instead sit out the entire season.

Figgins underwent offseason shoulder surgery, but he said the redshirt decision was based on more than health. Having already missed half the season, Figgins decided it was best to finish his rehabilitation and start with a clean slate in 2010.

“There’s pros and cons to either, but Coach Richt came to the conclusion that I should take a red shirt and we’re rolling with that, and I’m looking forward to next year,” Figgins said.

While the decision was ultimately Figgins’, he said he got input from family, friends and his coaches before signing off on the plan. He said the success of freshman Orson Charles and sophomore Aron White at tight end this season didn’t factor into his final decision.

“The coaches put in their input, but I was the last to decide,” Figgins said. “I was the last say so.”

KIDS TO SEE MORE ACTION

With Georgia’s hopes of a conference title nearly vanished, Richt said he isn’t giving up on the season, but he may give some of the younger players a chance to see a bit more action.

Richt said redshirt freshman Baccari Rambo will see an increase in his playing time at safety, establishing a three-man rotation with Bryan Evans and Reshad Jones.

Freshman Branden Smith should see more work at corner, too, spelling senior Prince Miller.

Richt said his two freshman receivers, Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten had earned more playing time, too, following Brown’s first significant action of the season last week.

“Marlon is smoothing out his game, I guess is the best way to put it,” Richt said. “He is a talent, he just needed to get more reps to become a smooth competitor, a smooth receiver. He has proved to be a pretty tenacious blocker. You can tell he wants it, you can tell he’s getting better. He has earned a right to play more snaps for us and hopefully he’ll get more opportunities to catch the ball because he has good hands.”

INJURY UPDATES

Tavarres King and Caleb King each returned to limited practice Tuesday after both missed last week’s game with concussions.

Caleb King figures to be in the mix at tailback, where Bobo said there will be an open competition for carries this week.

Tavarres King expects to step back into his role as the team’s starting receiver opposite A.J. Green. King’s absence last week left Georgia with just five healthy receivers, and watching his offense struggle without him was difficult, he said.

“It hurt really bad watching my teammates and wanting to be out there,” he said.
While neither player participated in contact drills Tuesday, Tavarres King said he’s on track to play against Vanderbilt.

“I did everything that I could, just limited contact,” he said. “I expect to play.”

Cornerback Vance Cuff saw limited action last week following a knee injury, but Richt said he should get in a full week of practice this week and is in line for an increased role on defense against the Commodores.

Linebackers Akeem Dent and Marcus Dowtin are both unlikely to play this week, Richt said. Both are expected back after the team’s off week.

DAWGS DON’T DO DOME

After some speculation earlier this month that Georgia could move its annual matchup against in-state rival Georgia Tech to the Georgia Dome for the 2011 season opener, athletics director Damon Evans said Tuesday that the school had decided against the plan.

“After careful consideration, we did not think in the final analysis it was in the best interest of our football program to play the game as a season opener in 2011,” Evans said. “I think the most significant factor was that we did not want to give up the home game that year and make a change in the current home game rotation with Georgia Tech.”

SHADES OF GRAY?

With Cox struggling in his past three games, Richt said there was a chance backup quarterback Logan Gray could see more work in the coming weeks.

Richt was quick to endorse Cox as his starter, but he wouldn’t rule out handing a series or two to Gray as a change of pace.

“He’s been practicing well the past two weeks, I know that,” Richt said. “I wouldn’t say that’s out of the question.”

Gray ran Georgia’s offense on its final two drives against Tennessee, completing just 1-of-4 passes for six yards. The Bulldogs did have their most success running the football when Gray was in the game, however.

“Logan’s done a nice job,” Bobo said. “He’s done an extremely good job getting better as a quarterback. I think he’s ready if he gets into the game. Obviously if we continue to struggle, he could be something that could spark our offense.”

REPEAT PERFORMANCE

Georgia doesn't have to look too far into the past to find a template for how the rest of its season could unfold.

The Bulldogs were 5-4 following four losses in five games 2006, but rebounded to beat three straight ranked teams, including a Chick-fil-A Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

While a turnaround of that magnitude may still be a long way off, Cox said the team may actually be in better shape to accomplish the feat this season.

“I think our unity is better than 2006, and I think we could end up having a better season than 2006, but as far as hitting a tough stretch and how everything is around you, it’s about the same," Cox said. "People around here are used to winning. We’ve had some really successful teams the past nine years, and people expect us to win every game. We do, too. And when it doesn’t happen, everybody’s mad, including us. It’s something that does remind me of 2006, but it’s something we can definitely get turned around and have a successful season.”

The key to the improvement down the stretch in 2006 was tenacity, Richt said. While demands for immediate changes to the coaching staff and player personnel by fans followed the Bulldogs' most recent defeat at Tennssee, Richt said the dedication of his coaches and players will be the turning point in whether the Bulldogs can rebound this season.

“It’s hard to measure a team’s ability to withstand pressure," he said. "I think a lot of teams fold under that kind of pressure. A lot of coaching staffs fold under that kind of pressure and we never did. We were very resilient. We were very persistent. We stayed the course. We didn’t make a bunch of wholesale changes, whether it was players, coaches or anything like that. We just kept grinding, we kept banging away. You just never know how close you are to success until you live it out."

