Dawgs at the Combine

First, a couple of links worth checking out over at ESPN.com...

-- Mark Schlabach has an interesting story on the growth and significance of Junior Day around college football.

-- Len Pasquarelli has a good piece on Rennie Curran, who is fighting an uphill battle in the draft due to his size.

As for the combine, here's how Georgia's former players stacked up. You can find full combine results HERE.

-- I'm not sure how much any of this means when discussing Georgia's strength and conditioning program, but all for of the Bulldogs' participants ranked among the leaders on the bench press at their position.

Geno Atkins: Measured in at 6-1, which made him the shortest defensive tackle at the combine, in a tie with North Carolina's Aleric Mullins and, coincidentally, Georgia's own Jeff Owens. He checked in at 293 pounds, which was also among the lightest, but again no big surprise, since it's Atkins size that has been the biggest question mark when evaluating his draft stock. Of course, while he's not the tallest DT in the draft, he is among the fastest. He clocked in with a 4.75 40 time, behind only Arizona's Earl Mitchell, who ran a 4.70. Atkins was nearly a full second ahead of Terrence Cody (5.64). On the bench, he mustered 34 reps, tied for the third most among DTs. His 33-inch vertical left a bit to be desired, but his 9-9 in the broad jump was tops among those who participated.

Jeff Owens: Checked in at 6-1, 304, which is two inches less than his listed height at Georgia. Owens ran the 40 in 5 seconds flat, which was a little under the average at his position -- nothing that will necessarily turn heads, but good enough to keep his stock rising. Of course, where Owens really showed out was on the bench press, where he did a whopping 44 reps -- five more than the next closest competitor and 15 more than the average among other defensive tackles. As a point of comparison, Owens' 5.0/44 was every bit as impressive -- if not more so -- than Ndamukong Suh's 4.98/34. Arkansas offensive lineman Mitch Petrus was the only combine participant at any position to do more bench press reps than Owens.

Rennie Curran: A pulled hamstring forced Curran out of Monday's portion of the combine, which certainly didn't help his stock. He measured in at 5-10.5, which is a half-inch shorter than the 5-11 mark some scouts had said was the bare minimum and he was the only OLB who checked in at less than 6 feet. Despite his smaller size, Curran's arm length was 31.5 and his hand length was 10-3/8, both of which were above average. On the bench, Curran mustered 25 reps, which made him one of the top performers at his position, with only Missouri's Sean Witherspoon (34), Oklahoma's Keenan Clayton (27) and Penn State's Navarro Bowman (26) doing more.

Reshad Jones: Jones likely helped his draft stock a bit at the combine. His 24 reps on the bench press were second only to Oklahoma State's Lucien Antoine among all defensive backs, while his 4.54 40 time was the eighth best among safeties (although a good bit slower than Eric Berry's 4.40 or Taylor Mays' astounding 4.24). Defensive backs wrap up the combine this afternoon with broad jump, vertical and cone drills.

Reshad Talks NFL, Future

Reshad Jones met with media today to discuss his decision to leave school early and enter the NFL draft. He told me earlier today that he expected Rennie Curran would be announcing today, too, but backed off those comments this afternoon, and UGA sports information director Claude Felton confirms that Curran has not yet made an official decision.

As for the rest of what Jones had to say, here ya go...

On making his decision...
“I decided to come out of school early. I talked about it with my family and prayed about it. I got my stuff back from the NFL advisory board. Like I said, I sat down with my granddad, and we kind of felt this was the best decision for me.”

On his NFL evaluation...
“I don’t want to go in-depth on what my grade was, but it was pretty good. It was good enough for me to make my decision.”

On his hopes for the draft...
“I hope to be a first-rounder. I think it is possible with the strong safety class this year. I’ll have to go the combine and just work my butt off and see how everything goes.”

On what he thinks the knocks on him are...
“A lot of guys probably think I can’t run as fast as I can, so really I just need to blow up the combine like I know I can and just increase my stock and move on up the draft board.”

On NFLers he talked to about the decision...
“I kind of talked to Mohamed (Massaquoi). We’re pretty close. And he just said, ‘Man, the next level is a business, and make sure you’re mentally prepared for the next level. I think you’ve got all the tools physically. Just make sure you come prepared mentally.’”

On waiting for a new DC to be hired...
“I was considering doing that but the time was getting close and I knew that whatever I was going to do, I needed to make my decision. I know I needed to do it fast, and I got my papers back and talked about it with my grandparents and I knew it was time for me to make a decision. I decided to come on out because I needed to start training and preparing myself for the next level.”

On the reaction from Richt/Garner...
“Coach Richt and those guys supported me. They said I’ve done all I can do at Georgia, I’ve been great for Georgia, and they supported me whichever way I was leaning.”

On his career at Georgia...
“I think I had a pretty solid four years here at the University of Georgia. I was all-conference last year, second team, and I made second-team this year. I think I’ve made some tremendous strides over a four-year period, not only on the football field but off the football field also as a man. I’ve matured, and that’s what led me up to making my decision also. I feel like I’m mentally and physically prepared for the next level.”

