Monday Practice Report & Links

Georgia wrapped up its morning practice -- the first two-a-days session of the fall -- around 11:15 today. It was also the first full-pads practice and the first with contact, which was a nice change of pace for everyone -- except perhaps the young guys.

"A lot of guys might have had a little first-time jitters, but after that first piece of contact, that's gone," linebacker Akeem Dent said. "It's just good to get outside and get to feeling like it's a game."

The Bulldogs had spent the past five practices in shorts or shells without tackling to the ground, which gives the offensive players a chance to shake off the rust and, on a few occasions, push the envelope. Today's practice was an opportunity for the defense to exact a little revenge.

"It was a good feeling," defensive end Demarcus Dobbs said. "Richard Samuel, Caleb King, Dontavius, Carlton, they all like to run hard, especially when we're in thud and can't go to the ground. So it was a nice switchover and a good chance to take them to the ground, execute a little revenge. It was good for us to unleash and play to our full capability."

It was also the first chance to get past a major mental hurdle for some of Georgia's veterans returning from injuries. Quarterback Joe Cox gave glowing reviews of left tackle Trinton Sturdivant's performance, saying the lineman is moving exceptionally well following an ACL tear that kept him off the field in 2008.

Jeff Owens survived his first contact drills, too, and said his knee feels fine. Still, he did have one complaint.

"I didn't really get a clean shot like I wanted to," Owens said. "I got Richard (Samuel) on the inside drill. It just wasn't that clean shot I wanted on that first hit."

Georgia is back out on the field at 4:35 for the second session of today's practice, this time in shells.

I'll have post-practice notes up following Mark Richt's comments this afternoon.

In the meantime, some links...

-- Senator Blutarsky has some more updates on the new and improved Mumme Poll, namely that there will be a number of guest writers involved, including yours truly.

-- Blogging Pantsless takes a firm stand against the SEC's new rules prohibiting video at games, practices and interviews. From talking to numerous reporters here and elsewhere in the SEC, I can tell you this is going to be an issue that won't go away.

-- Georgia Sports Blog looks at the coaches who have gone the longest without taking their teams to a BCS bowl game.

-- The Athens Banner-Herald catches up with Arthur Lynch, whose Boston accent has turned some heads in Georgia.

-- Sorry, this is subscription only, but Rivals has a good story on Georgia defensive end Reuben Faloughi, a preferred walk-on this year who has impressed in early practices.

-- Fletcher Page offers a nice recap of some early impressions of fall camp at The Chapel Bell.

-- The AJC's Tim Tucker does something similar with 10 things you need to know from Week 1.

-- The Gwinnett Daily Post has a story on the leader of Georgia's defense, Rennie Curran.

-- The Oklahoman has a bunch of quotes from Oklahoma State players about their opening game against Georgia.

-- Dannell Ellerbe is off to a great start in Ravens camp in hopes of proving that a lot of NFL teams got it wrong by not drafting him.

-- Knowshon Moreno has arrived at Broncos camp and will play in this weekend's preseason game.

-- Another new addition to the Georgia basketball schedule for 2009-10... Wofford!

-- Oh man do I wish I had gone to Lollapalooza this year -- not for any of the shows there, but for this show at a club near Wrigley Field.

-- I know it's been a few days since the new of John Hughes' death, but I came across this and thought it was definitely worth sharing. It's good to know that some people never forget where they came from.

-- As newspapers continue to struggle financially, Rupert Murdoch thinks he has a solution -- charging for Web content.

-- Example No. 1,876,653 that Hollywood gets dumber by the day: They're making "Wallsreet 2."

-- And finally, Entertainment Weekly ranks the 50 best biopics of all time. I'm shocked to discover they don't count "Spinal Tap" as a biopic.