Thursday Practice Notes (10/9)

-- Richt said only the game will tell how well Georgia's players have learned their lesson about excessive penalties, but his attitude has been similar to a frustrated parent this week.

"There's a greater awareness of how damaging they've been, and they've got to do something about it," Richt said. "We were trying to do something about it. It's just like if you have a child you hope you can reason with to change behavior. That might be your first approach. But it wasn't very effective that way, so now you've got to ramp it up, ramp up the consequence."

And for any of you who have spent time in the military, you'll recognize Richt's plans for punishment:

"Instead of it being one guy that pays the price, the whole team pays the price, which tends to provide a little peer pressure."

-- With flanker Kris Durham out against Tennessee with an ankle injury, junior Michael Moore should see more playing time this week, Richt said.

Moore is third on the team with 13 catches and 196 yards receiving this season, including a 24-yard touchdown grab against Alabama two weeks ago.

"Michael's had some pretty fine performances this season already, and I thought he played well in the Alabama game," Richt said. "He made some very tough catches, and he almost made a couple others in the heart of a two-deep zone."

Wide receiver Tavarres King missed the Alabama game with an ankle injury, but has looked sharp in practice this week and could also fill the void left by Durham.

"He looked good (Tuesday) running routes," Richt said of King. "It was not in a competitive situation, but he didn't look like he had any limp in him at all."

Between the two of them, Richt hopes they can fill the void left by Durham in the slot. King practiced at the position for the first time this week.

"It could be that Tavarres gets some more reps in there, too," Richt said, "but Michael is the guy that is going to get more work from the injury."

-- No word from Richt on exactly who will start at tight end yet, but he said both Bruce Figgins and Aron White will see significant time. Where that leaves Kiante Tripp remains to be seen, but chances are he won't see much time if Figgins shoulder holds up this week.

-- Darryl Gamble will get the start at middle linebacker against Tennessee with Dannell Ellerbe unable to play.

Richt said he wasn't sure if Akeem Dent or Darius Dewberry would get the start at Sam linebacker, but Gamble indicated it would be Dent. Rennie Curran will remain at Will.

Dewberry missed the first two games of the season while suspended for damaging several items at St. Mary's Hospital following a preseason fight involving teammates Marcus Dowtin and Donavon Baldwin.

Upon Dewberry's return, Richt said those long suspensions can often hamper a player throughout much of the season, and that has been the case for Dewberry. The junior from Ft. Valley has not played much and has just one tackle this season.

"We're definitely going to be missing a little bit of leadership (without Ellerbe)," Curran said. "(Dewberry) had a great week of practice. He's hustling to the ball, whatever he has to do during practice. I'm positive looking at this game he's going to do well."

-- The job was up for grabs this week, Richt said, but he expects Chris Davis to get the starting job at left guard over freshman Cordy Glenn. "Right this second, I think it's Chris," Richt said, "but Cordy is definitely going to play a good bit."

-- Justin Fields will remain at fullback despite the return of Brannan Southerland from injury, and Richt said he has played so well there that the coaches will likely not pursue an extra fullback in this year's recruiting class. Benjamin Boyd, who switched to fullback this spring, has been returned to linebacker, where he played last season.

-- Richt announced the captains for Saturday's game would be Brannan Southerland, Geno Atkins, Corvey Irvin and Andrew Williams.