On how prepared Bacarri Rambo is to step in for him...
“Watching Bacarri grow, I think he’s going to fit right into my shoes. He’s learning the game, he knows his stuff now, and I think he’ll be a big help for Georgia and the secondary next year.”

On the reactions of his teammates...
“A lot of guys were thinking about me leaving, talking about me leaving, but they probably said that because there’s always room for improvement. You can always get better. But I felt like the time was right for me to make that jump.”

On what he thinks the last year accomplished for him...
“I think I’ve always been physically ready. I just wanted to learn the game a little bit more, get in the film room, break down tape and just know the game more. That extra year gave me more opportunities to evaluate the game more and be a better player.”

On whether playing for a new DC in a new scheme affected his decision...
“That would be kind of hard coming in my senior year learning a whole new scheme when I’ve been a part of the same scheme for four years. That would be kind of hard to get a hold on.”

On whether he talked to Willie Martinez...
“I talked to him and let him know the way I was leaning. He said to just make sure you do the right decision and he was going to have my back and support whichever way I do.”

On his final two games...
“I had a pretty good season last year but I ended off on a bad note last year. Playing a great game in the Tech game and the bowl game kind of solidified my decision of making the jump early.”

On where he thinks he ranks right now for the draft...
“I’ve had a lot of people say right now that I’m ranked in the top five safeties to come out and enter the draft, so I really want to be in the top two safeties. So I’m just going to keep working and see what happens.”

Jones Headed to NFL, Curran Could Follow

Georgia safety Reshad Jones is headed to the NFL, and it’s expected that linebacker Rennie Curran will follow suit. Both players will hold a teleconference with media today to announce their decisions.

(UPDATE: UGA says no teleconference is scheduled and that Curran has yet to make a decision. Reshad Jones will meet with reporters today at 2 p.m.)

Jones, who flirted with the NFL last year before ultimately deciding to return to school, said he will definitely enter the NFL draft this year after finishing second on the team with 68 tackles and making three interceptions.

Jones said he has not yet hired an agent or decided where to train, but he expected to do so within “the next couple of days.”

A year ago, Jones said input from a few former Georgia players and the wishes of his family kept him in school. This time around, he said he has their full support, particularly from family members whom he talked with extensively before making up his mind.

“They really just want the best for me,” Jones said. “We sat down and talked about it and they said I was ready, too.”

Jones said his evaluation from the NFL was “good enough for me,” but said he didn’t wish to discuss the evaluation further.

While the decision for Jones was ultimately an easy one, he said, that didn’t seem to be the same feeling within the locker room.

“Everybody knows it’s best for him to come back,” fellow safety Bryan Evans said before Georgia’s bowl game. “He has the potential to go higher next year than this year. But it’s up to him. If he feels this is his time to go, he’ll make that decision for himself.”

Curran led the SEC in tackles with 122 this year and will be a part of the teleconference, Jones said, but he could not confirm Curran’s final decision about the NFL.

Georgia still does not have a defensive coordinator hired, and defensive tackles coach Rodney Garner had said following the Bulldogs’ bowl game that he hoped both players would wait until that decision was made before making up their minds on the NFL. At the time, that is something both Curran and Jones said they planned to do.

Curran Wrestles With Tough Decision

I have a story in today's Telegraph on the difficult decision process that Georgia juniors Rennie Curran and Reshad Jones are going through as they weigh whether or not to return to school for their final seasons or bolt for the NFL, where both could be relatively early draft picks. I spoke with Rennie at length about his decision, and I thought his responses were particularly interesting. Here's the full interview...

David Hale: Obviously most people will talk about your on-field efforts and your NFL review as to how prepared you are for the next level. But what are some of those things outside of football that are weighing heavily in your decision?

Rennie Curran: It’s not only about football or about money or anything like that. Certainly coming back and being a senior and having that legacy like a David Greene or a David Pollack, that’s huge for me as well. Being able to represent the school and having a chance to win those senior awards. Having a chance to be the career tackle leader, that’s huge to me and has a lot to do with my decision as well. There’s a lot of personal reasons for coming back that people might now see. There’s other things like just having fun. This is the best time of my life. Being in Athens in general, just being with my teammates, these are moments I’ll never be able to get back. People think about the league and everything, all they see is the money. They think when you make a decision to leave, it’s all about money. It’s really not. There’s so much more than that. It’s something that has about a million variables when you’re in a position like mine.

DH: I know you've talked often about the charitable work you do and the stuff you want to do in the future, doing work in Liberia and also in your own community. How does that factor into your thought process?

RC: It’s something that’s going to be a huge part of what I do. Football is not all there is to it. There are a lot of people you can effect by going to that next level – for instance going to Liberia and starting up my own charitable foundation and just giving back to the community as a whole. I’m a local kid. I grew up in Atlanta, 45 minutes away from Athens. There are countless things I can do in the community to just help and give back – not only to my own family, but to young kids who need mentorship and things like that. The possibilities are endless.

DH: How much have you talked with former players like Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and Asher Allen, who all went through this just last year?

