Scrimmage Stats

I'll have more football notes up at some point tonight, but I've got to shift some focus over to the basketball coaching search, too. Here's the main info you'll need from the first scrimmage of the spring...

Georgia held its first scrimmage of the spring Monday, and the results, according to head coach Mark Richt, were decidedly mixed.

Both the offense and defense were dominant at times, but neither unit handled adversity well.

"There were spurts," Richt said. "When things were going well on one side of the ball or another, they had enthusiasm. When they weren't, they had their head down a little bit. They have to be able to recover from a bad play. We've got to be able to handle a little adversity when things don't go just right."

The beginning of the scrimmage was dominated by Georgia's defense, which held the first-team offense to virtually nothing on the first six or seven plays, but freshman quarterback Aaron Murray and walk-on wide receiver Vernon Spellman hooked up for a 75-yard touchdown pass that turned the tide.

"It looked like they were going to stop them again on third-and-long, and (Murray) launched one out there that Spellman caught on the run for a touchdown," Richt said. "Then it got pretty back-and-forth from that point. I would say we've got a long way to go yet."

The sudden momentum shifts were a particular concern for Richt, who watched his team respond poorly to big runs by Alabama, Florida and Georgia Tech in losses last season. Richt said he addressed his team after practice Monday to ensure he got his message across, and said it will now be up to the team's leaders to respond with a strong performance in Tuesday's practice session.

"We've got to understand things aren't always going to go out way, and we've got to be able to recover right away and play ball," Richt said. "I just didn't see that."

Stats from the day...

RUSHING
Daniels 9-45-2
Thomas 8-26-1
King 6-32
Chapas 3-7-2 ("Sounds like a fullback," Richt said.)
*Note, Richt said some of those runs were when the team was practicing goal-line work, so not to get too excited about the TD numbers. I was also told that, despite the mediocre YPC for Carlton Thomas, he looked exceptional.

PASSING (completions-attempts-INTs-yards)
Cox 9-13-0-79, 1TD
Murray 4-6-0-131, 1TD
Gray 3-8-1-64
Mettenberger 1-10-1-4 ("He had quite a few balls dropped," Richt said.)

RECEIVING
Green 5-65
Marquis Brown 3-24 and a fumble
Moore 2-14 1 TD
White 2-57
Spellman 1-75 TD
Wilson, Troupe, Chapas, C King 1 catch each

KICKING
Walsh 47-yd FG ("Outstanding kick," Richt said.)

DEFENSE
Nick Williams 6 tackles
Boykin 6
Hollander 3
Gamble 3
Houston 3
Dowtin 3 and a fumble recovery
Griffith 3
11 others with 2
Commings, Rambo 1 INT each
Cuff 3 pass breakups
Evans, Pugh, Rambo 1 PBU each
Sacks – Crawford, Tyson, Weston and two for Atkins