EXTRA POINTS

-- I know I said I'd have some commentary from Rennie Curran on the defensive effort, but it turned out to be a little more than a note. I'll have the full text tomorrow.

A few notes on the basketball teams from today's preseason news conference:

-- Travis Leslie is cleared to play this season, according to coach Mark Fox. Leslie missed the tail end of last season for academic reasons.

-- Albert Jackson is wearing a cast to protect an injured finger, but Fox said he'll be ready to practice when camp opens Friday.

-- Ricky McPhee was given a scholarship for his senior season, as was Tyler Whatley.

-- Dustin Ware on Trey Thompkins: "Trey is looking like he’s just ready to be a monster this year. He came back and I almost didn’t recognize him his body looked so good."

-- On the women's side, Angel Robinson had to have her knee scoped, but Andy Landers said she should be ready to practice fully before the season begins.

-- Landers also said he expects all seven of his freshmen to play significantly this season.

Practice Notes: Two Kings With Concussions

Georgia’s already thin wide receiver corps took another big hit this week.

Head coach Mark Richt said freshman receiver Tavarres King was “very unlikely” to make the trip to Tennessee for Saturday’s game after suffering a concussion last week against LSU.

That leaves Georgia with just five healthy scholarship receivers, but only two – A.J. Green and Michael Moore – have any significant playing time this season.

“All hands will be on deck, I can say that,” Richt said.

Tight end Orson Charles and cornerback Branden Smith have both been used in wide receiver roles at various times this season, but the injury to King likely means more playing time for sophomore Israel Troupe and freshmen Rantavious Wooten and Marlon Brown.

One of the country’s most highly recruited receivers last year, Brown has seen just a handful of snaps so far this season and has not caught a pass, but Richt said he has continued to make progress during practice and could be part of the game plan this week.

“He’s one step closer than he was before Tavarres getting hurt,” Richt said. “He’s not a whole lot different than what was happening with Washaun Ealey. We kept getting him ready and getting him to the point where he could function in a game, and Marlon is rapidly moving in that direction.”

Playing time would be particularly rewarding for Brown this week, as the Memphis native would have a chance to play in front of his home-state fans against a program that was in hot pursuit of him during the recruiting process.

That extra bit of pressure doesn’t worry offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, however.

“He’s an even-keeled kid who works hard,” Bobo said. “I think he’s got the right attitude and he’ll be successful if he keeps that attitude.”

King has 10 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown in five games this season. Wooten has two catches, and Brown and Troupe have yet to record a reception in 2009.

PULLED IN ALL DIRECTIONS

After working a few snaps on offense in each of Georgia’s first four games, Smith might see less action on that side of the ball for the next few weeks.

Smith, who has one catch for 3 yards and six rushes for 80 yards this season, didn’t earn a touch on offense last week against LSU after his practice time with the group was cut short during the preceding week.

“With some injuries at corner, he’s been playing more corner here lately, so practice time with Branden has gone down a little bit,” Bobo said. “Yeah, it’s easy to draw up a play and say we’re going to do this play, but if you don’t have guys to practice it, it’s a little more difficult.”

The same situation holds true with backup quarterback Logan Gray, who Bobo said has been avoided in the game plan because of an injury to third-string quarterback Aaron Murray.

“You have Aaron Murray out and your backup in the game running some plays, if you get him hurt, that puts you in a situation where you really don’t have a back-up quarterback,” Bobo said. “So that changes your thought process a little bit of what you’re going to do offensively with Logan Gray.”

Despite the apparent limitations on two of Georgia’s change-of-pace weapons, Bobo said both Gray and Smith will continue to have a role in the playbook.

“There’ll always be a few plays with (Smith) in the game plan and with Logan,” Bobo said. “But it just depends on what we feel gives us the best chance.”

MORE INJURY NEWS

Tailback Caleb King also suffered a concussion and a broken jaw after a hit during last week’s game, and Richt said he was almost certain that sophomore Richard Samuel would get the start this week.

Linebackers Marcus Dowtin and Akeem Dent will miss this week’s game as well. Dent is still recovering from a lingering hamstring injury that has kept him out of the past two games, and Dowtin underwent surgery on a torn ligament in his left ring finger on Sunday.

Senior Marcus Washington and sophomore Nick Williams will likely handle the majority of the reps Dent and Dowtin would have played, but Richt said there was a chance some of the younger linebackers such as Christian Robinson, Akeem Hebron and Charles White could see action, too.

“We’ve been repping them all along and giving them as much work as we can, and more than likely they’ll get more opportunity in the game than they have,” Richt said.

DOUBLE DUTY

While Gray may not be seeing much action at quarterback so far this season, he’s getting plenty of work on special teams. Gray has worked on Georgia’s kickoff coverage unit and has been the team’s primary punt returner in situations where a fair catch is likely.