RC: I talk to Asher a whole lot. He’s given me the reality of it all, just letting me know that it is going to be a grind and it doesn’t get any easier, just filling me in. It’s been great to hear from those guys. Brannan Southerland, I talked to Matt, too. They’ve told me how their experience was and telling me if they had it to do over again, what they would do. It’s all been positive, and it’s really helped me out.

DH: Have you spent some time talking about this stuff with Reshad Jones, who is also weighing his options on the future?

(*Note: Be sure to check out the Telegraph story for some interesting comments from Reshad and Bryan Evans about Jones' future with the Dawgs.)

RC: When you have other teammates that are in a similar situation, it makes things a whole lot easier. You can relate to each other and you can ask each other how they feel about certain issues. It’s definitely been something he and I have talked about a lot – and talked about with our teammates. It’s something you can’t help but discuss when it’s getting toward the end of the season.

DH: So do you have a few teammates that are giving you the hard sell, trying to convince you to come back for another year?

RC: Everybody – but I’m making it hard on myself. I want to come back. I love it here. I’ve learned so much since I’ve been here. And really, when I think about it, I’ve only been here two-and-a-half years, so it really has flown by. There’s still so much I can do in Athens, so much I can accomplish. So it goes both ways, and I feel like it’s a win-win situation.

DH: Has it dawned on you that this could potentially be your final game for Georgia? Is that something you think about right now?

RC: I just put it out of my mind and get ready for it just like another game, just enjoy it and play for my seniors and my coaches who are gone now and represent the school as well as I can. Every time I go out, I give it my best. I hope people see that, and I hope if this is my last game, I hope that’s what people will remember about me – that every single play of every single game, I fought my heart out. I love the game and I love Georgia.

Practice Notes: Christmas Comes Early for Bobo

With five children between ages 2 and 5, Christmas is an exciting time of year in Mike Bobo’s house. But with Georgia set to depart for Shreveport, La. on Thursday, the normal holiday routine had to change a bit.

Since Bobo and his family will be in Shreveport on Christmas day with the Bulldogs preparing for their bowl date with Texas A&M, the schedule was moved up a bit. The Bobos held Christmas Eve festivities tonight and Christmas day comes Wednesday.

“My kids are jacked, and I’m jacked, too,” Bobo said.

While Bobo admits his wife did most of the shopping, he had the crucial job of ensuring that Santa was aware of the tweaked holiday schedule at his house. Luckily for him, Santa was happy to oblige.

“It just happens that we’re playing the 28th, so Santa’s coming early,” Bobo said. “We wrote him a letter, and he wrote back and said if they’re nice to mom, he’ll come early.”

GRADES ARE IN

Georgia head coach Mark Richt got some good news on the academic front as the Bulldogs wrapped up their final practice of the year in Athens. No players have been ruled academically ineligible for the bowl game on Dec. 28, and the overall efforts of the team in the classroom during the fall semester were exceptional, he said.

While results aren’t official yet, Richt said he was told 43 players earned a 3.0 GPA or better during the fall semester, and the overall team GPA was better than 2.7.

“No one has really any issues going into the spring as far as grade point average and all the number of hours needed is very manageable,” Richt said. “So it was really a very successful semester academically.”

TALKING IT OVER

While Georgia will bid farewell to a large group of seniors after the Independence Bowl, two juniors on defense could be departing, too.

Linebacker Rennie Curran and safety Reshad Jones are both considering leaving school a year early for the NFL draft, and Richt said he has spoken with both players about their decisions. While he said he’s offered advice to both Curran and Jones, he said neither has made up their mind and both are focused on ending the season – and possibly their careers – on a high note against Texas A&M.

“We’ve had some conversations, but more of the trying to make sure we’re getting good information and not putting this decision before finishing out their careers in a very positive way,” Richt said. “They’re definitely thinking about it. But neither one has definitely said I’m doing one thing or the other at this point.”

BOYKIN TO THE RESCUE

Georgia held its final practice in Athens this season on Tuesday with a morning workout that focused primarily on special teams. The practice ended, however, with the annual pre-Christmas conditioning in which Richt made the team run 10 half-gassers – across the width of the football field and back – unless a player stepped up to sing a Christmas carol in front of his teammates.

“Somebody had to stand up in front of the team and sing at least a verse or two of a song,” Richt said. “It was Chester Adams for years. He would sing ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,’ and he’d do a great job of that.”

This year, the volunteers were sparse, but finally cornerback Brandon Boykin stepped up to offer his voice to save some running – about 500 yards worth, according to Richt – for his teammates.

“He sang something about a mistletoe, I’m not quite sure,” Richt said. “But he sang it well. He cut those gassers in half, so that was a good deal.”

TUNING IN FOR BOWDEN

Bobby Bowden, will be coaching the final game of his career on Jan. 1, and his former protégé hasn’t ruled out a trip to watch.

Richt said he’ll definitely tune in for the game, but wouldn’t rule out a trip to Jacksonville to watch it in person. The truth is, he said, he hadn’t yet considered the fact that he would be off work on the first of the year.

