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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tuesday Practice Notes

So, big news that isn't really anything new to those who have been paying attention: It looks like the Dawgs have settled on an offensive line for Game 1.

Mark Richt said that -- tentatively -- Kiante Tripp will start at left tackle, Vince Vance at left guard, Chris Davis at center, Cordy Glenn at right guard and Josh Davis at right tackle.

"It seems like they're starting to sync into that little lineup there," Richt said. "It's not really a big secret to me, I don't really care if anybody knows who our starting lineup is, I say it the way I said it because I'm still not sure that's how we're going to end up, but that's how it would be if we played tomorrow."

Richt said Bean Anderson, Tanner Strickland and Ben Jones will all see playing time in the game, too, assuming they don't find a way into the starting lineup between now and game day.

Clint Boling will likely grab either the right guard or right tackle spot after returning from a one-game suspension against Central Michigan, though Richt left open the possibility that Tripp could move back to right tackle and Boling could take over on the left side.

Anderson, who had looked like a sure starter before being passed on the depth chart by Glenn, a true freshman, has seemed like the odd man out. Richt, however, said he has seen some improvement from Anderson.

"He's actually been playing some right tackle and looking pretty good at it," Richt said. "We messed around with him at tackle a little bit last year, too. He's athletic enough to do it. The more reps he gets the better off he'll be."

Other notes from practice:

-- Richt mentioned Kevin Perez and Ben Harden as two other linemen making big gains in camp. "This is about the time in their careers where they should be making progress," Richt said.

-- Akeem Dent and Strickland both were in green jerseys. Strickland injured his foot in Friday's scrimmage and tried to play through it, but to no avail. Richt said he hopes to be back tomorrow. Dent has a hip pointer that Richt said is probably not going to be treatable, saying Dent will likely have to play through it and wait for it to heal.

-- Tuesday's practice included a bit more work playing against the Georgia Southern scheme. Richt said because GSU does so many things so much differently than the Bulldogs do, they've begun practicing for the game earlier than usual.

Georgia will take on the scout team in a GSU scrimmage on Thursday (Richt had originally said Wednesday), something Richt said he was looking forward to.

"That will be the first time we're on the same team, offense and defense, since the bowl game really. It's fun to get everybody on the same sideline and put the enemy on the other sideline," Richt said.

-- D-ends coach Jon Fabris lamented the sheer number of injuries at that position this preseason, and said he is nowhere close to selecting a starter opposite Rod Battle. Fabris said he doesn't have a single player in camp who is even at 90 percent, health-wise. He said he was similarly unsure about the punt return position, adding that it was possible he wouldn't make a decision until pregame warm-ups the day of the game.

-- Richt said the defensive tackles would probably rotate quite a bit in Week 1, with Kade Weston and Corvey Irvin getting significant playing time. He also said Ricardo Crawford has made big strides during camp and was in line for more PT as well.

-- Apparently there's not much movement on deciding who will handle kick-off duties this season either, though Richt said he hoped to have a better idea after Thursday's scrimmage. He said several walk-ons were in camp -- including Brian Behr -- and had looked impressive thus far.

1 comment:

ChicagoDawg said...

The Anderson story line is intriguing to be sure. It will say a lot about his character as to how he learns from and responds to what can only be considered a disappointment for him personally. It seemed to be all out there for him, with a lot of advantages in his favor.... he did not have any big injury issues (that were revealed anyway) and the loss of Boling and Sturdivant would seemed to have made him a lock for a stating Guard spot, but I am sure if the coaches thought he was the better player at this point, he would be on the field. Hopefully, he keeps his head right, stays motivated and uses the opportunities that will come his way in the first couple of weeks.