Those were roles Gray played last season, but he said he wasn’t expecting another year of action. But he’s not complaining.

“I think it comes with being the backup quarterback, I wasn’t going to do as many special teams,” Gray said. “Coming into the season, I didn’t even think I was going to catch punts. It was sort of a last-second thing with our punt safe team when we know a fair catch is coming, I guess Coach (Jon) Fabris wanted me to keep doing it.”

MY BAD, GUYS

Brandon Boykin is used to celebrating interceptions, but after making his second pick of the season to halt a potential touchdown drive against LSU, the sophomore cornerback immediately knew he had messed up.

With the Tigers driving deep into Georgia territory in the first quarter, Boykin picked off a Jordan Jefferson pass in the end zone. Rather than settle for a touchback, however, Boykin attempted to return the interception. He was tackled at the 2-yard line, and Georgia's offense was unable to sustain a drive. The result was bad field position for much of the fist half for the Bulldogs.

"That was my fault," Boykin said. "It wasn’t very smart of me to take that out. I was just trying to make a play, and initially I thought there was daylight, but there wasn’t. The smart thing to do would have been to take a knee and give my offense great field position. But I can’t look at that. If I get the opportunity to take it in the end zone, I definitely will take a knee, so it was a learning experience and I’ll get better from it.”

CHANGE BREWING?

For the second straight year, Georgia's kickoffs have been an adventure, but this season there is one big difference: Richt has an alternative to kicker Blair Walsh.

The Bulldogs signed junior college transfer Brandon Bogotay during the offseason to push Walsh for the kickoff job, and while a change hasn't come yet, Richt said the team has given some thought to handing the job to Bogotay if Walsh continues to struggle.

"It's been considered," Richt said. "We haven't done it to this point, but everybody's got to perform and certainly we want Blair to do that. I definitely don't want to throw him under the bus for all the issues on that team, but it's been part of the issue, not getting it where we need to get it. The ball placement hasn't been as sharp."

EXTRA POINTS

-- I noted this last week, but Bobo was a bit more emphatic in his pronouncement this week -- quarterbacks Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger will both redshirt, barring an injury to one of Georgia's top two quarterbacks.

-- Tight ends coach John Lilly said that there still has been no decision on whether tight end Bruce Figgins will accept a medical redshirt for this season. Figgins will be serving the sixth and final game of a suspension this week and would be eligible to return to action against Vanderbilt on Oct. 17. Lilly said the ultimate decision on whether to play would be up to Figgins.

-- Richt on today's practice session: "I thought today's practice was good. I thought the guys played with good tempo, good focus. Overall it's been a really good Tuesday and Wednesday. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. We're going to go over to the stadium and crank the noise and try to get it so loud we can't hear. Hopefully we don't blow a speaker."

UGA Notes: Shakeups in the Secondary

After spraining his MCL during last week’s win over Arkansas, head coach Mark Richt said it’s doubtful that cornerback Vance Cuff will be ready to play against Arizona State on Saturday.

“Cuff is doubtful,” Richt said. “He could turn around some between now and the game and because it’s a home game – if it was an away game he probably wouldn’t be on the plane. But we’re at home and if he feels good enough he could probably help us in an emergency.”

Cuff was Georgia’s top option off the bench in nickel situations, but that job will now fall to a combination of players.

Richt said Sanders Commings, who had been working at safety, will get some action at corner this week. While Prince Miller is generally the nickel back, Richt said the senior could stay at wide corner and Makiri Pugh could see increased action at nickel, too.

The most likely option, however, will be for freshman Branden Smith to get more work at corner with Cuff missing the game. While Richt said Smith isn’t exactly polished yet in terms of his defensive aptitude, the work he’ll get this week could prove important down the line.

“(Smith) is getting better at it as (he) goes,” Richt said. “He’s still young and got a lot of things to learn, and you just have to experience some things before you can really get good at them. I’m sure he’ll get that – he’ll get more experience.”

Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez also said he expects freshman Baccari Rambo to see increased playing time at safety this week, spelling Bryan Evans and Reshad Jones.

BACK IN ACTION

Through three games, Georgia’s tight ends have eight receptions – just two shy of last year’s total at the position. Aron White and Orson Charles each had touchdowns last week in a win over Arkansas, which puts the unit just one short of matching its total from 2008.

The bottom line is the position has become an offensive weapon once again for the Bulldogs, and a lot has to do with the impressive performance of the Bulldogs’ top receiver – A.J. Green.

“The presence of A.J. Green has helped that spot get favorable coverages, but they’re making plays, and that’s what we were hoping,” Richt said.

Charles has been the offense’s second-best weapon in the passing game this season, catching six passes for 146 yards thus far. The freshman’s blocking game, however, remains a work in progress.

“Certain blocks are easier for a guy his size, certain blocks he can get away with on just effort and technique,” Richt said. “But there’s some blocks that just take a certain amount of strength, and he’s still struggling some on those. If he doesn’t do it just right, he can get knocked back a little bit, but he’s getting there.”