“I haven’t thought about it,” Richt said. “I guess I’m so used to playing on the first you don’t think about being able to do something like that.”

SIMMER DOWN

With the Christmas holiday looming and Georgia’s bowl game less than a week away, Richt said his search for a new defensive coordinator is likely to take a backseat for a few days, at least.

“We’ll work on that more after the bowl games,” Richt said. “But we’ll get it done.”

EXTRA POINTS

-- Richt noted that things would look a quite different on Georgia's practice fields the next time the Bulldogs got together in Athens for a full practice. Construction is ongoing at the Butts-Mehre facility, with concrete being poured and steel being put into place for an expansion to the football facilities. In the meantime, team meeting rooms have been moved to trailers and the team set up a temporary weight room in Stegeman Coliseum that Richt dubbed, "the dungeon."

-- Richard Samuel said he's feeling back to normal after suffering a concussion during practice prior to the Georgia Tech game last month. “I remembered everything that happened, but at the beginning of it, I didn’t think it was that bad," Samuel said of the injury. "But the symptoms kept reoccurring.” That has since cleared up, and he said he'll be able to play in Georgia's bowl game, where he is expected to start on several special teams units as well as back up Caleb King and Washaun Ealey at tailback.

Practice Notes: Aggies Present Big Challenge to Dawgs' D

Georgia has faced plenty of fast-paced offenses this season, but Texas A&M will present a challenge unlike any the Bulldogs have battled before.

The Aggies run an up-tempo style that often yields 80 or more plays a game, keeping defenses on their toes and creating plenty of chaos on the field.

“It’s quicker than anyone we’ve seen,” Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran said. “If you watch the film, they catch a lot of teams off guard, a lot of defenses aren’t ready.”

Oklahoma State and Auburn both ran quick-paced offenses as well, with the Tigers’ attack being a similar style of no-huddle to Texas A&M, but Georgia head coach Mark Richt said that the Aggies take things to an even higher level.

“They want as many plays as they can possibly get,” Richt said. “They are fast. That’s their goal. More plays, more yards, more points. That’s the way they see it.”

The results have been positive for Texas A&M, which ranks first in the Big 12 in total offense and fifth nationally, totaling 465 yards per game on average.

What makes the Aggies even tougher to defend is that they rarely substitute players, which prevents the defense from adjusting personnel, too, but A&M still manages to run multiple formations on offense.

“They go fast without changing any personnel,” Richt said. “And what they do with the same personnel group is run multiple formations. Multiple formations and speed between plays is creating problems for everybody they’ve played.”

The battle plan defensively is the same as what Georgia used against Auburn – plenty of scout team work in practice against the hurry-up and close attention to film study to quickly recognize keys.

But more than the defensive adjustments, Richt said the best plan for stopping the Aggies’ high-flying attack is to keep it on the sideline.

“The longer we can hold the ball,” Richt said, “the better we’ll be.”

STAYING ON THE FIELD

With a makeshift defensive coaching staff for the bowl game, Richt said he wasn’t sure which of Georgia’s two graduate assistants – Todd Hartley or Mitch Doolittle – would coach from the field and which would head to the press box yet, but on the offensive side of the ball, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo remains comfortable on the sideline.

Bobo had coached from the press box virtually his entire career, but against Vanderbilt this season, he moved to the field and the result has been a dramatically improved offensive attack.

“We’ve improved in particular in the run game and possibly the overall intensity level of the team,” Richt said. “He’s got a lot of enthusiasm on the ground, and it hasn’t seemed to bother him to make the calls he likes to make, so I would think he’d keep doing it.”

TOUGH CALL ON ROBINSON

Georgia defensive end Montez Robinson will not travel with the Bulldogs to the bowl game in Shreveport, La. and remains on indefinite suspension, but Richt said he’s moving closer to a decision on the freshman’s future.

“We’re working on that decision is the best we can say,” Richt said.

Richt refused to put a definitive timetable on the decision, but he said the choice of whether to reinstate Robinson or dismiss him from the team has been a particularly difficult one.

Robinson spent much of his life in foster care and group homes and has shouldered a large portion of the responsibility for caring for his younger siblings. Richt said he remains torn in trying to balance the discipline necessary after Robinson was charged with assault earlier this month and the desire to keep him in a stable environment.

“It’ll be a tough decision, I can tell you,” Richt said.

INJURY UPDATES

Updating several key bumps and bruises as the Bulldogs prepare for the bowl game...

Reshad Jones has been in a green non-contact jersey for the past few practices. “He’s got more of a tendonitis issue in his knee, but nothing real serious," Richt said. He added that there may be some other nagging injuries but did not expect Jones to miss the bowl game.

A.J. Green has remained in Green but said he is completely healthy. Richt said the team remains cautious for now. “He’s doing everything, but we’re trying to minimize any contact right now," Richt said. "The day after Christmas, when we’re in pads that day, he probably won’t be in green and we’ll let him get some contact.”

