Practice Notes 8/6

Today was Georgia's first day in shoulder pads. With temperatures pushing 100 degrees, it might not have been the most fun day, but Richt said he was impressed with how his players responded.

"We got a little more tempo out there," Richt said. "One thing I like about this team the most is having to reign them in a little bit. It s not time to tackle yet. It s not time for certain things yet. You re just getting used to wearing your pads and all that kind of stuff, and they just really enjoy competition. And that s a good thing."

Richt had high praise for the early efforts of starting quarterback Matt Stafford ("he's really been outstanding, just leading and throwing and knowing what to do") and back up Logan Gray ("he s started to really look good there") but second-stringer Joe Cox missed Wednesday's practice with shoulder soreness.

Some other tidbits from today:

- Safety John Knox sat out with what Richt called "dehydration." Richt said the redshirt freshman had lost 11 pounds and failed to gain it back since Tuesday's practice. (Personally, I'd be thrilled if I could do that!) Anyway, Georgia's staff weighs players before and after practice, and Richt said that, while most players will lose a significant amount of weight throughout the course of a practice, they should put it back on by the following day. That didn't happen for Knox, so he sat out.

- A.J. Green was back at work in a limited role Wednesday. He got out there and worked a little bit. I can t say he got every rep, it was probably a few choice moments, but he looks good out there," Richt said.

- Adding to what Richt said about the intensity of practice, Mo Massaquoi said he was impressed by how hard everyone was playing. The energy s high, and it s real fast out there, he said.

Massaquoi is working with Green and fellow freshman Tavarres King in the wide receiver corps, and said they've shown great skills so far.

"Just a talented group of guys," Massaquoi said. "I think that s the best recruiting class we ve had since I ve been here. These guys are just physically blessed, guys that are able to compete, guys that are able to play, and all they ve got to do is learn what they re doing and I think the sky is the limit for those guys."

- Richt lauded Tanner Strickland as the most improved player since Spring practice, saying Strickland was now pushing Bean Anderson for a starting job.

- More compliments from Richt for new longsnapper Ty Frix: "Ty Frix snaps it extremely well, he s just not very big yet. But he may still be able to hold up in there, I don t know. But he can snap it extremely well. So that was a good thing to get him in camp," Richt said.

I'll have a story on Frix for tomorrow's paper. He seems like a really nice kid, and his enthusiasm about the opportunity to make the team was obvious.

- Richt said his crew of DBs have been extremely impressive so far, offering obvious praise for CJ Byrd, Asher Allen and Reshad Jones. But the guy who has made the most plays so far, Richt said, is freshman Brandon Boykin.