FIGGINS’ FUTURE UP IN THE AIR

Georgia tight end Bruce Figgins still has three more games remaining on his six-game suspension, but Richt said the team hasn’t determined yet if Figgins will see any action this season at all.

The junior from Shaw High School underwent offseason shoulder surgery and missed spring practice. The injury is getting closer to being fully healed, but given that Figgins has already missed so much action, Richt said there was a possibility he would take a medical redshirt for the season.

“That has really not been determined at this point,” Richt said. “I think a lot will have to do with just where we are and where everybody is at that time.”

If Figgins should sit out the year, Richt said the Georgia Athletics Association has already determined that he would not have to miss additional playing time next year due to the suspension.

“Our association has decided that sitting out the entire year would serve as the discipline for that,” Richt said.

BANKS OUT AGAIN

Richt said safety Quintin Banks would not play this week against Arizona State as he continues to recover from a knee injury that cost him much of the preseason.

“He’s still trying to get back to where he can really run and change direction like he needs to to have a positive performance,” Richt said. “He’s still not there yet.”

A series of injuries, including an offseason surgery on his knee, has kept Banks on the sidelines for much of the past two seasons. It’s frustrating, Richt said, but he has been pleased with how upbeat Banks has remained.

“He’s an awesome kid, he’s always trying to keep a positive attitude, and he’s always trying to motivate his teammates even when he’s down and out as far as practicing,” Richt said. “It just hasn’t worked out for him like he would hope, but we’re all still holding out hope that it will for him.”

THE WAITING GAME

The hot rumor during the offseason was that Georgia would find ways to use backup quarterback Logan Gray as a weapon on offense – even if he wasn’t going to be the team’s starting quarterback. With Gray’s speed and athleticism, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said he thought the sophomore could be a perfect option in a “Wild Cat” formation.

As it turns out, however, Gray has been in on offense for just two snaps so far this season and didn’t see any action last week against Arkansas.

That’s not because Georgia has abandon its plans for Gray, however. With starter Joe Cox playing so well, and the Bulldogs playing in three close games so far, it’s simply a matter of not having opportunities to give Gray much playing time so far.

“It hasn’t really presented itself in a game,” Bobo said. “Every game there’s a plan for certain situations for guys to go in there, but Joe has done such a nice job in the last two games that you don’t want to break his rhythm or what we’re doing offensively.”

PENALTY PROBLEM

Georgia is once again among the most penalized teams in the country, and while Richt was hoping to avoid a significant crackdown following a 13-flag performance in Week 2, Bobo said the team’s problems against Arkansas are clearly a cause for concern.

Georgia racked up 14 penalties in last week’s win over the Razorbacks, including six false starts and three holding calls. While some flags are simply a matter of teams playing aggressive, Bobo said the Buldogs’ recent efforts show a lack of fundamentals.

“We talked about being more disciplined and focused, little things we talk about all the time that will get you beat,” Bobo said. “It’s not something that we want to see as a coaching staff, and usually it derails an offense of being able to execute and be successful. It’s something we’ve been harping on a little more this week.”

While the flags aren’t exactly something Bobo is celebrating, he said he is encouraged by how well his team responded, racking up 530 yards of offense despite the penalties last week. But while that’s an good sign, he said that type of success can’t last forever.

“We’re not going to be able to do that on a consistent basis,” Bobo said. “So that’s why we’ve got to try to keep preaching to those guys about good habits and good fundamentals and not losing their focus on things like the snap count, which is really inexcusable.”

Practice Notes: Samuel's Job In Jeopardy

Richard Samuel figured to lose some carries after Caleb King returned to the lineup for the first time this season against Arkansas, but after two fumbles during the game, Samuel could be in danger of losing his starting job.

“I don’t know if we are ready to move him from the No. 1 position, but I would say if that kind of thing continued, we’d have to really consider whether or not he should start for us,” head coach Mark Richt said. “You can’t have two a game, that’s for sure, and continue to play the kind of football you need to to win.

Samuel had the first 100-yard game of his career against Arkansas, picking up 104 yards on 16 carries, including one for an 80-yard touchdown, but he coughed the ball up in crucial situations twice.

In the first quarter, Samuel mishandled a pitch from quarterback Joe Cox that was recovered by Arkansas to set up a touchdown. In the second half, Samuel lost the football after being hit at the end of a run. He scrambled to recover the ball, scooping it into his chest before the Razorbacks could grasp control.

Ball security has been an ongoing issue for the sophomore tailback, who had problems with fumbles last season, including one on the first carry of his career. Coaches had hoped Samuel had rectified the issue during preseason practice this year, but the tailback said he still has some work to do.

“I approach it as focusing more on the ball itself – the little fundamentals of protecting the ball and looking the ball in,” Samuel said.

Complicated the backfield situation further was the strong performance by King in his first action of the season. The sophomore ran for 59 yards on 11 carries, often looking more explosive than Samuel.

“There will definitely be a plan to play both of them,” Richt said. “Caleb did very well. He ran the ball well. He pass protected well and secured the ball well. He showed no signs of the hamstring becoming an issue for him, so it was a very good performance.”