Bacarri Rambo has made a full recovery since suffering a concussion after making a hit against Auburn. Richt said Sunday's practice was a particularly good one for Rambo, who shows no signs of hesitancy at the point of contact after the injury. “The speed at which he’s breaking on the ball, even when we’re asking our guys to thud runners and receivers, he’s doing a great job of making direct hits and he does it the way it needs to be done," Richt said. "Bacarri is really a fine football player.” “He’s sticking his face on those guys and wrapping up and running his feet with no hesitation right now.”

Wide receiver Marlon Brown has missed the past three practices after suffering a concussion last week during practice.

EXTRA POINTS

-- Asked about players for next year that have shown significant promise during the bowl practices, Richt offered defensive tackle Kwame Geathers and freshmen quarterbacks Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger.

-- Richt said that, while bowl practices are often a time for next year's players to get a start on impressing coaches, about 90 percent of the work done this month has been about preparing for the bowl game against Texas A&M.

-- Richt said it would have been understandable for some of the players to slack off a bit with the defensive coaching changes and the lower-tier bowl game this month, but he said for the most part the tempo has been high. "The second or third day of installation, it just wasn't good. I think the first couple days of install, Day 2 and 3, you could tell they were thinking too much. They were getting the calls but they weren't playing very fast. So we were pleased they were getting it, understanding it and communicating it well, but they really weren't playing fast enough and physical enough. Today, that was our big emphasis -- hey you know the plan now or at least you have it in your mind well enough to where you can start executing it with some speed and some physicalness. They did that today. It was a really good day. I guess you could have a problem with that, but I don't see that right now. I see a great attitude."

Sunday Teleconference Notes (11/22)

Not much in terms of concrete answers in Sunday's teleconference with Mark Richt. Here's what was said:

-- Richt called the fumbled kickoff to start the second half the turning point, noting that had Georgia scored, they would have taken a 21-point lead, but giving Kentucky the quick score instead left Georgia up by just seven, allowing the Wildcats to continue working their game plan without adjusting its approach and taking more chances.

-- Richt said neither A.J. Green nor Bacarri Rambo were slam dunks to play this week, but said he was hopeful on both.

-- Georgia will not hold classes this week, which Richt said will be a big advantage for the Bulldogs, who can now go beyond the normal 20 hours of prep time to get ready for Georgia Tech.

-- Richt said they'll do more full-speed tackling in practice this week and work to simulate the types of blocking Georgia Tech does in order to prepare the defense for the task of stopping the Jackets.

-- Richt said Reshad Jones, who was criticized heavily after last year's Tech game, has been Georgia's best perimeter tackler this season.

-- Asked about the postseason picture: "I'm not sure where, but I can promise you we'll be thankful anywhere we get to go."

-- Richt again reiterated that he did not feel the toss sweep was a risky play on the third-and-1 at the 1. He said the toss sweep is a routine part of Georgia's offense and it was reasonable to run it there.

-- After watching the film, he said Washaun Ealey had started his break toward the line too soon on the toss sweep and was in bad position to receive the toss. "Why? I don't know. I'm sure it had something to do with the guy being a true freshman."

-- Regarding the kickoff problems, Richt again went back to the well of the coverage team being too young. He said last year was a good coverage team, but problems with the kicking. This year is good kicking, but a young coverage team ("We've been breaking in a bunch of rookies covering it, so that's been more of the issue"). On the fix: "I would think as time goes on, those boys will get better at what they do and Blair will continue to do well and we ought to be in good shape. But right now we're searching for answers. And also we ran up against a team that really is the finest in the league and probably one of the best in the country, too. So some of the things we try to do really weren't all that effective."

-- On why Georgia has not improved in areas of penalties and turnovers: "The turnover thing has never been like this. That's really the thing that did us in. The penalties -- offensive we had a couple and overcame them, and they didn't really cost us. Well, I think one of them did. Defensively, of course, the penalties hurt us and they continued to score on those drives. But it's definitely been frustrating no doubt. It looked like we had turned the corner last week with the penalties cut down dramatically and winning the turnover ratio was the difference in winning and losing that one. I don't think the penalties got us as much as the turnovers did. If we just don't turn it over and they don't turn it over, I believe we win the ballgame. But that's not what happened."

-- And finally, since there was not an AJC columnist there to pose the question, I asked Richt about the state of the program. My question exactly: "I know you've said that you remain confident in the state of the program, but I think fans see the last 16 games, you have a record of 9-7. What do you say to fans who see the results but don't know what's happening in the locker room?"

His answer: "Well I would just tell them that they need to keep supporting us, keep believing in us and we're going to keep working on our end to make them proud. That's the main thing."

My follow up: "So you would say that the results of the last 16 games are an aberration rather than a sign that the program is not strong?"

His answer: "Well I think that all programs go through some cycles. We've been on a pretty good upswing for quite some time and this year has certainly been a downturn when it comes to record. That's the way I -- I mean, it is what it is. But will we get it back on track and get back to the winning ways we're used to? I think so. I don't think there's any doubt about it."