King said he was excited about regaining a key role in the offense, but he said running backs coach Bryan McClendon has not indicated how the carries might be split this week.

CHANGES IN STORE

After his defense allowed 41 points against Arkansas – a second straight lackluster performance – defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said some changes could be in store.

Arkansas had numerous big plays, and Georgia struggled to stop the opposing passing game for the second straight week. The Bulldogs have allowed 721 passing yards in the past two games, and nearly all of the members of the defensive backfield have been beaten at least once, and Martinez said he thinks it’s time to see what some of his younger players can do.

“We’re going to get some other guys some more opportunities,” Martinez said. “We’ve got some young players we’re trying to get in there.”

Redshirt freshman Sanders Commings will see action at both safety and cornerback, Martinez said, while Baccari Rambo has earned additional playing time at safety as well.

“We’re going to play Baccari Rambo more,” Martinez said. “I should have played him more in this past ballgame just because of the amount of reps.”


DENT, DEWBERRY QUESTIONABLE

For the second straight week, Georgia played without two of its top linebackers, as Darius Dewberry and Akeem Dent missed the game against Arkansas, both with sore hamstrings. Martinez said both could miss this week’s contest against Arizona State as well.

“We’d like to have them back, but they’re still questionable,” Martinez said. “We hope to get them back, because it’s important.”

Dewberry and Nick Williams missed the game against South Carolina two weeks ago, but while Williams was able to return last week, Dent was a surprise scratch.

The absence of the veteran linebacker was obvious, Rennie Curran said, as the use of several younger players caused some problems in coverage.

“There were plays that could have been made that he normally would have made if he was out there,” Curran said of Dent. “We’ve got young guys in that were a little confused at times, and that’s going to happen when a guy goes down.”

Despite Martinez’s cautious approach, Curran said he was optimistic Dent could be ready to play this weekend.

“I feel like he’ll be able to come back this week,” he said. “He’s a warrior, and he fights through everything.”

MORE INJURY NEWS

It looked much worse than it actually was when cornerback Vance Cuff was helped off the field in the second half against Arkansas last week. Cuff suffered an MCL sprain and is day to day, and the junior didn’t participate in Tuesday’s practice.

Despite his absence, Richt said he remained optimistic that Cuff could be ready for Saturday’s home date with the Sun Devils.

“At this point, I’d say it’s possible that he plays,” Richt said. “We’re more hopeful than not. If he can’t do anything at all tomorrow, we’d probably get a little discouraged, but (trainer) Ron (Courson) feels like he is going to have a chance.”

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES

With Cuff potentially missing time, freshman Branden Smith could see increased action this week.

Smith was beaten badly for a long touchdown against Arkansas last week, but Martinez said the freshman speedster has taken a good approach to the bad play.

“It’s not something you want to see what happened to him in the game Saturday, but he is really working hard," Martinez said. "He’s talented and excited, and he gets better each day, each week. So I’m excited about him.”

THAT'S MUCH BETTER

Two weeks ago, Joe Cox did all he could to avoid the critics. This week, he's relishing the spotlight after tying a team record with five touchdown passes and leading the Bulldogs to their second straight come-from-behind win.

“It’s a lot different just being in Athens after you win," Cox said. "You go places, and everybody wants to pat you on the back. After a loss, you don’t even want to go out of your house. You don’t want to go out to eat and be seen in places because you know people are probably talking about you."

Of course, Cox hasn't forgotten those low points either, nor is he trying to. In fact, he said he's used the criticism as motivation.

"Anybody who's a competitor, if you have people saying you're not good, you want to play good," Cox said. "That's something I say to myself before every game is that these people don't think I'm any good. It's been driving our offense, too, since Week 1. Everybody says we have a terrible offense, we don't have Knowshon and Matthew, it's the end of the world, we're not going to be able to score any points for the rest of the season. Obviously, we want to prove people wrong."

So far, so good. The Bulldogs have posted 93 points in their past two games -- their highest total in a two-game stretch since 2004. More importantly, the team is winning, and that's a while lot more fun than the alternative.

"We know what it feels like to lose, we know what it feels like to win, and we definitely want to keep winning,” Cox said.

ANCHORS AWAY

Richt said there are two big weights holding his team back -- turnovers and penalties.

And always the storyteller, Richt had his own analogy for the coaching staff's approach to the issues.

“I always make the analogy of the team being a train," Richt said. "You want to get that train on the track and you want to get it rolling down the track and gain momentum and energy as you go. … We are getting it rolling pretty good, but I think we’ll roll a whole lot faster if we don’t have the two anchors out the back of the caboose that are stuck in the ground dragging behind us, and that is our turnover ratio is very poor and penalties have cropped up on us. If we can just cut those anchors lose, I think we will fly even better and if we just improve in those two areas, I think everything will improve.”

Five Players to Watch: Arkansas Edition

I'm hitting the road for Arkansas -- woo hoo! -- so I'm limited on posts for today. But in advance of this week's SEC showdown, here's my thoughts on five players who will be the difference for Georgia on Saturday.