-- These teleconferences don't make for the easiest back and forth, and clearly Richt wasn't going to start getting into any specifics, so perhaps more follow-up questions would have been a lost cause. But here are four questions I did not get to ask, but would still really like to know:

Why, if he attributes Ealey's mistake to being a true freshman, why they didn't have Caleb King in the game instead?

Why the kickoff coverage team is still a bunch of rookies 11 games into the season?

Beyond the results of this past game, why is it that there have not been improvements on the turnovers or penalties?

What, exactly, makes him so certain that the program will turn things around going forward?

I would like to know those things because I have no doubt those are the things you guys want to know. Whether any of those questions would have come with a reasonable response, I just don't know.

From the Mailbag: Murray Hurt, Reshad's Flag and Talking About Kickoffs

Happy Wednesday ladies and gents. I wanted to take a quick moment to remind you that we'll be continuing with our weekly chat sessions once again, and I'll be chatting live at Macon.com/ugachat tomorrow (Thursday) at noon.

Here's what you can do: Go to Macon.com/ugachat now. Press the "play" button and submit your questions early. Then check back tomorrow at noon (or any time after) and get the answers. Or if you're bored at work and you take a late lunch break, just check in live as the chat is happening.

In the meantime, let's whet your appetite with a few mailbag questions today...

Chip F. writes: do you know why aaron murray did not throw at all during warmups saturday?

DH: Yes, Murray is currently day-to-day with what is described as triceps tendinitis. When I spoke with him last week, he had his elbow wrapped. I inquired as to the reason, and he said it was just normal soreness from throwing. But as Chip points out, he didn't throw during Saturday's warmups, and the "soreness" turned out to be a bit more serious. At this point, however, it's just something being controlled with some rest right now and nothing to be too worried about. What it does signal, however, is that unless something happens to Logan Gray or Joe Cox the rest of the way, both Murray and Zach Mettenberger will be headed for redshirts.

Anonymous Suckup writes: I'm just curious whether the officials thought the hit was illegal in and of itself (facemask, blow to the head, etc.) or whether the officials flagged him for hitting the ball carrier after he stepped on the sideline a couple of steps earlier. In short, was it supposedly a late hit or a dirty hit?

DH: I spoke with Willie Martinez about this yesterday. He said the original call he got on the field Saturday was for a late hit out of bounds. He spoke to league officials later, however, and they clarified that it was actually a personal foul for a horse-collar tackle. Martinez said the coaches have reviewed the film and agreed with the call.

To your first point, however -- yes, the runner pretty clearly was out of bounds before the hit even occurred.

Jason writes: Following up on a couple of your points, I'm really curious to see if you could get a real answer as to why Samuel was out of the game for so long.

DH: Mike Bobo's answer is that it was a combination of wanting to rest Samuel after he had five touches on one drive followed by a series of play calls that required Carlton Thomas to be on the field, particularly the reverse to Branden Smith that went for a 61-yard touchdown. All of that is fine, but it still seems to me that 15 minutes of game time without your top running back touching the football is a mistake, particularly on a third-and-four on a crucial drive on which Georgia ended up being forced to punt.

jferg writes: Can you do a little digging into why our "nfl" DTs aren't making more plays? i just assumed that one of those two would get to the qb on a fairly consistent basis. yet, it seems as if so far this season, they are getting shut down. thoughts?

DH: Well, for one, those NFL DTs are playing a lot of DE. Geno Atkins was there throughout the first half of the Oklahoma State game and Jeff Owens took more than 30 snaps at defensive end against South Carolina. Georgia's coaches are essentially doing a lot of mixing and matching right now, but the return of Justin Houston this week should help calm the waters, so to speak.

Moreover, after talking to coaches, they seemed pretty pleased with the pressure the DTs got against South Carolina. What they were unhappy with was the containment. Georgia had plenty of men in the backfield -- Martinez estimated more than 50 percent of South Carolina's snaps resulted in significant pressure from Georgia's line -- but they couldn't bring Stephen Garcia down, and the Gamecocks QB was routinely able to step up in the pocket, avoid the rush, and either use his feet for short gains or dump the ball off to a receiver in the middle of the field.

Anonymous writes: Are Neland Ball and Christian Robinson still on the roster? Just curious as I have not seen them and apparently Ball's little brother turned to the dark side.

DH: Yup, they're both on the team, but neither is playing much. Ball and Jeremy Longo have been slow to recover from offseason injuries and have not seen the field. Robinson actually got some positive reviews during fall camp, but a mix of depth at linebacker and the missed reps he had during his freshman season last year have kept him shuffled to the back of the pack. Charles White and Akeem Hebron are in a similar situation. We may see a bit more of at least one or two of them this week, however, with Nick Williams questionable and Darius Dewberry out for a second straight game. That being said, the coaches have already taken the step of moving Marcus Washington back to linebacker to help fill the void, so they obviously aren't particularly enthused with the idea of using Robinson, White or Hebron in key situations.