1.) Prince Miller. The senior cornerback didn't officially get burned against South Carolina, but he sure didn't have his best day. The Gamecocks had two touchdown passes against Miller, but both were called back due to penalties. He'll need to improve in coverage against a far more potent Arkansas team that enjoys lulling an opponent to sleep with a controlled passing game, then going deep for the big play at just the right time.

2.) Akeem Dent. South Carolina burned Georgia over and over by dumping off passes to the tight end over the middle. Dent didn't play particularly well, and with Darius Dewberry out and Nick Williams questionable for the game, he'll be back to work at the Sam linebacker spot on Saturday. That's going to be a concern, as Arkansas has one of the conference's top tight ends and the Razorbacks will no doubt be looking to exploit the same weaknesses South Carolina did.

3.) The Brand(on/en)s. Man, we really need a better nickname for these two. And as a fan of a non-Houston NL Central team, I can't endorse "The Killer Bs." Plus, as one reader pointed out, no true Georgia Tech hater can give his players a bee-related nickname.

Anyway, to the main point: Arkansas' special teams aren't exactly the best the SEC has to offer. Smith and Boykin were monsters in the return game last week, setting up Georgia with good field position on offense (or in Boykin's case, taking it to the house). They'll have a chance at a repeat performance this week, and against the Hogs' high-octane offense, every yard is important.

4.) Justin Houston. With Rod Battle out, Georgia's depth at defensive end isn't getting any better now that Houston is back from a two-game suspension. But that doesn't mean the results can't be improved. Houston had a huge spring and continued to earn praise for his work this fall despite the two-game absence. That should match up well with the less-than-mobile Ryan Mallett, who won't give the defensive line the same trouble Garcia did a week ago by moving around in the pocket and making plays with his feet.

5.) Mike Bobo. Two games into the season, and we really don't have any better understanding of what Georgia's offensive identity is. Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten still have hardly seen the field. Orson Charles has looked impressive but has been underutilized. Richard Samuel appeared on the verge of a breakout game last week, then disappeared from the game plan for 15 minutes. The playcalling improved last week from the opener, but there were still plenty of curious decisions. Arkansas' defense should't require a rocket scientist to solve, but the problem for Bobo has really seemed to be his overthinking of the game plan. Bobo needs to find the right mix of diversifying the offense enough to keep the Hogs guessing while not abandoning the Bulldogs' bread and butter for long stretches of the game. In other words, find an identity and go with it.

So… what do you think? What are your keys to this game? What matchup has you the most worried?

Practice Notes: King Set to Return

After more than a month on the sidelines, the news finally appears a bit brighter for tailback Caleb King.

The sophomore running back has been out with a sore hamstring since Aug. 12, but head coach Mark Richt said he practiced fully each of the past two days and his prospects for playing Saturday against Arkansas look good.

“It looks like very probable,” Richt said. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t play at this point.”

Richt said he couldn’t guess how many reps King is likely to play, but he said the addition to the running back depth chart, currently manned by Richard Samuel and Carlton Thomas, would be a benefit for the Georgia offense.

“It’s going to help us because he’s definitely a different style of runner,” Richt said. “I’m anxious to see what he can do. He’s always had good vision, good balance and he’s got to be pretty fresh.”

Samuel has been the go-to runner for Georgia in the first two games of the season, getting 20 carries against Oklahoma State and 15 against South Carolina.

It’s expected that Samuel will continue to handle the bulk of the load, but Richt said the return of King will allow the team to spread the carries out a bit more than it had previously.

“The tailback position is set for us now where we’re not going to ask just one kid to carry the entire load, so they’ll be able to help each other out,” Richt said.

GOING BACK INSIDE

Senior defensive tackles Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens saw plenty of action at an unfamiliar position in Georgia’s first two games, but their experiment at defensive end might be coming to an end.

With the return of Justin Houston from a two-game suspension, Richt said he didn’t expect the Bulldogs would need to use Atkins or Owens, who totaled around 50 reps at end during the first two games, to work off the edge as much going forward.

“I doubt we see them much out there,” Richt said, “but it depends on how the game goes.”

Atkins said he didn’t mind the transition, but he said he’ll be happy to get back to doing what he does best and leaving the surprisingly tough task of defensive end to the players who’ve been doing it a bit longer.

“I had to keep the contain, look for the reverse and focus my eyes on the quarterback to see if he takes it and runs with it or gives it to the running back,” Atkins said. “Now I know what the D ends are going through because they’ve got so much responsibility.”

WILLIAMS BACK AT WORK

After missing last week’s game against South Carolina with a hamstring injury, linebacker Nick Williams said he’ll be available for duty this week.

“It’s good now,” Williams said. “I’m back.”

Williams said the injury occurred in Georgia’s first game against Oklahoma State when he was jamming receiver Dez Bryant and felt a pull, and he immediately knew it was his fault he was hurt.

“I’m bad at stretching,” Williams said. “I never did it in high school, so they’ve had me on a strict stretching program now.”

THE BIGGER THEY ARE…

At 6-foot-7, Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett will be one of the biggest targets Georgia’s defense has faced in a while, but Rennie Curran said he’s not too concerned.

Curran said the biggest quarterback he could remember facing previously was Kentucky’s Andre Woodson, who was 6-5, in 2007.

In that game, Georgia had five sacks, which reinforced Curran’s philosophy about big quarterbacks.

“They’re all the same to me,” Curran said. “They all throw the ball, they just fall harder than others.”

THE BATTLE’S OVER

After defensive end Rod Battle went down with a season-ending knee injury, Richt was hopeful the senior might be able to apply for a sixth year of eligibility, but it appears that’s unlikely, and Battle’s career with Georgia could be over.

“My guess would be that he would not because his first (redshirt) year there was no injury involved in the red shirt,” Richt said. “You have to miss two seasons because of injury, and we have no documentation to help him with that.”

KEEPING CONFIDENCE

Branden Smith knows he didn’t instill a lot of confidence in his coaches on his first few attempts at returning kicks. Against Oklahoma State, he twice brought the ball out from deep in the end zone, and on his first return against South Carolina resulted in a fumble that set up a field goal for the Gamecocks.

But rather than give up on the freshman, coach Tony Ball sent him back out again, and Smith rewarded him with a 48-yard return to set the Bulldogs up with prime field position.

“I think it is a good thing that Coach Ball has confidence in me knowing that I have made a couple of bad plays,” Smith said. “At Oklahoma State I ran deep from the end zone and fumbled against South Carolina. By him putting me back out there I think that is a very good thing.”

ANOTHER ROUGH DAY

For the second straight practice, Richt said his team lacked much enthusiasm on the field, but he said he’s not concerned that the team will lack energy by game day.

“Today we were a little lethargic, I thought. There was not a ton of energy, but we grinded and we got it done. I think the boys are probably a little bit tired, but that’s the beauty of Thursday and Friday.”

Practice Notes: Questions Remain on King's Status

It’s been a roller-coaster ride for tailback Caleb King the past few days, and that’s probably been the most painful part of his month-long hiatus from football.

On Saturday, he watched Georgia play Oklahoma State, sitting alone in his room. Sunday, he returned to practice and for the first time in weeks, he felt pretty good. By Tuesday, however, his practice was cut short once again, and his prospects for playing against South Carolina this Saturday took a hit.

“We saw him Sunday and for what we asked him to do that day, he ran around well,” head coach Mark Richt said. “Then we got into a full pads day and added more periods, the hamstring fatigued faster than it normally would, and we pulled him out. I would say it’s not a slam dunk at this point.”

King did some light work during individual workouts Wednesday and practiced during scout-team work, but he said he’s still not sure whether he has any chance of playing in Georgia’s home opener Saturday.

“I honestly don’t know,” King said. “If they don’t think I’m 110 percent, I know they’re not going to play me at all. So if I don’t, I’m not going to play at all, and if I do, I’ll play a lot.”

King said his hamstring is feeling much better, but the muscle fatigues much faster than normal due to his extended absence from the playing field and said coaches could decide to rest him another week to allow him time to build up the strength again.

That’s OK with him, King said, but he would just like to know an answer one way or the other.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s more frustrating because I don’t know what they’re going to do with me,” he said. “But it’s all right. I’ll play if I have to play, but if I don’t, I’ll sit down and wait ‘til next week.”

Richt said it will likely be after today’s practice that coaches will make a final decision on King’s availability.

DON’T BLAME THE FRESHMAN

Freshman kick returner Branden Smith took some heat from fans for twice deciding to return kicks from deep in his own end zone, but Tony Ball said it wasn’t Smith’s decision.

“It’s on (Shaun) Chapas,” Ball said. “The returner can sometimes get disoriented trying to field that type of kick, especially a young player like Branden. And I told (Chapas) if you have to, you go in the end zone and grab him and don’t let him come out. Those are the trials and tribulations, but they’re not issues that can’t be fixed.”

Chapas, who works as the upback, was told to make the decision on whether to return the kick or take a knee in the end zone for a touchback, but the angle of the kick made the choice difficult.

“My initial thought was Chapas should have kept him in the end zone,” Ball said. “After asking Chapas about it, he felt like it being a line-drive kick, that threw things off. There was some dynamics there where he had to make some decisions, but Chapas has done it for a couple of years, so I trust him.

NEW LOOK ON O LINE

Georgia’s offensive line will have a different look to it in the Bulldogs’ second outing of the season, and it won’t be just because starting left tackle Trinton Sturdivant is out for the season following an ACL injury.

Justin Anderson will get the starting nod at right guard this week over incumbent Chris Davis, who Richt said lacks the size to create a favorable matchup against South Carolina’s hefty defensive front.

“The guys we’re playing are big men, and (Anderson) has just got more girth to him,” Richt said. “Chris, I’m sure, will end up playing, but you get two big guards in there when you play a team that’s mostly a four-man front, usually they cover your guards and you want to get some big men in there to hold up against them.”

Senior Vince Vance will step in at left tackle for Sturdivant, who tore his ACL for the second time in as many years during the second half of Georgia’s opener against Oklahoma State.