Michael writes: kickoffs? we're talking about kickoffs? its the simplest, most fundamental play of the game. the coach has been here for how many years now? and we're still discussing our strategy on kickoffs? seriously. we're talking about kickoffs. kickoffs. kickoffs? not the game, not the game. kickoffs. not the game, the university of georgia bulldogs are debating what they should do on kickoffs. kickoffs.

DH: Not a punt… not a punt… talkin' about kickoffs. What are we talking about here? Kickoffs. They might return one deep kickoff this year, and that's enough. If I can't kick deep, I can't kick deep. It's as simple as that. You know what I'm saying? We're just talking about kickoffs. We're sitting here… Georgia's supposed to be a franchise program, and we're sitting here talking about kickoffs. Not the game that they go out there and die for. Talking about kickoffs. I'm not shoving it aside like it don't mean anything. But what are we talking about, man? We're talking about kickoffs.

Dekalb writes: I am a Bulldogs Blog enthusiast and avid reader. I read the blog on my Blackberry a lot of times, and lately I can't read it on there because the page is too large to load with all the updates on it. Not sure if it is something you can fix, but I was talking to some of my buddies while we were in Athens this weekend, and they have been having the same problem.

DH: I heard this complaint from a few people, so I checked into it. Apparently the problem is that I've simply been posting too much. The settings on the blog left all posts from the previous seven days up on the main page, and since I've been posting more during the season, that managed to overwhelm the Blackberries. I changed the settings so now just the last 15 posts are on the main page, so hopefully that will help. If anyone is still having trouble though, let me know and I'll continue to work on the problem.

OK, that's it for now. Don't forget to submit your questions and check back tomorrow for our live chat at Macon.com/ugachat.

Practice Notes: Penalties No Problem

Throughout the preseason, Mark Richt made cutting down on penalties a focus. Two games into the season, Georgia ranks 109th in penalties, but given the intensity his team has shown, Richt isn’t complaining.

“If you have to chose between the team playing the way we played with the amount of energy, fire and enthusiasm the whole game, and if the byproduct of that is penalties, I’ll take that over a team that doesn’t have a penalty but doesn’t have a pulse to go with it,” Richt said.

Georgia was flagged 13 times in a win over South Carolina last Saturday bringing the team’s total to 20 for the season. The numbers have been offset, however, by a barrage of penalties against the opposition, too. Oklahoma State was whistled for 15 penalties in Georgia’s opener and South Carolina had 11 flags, including two that overturned touchdowns, last week.

“Some games get wild,” Richt said. “That game got wild.”

Richt said the key for Georgia will be reducing the number of avoidable penalties like offsides calls or having too many men on the field. What he doesn’t want to see happen is players like safety Reshad Jones, who was flagged for personal fouls in each of the first two games, reduce their intensity on game day.

“I love the way he is playing,” Richt said of Jones. “I don’t think he has tried to hurt anybody. As far as the sideline play (against South Carolina), I think he was trying to tackle the guy. You are running full speed, and reaching out and grabbing what you can. Going back to the other play at Oklahoma State, I think he did everything right.”

Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said Jones' flag against South Carolina was originally deemed a late hit by the referees on the field, but was later clarified to be a horse-collar tackle. Martinez said after reviewing the film that he agreed with the assessment.

SEEING SOME ACTION

Freshman receiver Rantavious Wooten joked with senior Michael Moore after Saturday’s game that he finally had a chance to run a route. Wooten was in on just one play against South Carolina, but it was one more play than he had earned a week earlier. The fact that it was a passing play made it even better.

“He’s building off of that, and he’s excited now,” Moore said.

Wooten and fellow freshman Marlon Brown saw just three combined reps in Georgia’s second game of the season after being shut out of playing time in the opener, but quarterback Joe Cox said the lack of action isn’t a knock on their skills. The coaches are simply easing them into the game plan.

“I definitely think they can help us but we want to make sure they know what to do,” Cox said. “It gets crazy just trying to hear my call in the huddle and when we start moving tight ends and doing certain motions with them – we just want o make sure they have everything down. They definitely have ability, but you don’t want to have them come in and miss something important because they weren’t sure.”

The close games Georgia has played in each of the first two weeks haven’t helped matters, but Cox said he’s confident Brown and Wooten will both see increased action as the season progresses.

“It probably would have been different if we’d have put (South Carolina) away,” Cox said. “Then I’m sure Marlon and Rantavious would have gotten a lot of plays. I know they’re ready to play as far as their mentality, but we need to make sure they’ve got everything down in our game plan and they’ll definitely start to get on the field more and more.”

HAPPY RETURNS

With Rod Battle going down with a season-ending knee injury, virtually everyone on Georgia's defense is taking a deep sigh of relief that Justin Houston returns from a two-game suspension this week.

But as excited as the coaches might be, it's defensive tackle Jeff Owens, who had to sub for Battle throughout much of last week's game, that might be the happiest to have the sophomore defensive end back for this week's contest.

"He took 33 snaps at defensive end last game, so I believe he'll appreciate me a lot coming back," Houston said.

LINEBACKER CONCERNS

Georgia will be without senior linebacker Darius Dewberry for a second straight week, Richt said, and sophomore Nick Williams is questionable after sitting out last week’s contest against South Carolina.