Vance filled in for about 25 snaps against the Cowboys, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said he turned in a strong performance.

“He did good,” Bobo said. “He played with energy and didn’t have hardly any missed assignments which is what we expect from Vince.”

NO HARM DONE

Both Richt and Bobo offered some minor criticisms of the offensive line’s performance against Oklahoma State, but Richt said he didn’t think any problems were a result of ankle injuries suffered by Davis and center Ben Jones late in preseason practice.

“I can’t say they feel great, but they weren’t limping around as they prepared in practice,” Richt said. “They did miss some work, some of those opportunities to just kind of get in the groove, but I don’t think the pain from the injuries caused any change of their ability to do their job.”

EALEY STILL IN THE MIX

With King potentially missing another week of action, Richt said he hasn’t ruled out using freshman tailback Washaun Ealey – both at running back and on special teams.

The problem, Richt said, is that due to an early elbow injury during fall camp, Ealey is still behind in terms of how much progress the coaching staff had hoped to see.

“If you have some cumulative reps and you miss some time, that’s one thing,” Richt said. “But if you’re not there to learn it from scratch, it’s hard to throw them into the middle of a game plan and say, ‘Go do it,’ when he doesn’t even have the basics down.”

Despite being a bit behind on the learning curve, however, Richt said Ealey has remained in the mix during practice and could still see action – if not against South Carolina, potentially down the road.

“We are still trying to incorporate him in those areas, and we’re still getting him reps to try to keep him greased up and keep his mind in it,” Richt said.

DURHAM BACK AT WORK

Senior receiver Kris Durham, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery during the offseason, returned to receiving drills Wednesday for the first time.

Durham was kept out of any competitive situations, Richt said, but he got work in catching passes, which was an important benchmark.

“It’s encouraging and certainly he’s excited about it,” Ball said. “And it’s always good to have Kris around.”

CLOSER INSPECTION

After watching the film, Joe Cox said it was obvious he held the ball too long on too many snaps against Oklahoma State, a problem that led to a number of incompletions.

The problem, he said, was he started overthinking the situation, but when he takes the field against South Carolina, he’s promising a back-to-basics approach to making his reads.

“When you start looking around, you start getting your eyes in the wrong spot, you start worrying about too much,” Cox said. “It’s almost over-analyzing what’s going on. So that’s what I felt was happening with me, but it’s something where you just go back to your basic reads and fundamentals and work on timing.”

WHO’S TO BLAME?

When Richt addressed the media on Tuesday, his analysis of Georgia’s shortcomings against Oklahoma State was a fairly harsh critique of his offense. In short, he said the intensity was lacking.

“We didn’t play with speed and finish blocks like we should,” he said. “We just need that little extra effort on each play to block a little bit longer or create a little bit more space, and that can make all the difference in the world between a guy getting tripped up and a guy going to the house. I don’t want to cause any kind of panic, because it’s not that at all, but we want to see a little more fire coming out of them.”

Upon further review, however, Richt decided his comments might have been a bit too severe.

He said he watched the game film once more Tuesday evening and came to the conclusion that the shortcomings weren’t quite as problematic as they appeared at first blush.

“It really wasn’t so much up front, it was some perimeter blocking issues, some backs needing to continue running their feet or place their hat in a better spot,” Richt said. “We ran some outside plays and were getting hats on everybody and fit up on them pretty good, but just didn’t sustain long enough.”

TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY

Logan Gray figured to see some action against Oklahoma State, but as it turned out he was in on just one offensive play – a designed run for a short gain.

After the offense struggled to just 10 points, however, a vocal contingent of fans was hoping to see a bit more of the backup quarterback in Georgia’s next game.

That could be the case, Richt said, but nothing’s guaranteed.

“He can run our system, and we had planned to get him in the game mostly in the red-zone area,” Richt said. “We did get him in there one time, but unfortunately we didn’t get in the red zone very often. Right now, Joe’s definitely the No. 1 guy, and we’ll see if and when Logan will get in there.”

ONGOING BATTLE

Brandon Bogotay was brought in this offseason to provide competition on kickoffs for sophomore Blair Walsh, but it was the incumbent who earned the job again.

Richt said Walsh's consistency, hangtime and accuracy landed him the job, but he hasn't ruled out the possibility that Bogotay could still win the job down the road.

“It was very, very close," Richt said of the competition. "It wasn’t like Bogotay did poorly. In my opinion, they both kicked it good enough to win the job, and Bogotay’s not done by any stretch.”

IT’S NO BEAUTY PAGEANT

The history of the Georgia-South Carolina series suggests there won’t be many points scored Saturday. So despite his offense struggling badly in its first game of the season, Richt said a low-scoring affair wouldn’t be more cause for concern.

“All I’m worried about is winning the game,” Richt said. “I appreciate the victory and not the style points.”

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

From Georgia receiver A.J. Green on what this week’s game means: “Losing that last one last week, I just want a victory to get this feeling out of my stomach and get a victory under my belt.”