“It would be nice to have all those guys healthy,” Richt said. “Dewberry was playing extremely well, and Nick was another one of those young guys who was getting better everyday at practice, and you hate to slow down that progress.”

With Dewberry, a Peach County alum, and Williams sidelined, South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders found plenty of room to get open and finished the game with eight catches for 96 yards. Richt said Darryl Gamble will likely get the task of stopping All-SEC tight end D.J. Williams against Arkansas this week, but the linebacking crew will also get some help from a senior Marcus Washington, who had been moved to defensive end at the start of fall camp.

“Marcus is back at linebacker because we’ve lost a couple of guys there, but he could still be a swing guy in case of an emergency,” linebackers coach John Jancek said. “We’ll go into the game using him as a linebacker and possibly move him to defensive end as well.”

DAILY CALEB UPDATE

Richt said Tuesday morning that the status of tailback Caleb King isn't much different this Tuesday than it was last -- it's a mystery.

But offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said King made it through the entirety of Tuesday's practice, which was a crucial first step toward getting the sophomore back onto the field.
"He looked better than last week, so that's a good sign, but we'll see how he progresses through the week," Bobo said.

READY BUT NOT READY

Safety Quintin Banks has had a hard time staying healthy for the past two years, so now that he’s finally been cleared to start playing again after a knee injury last month, the coaches are taking it slow.

A year ago, the former Houston County standout played in just one game due to a myriad of injuries, and he missed Georgia’s opener this season as well. Banks was dressed for last week’s game against South Carolina but did not play.

“He’s able to play, but he hasn’t had a lot of practice reps,” Richt said. “He hasn’t done a lot of things full speed. I wouldn’t say that he is 100 percent back to the best Quintin Banks can be.”

STRONG START FOR JONES

Richt said one of the most promising developments from Georgia’s first game to its second was the progress made by the freshmen on special teams. At the top of that list, Richt said, is former Northside star Abry Jones, who complimented an increased amount of playing time at defensive tackle with a strong performance on Georgia’s kick return unit that tallied 252 yards last week.

“He has a lot of ability, but he has a ways to go on his fundamentals,” Richt said. “He has a ways to go on every little thing that you have to learn, but we feel like he is going to get better in a hurry, which he is. Abry is moving very rapidly into a very fine player and I think the sky is the limit for him.”

WHERE WAS SAMUEL?

Perhaps the most perplexing part of Georgia's win over South Carolina was the emergence then sudden disappearance of tailback Richard Samuel.

On Georgia's first scoring drive offensively, Samuel had five touches including an 11-yard run and a 16-yard reception, capping the series with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter. After that, however, Samuel got just one more carry in the first half -- also an 11-yard dash -- while Carlton Thomas was on the field throughout much of the second quarter, including working as the pitch man on Branden Smith's 61-yard run on a reverse.

Bobo said Samuel's absence was due to a combination of the play calls and a desire to get the sophomore tailback some rest.

"(Samuel) had ran several times on that drive and ran physically hard, and we just wanted to get him out of the game," Bobo said. "The play for the reverse called for Carlton. … It was the plays we were calling and the players we have for those calls."

GRAY AREA

With Cox hurting, fans assumed they'd see a bit more of backup quarterback Logan Gray against South Carolina, but that wasn't the case.

Just as he had a week earlier against Oklahoma State, Gray got just one snap on offense, and the rationale behind his absence was simply the pace dictated by the game.

"This game we had only 53 snaps and losing possessions hurt his opportunity to go in the game," Bobo said. "Joe was very effective when he was in there and we didn't want to break the rhythm he was in."

Gray will get all the snap with the No. 1 unit during Wednesday's practice again this week, and that will be the routine throughout the season. While Bobo wouldn't guarantee more playing time for the sophomore quarterback on game day, he said the extra action with the first-team offense in practice can be a big stepping stone in Gray's development.

"It's beneficial for him that he's getting a lot of first-team reps and continuing to grow as a quarterback and establish himself as a leader in that huddle with the first group," Bobo said. "The more he becomes comfortable on the practice field, the greater the chance he'll have to get more significant playing time."

SLOW DAY AT PRACTICE

Georgia just dodged the rain for Tuesday's practice, but the effort was a bit dreary still, Richt said.

"It was a little bit sluggish," he said. "I'm sure the game Saturday took a good bit out of them. We've got time to get them ready to play by Saturday."

Richt also announced his captains for this week's game against Arkansas. Clint Boling is the offensive captain, while DeAngelo Tyson gets the nod for the defense. After several key special-teams plays made the difference in Georgia's win over South Carolina last week, Richt made a rare move of naming two captains -- Brandon Boykin and Rennie Curran -- from that unit this week.

"We've probably done it before while I've been at Georgia but I can't really remember a time off the top of my head – at least recently – when we've done so," Richt said.

Tuesday Tidbits: Week 3

Light day of interviews this morning. Only three players were made available for the media, so we're not quite as overwhelmed with info as usual, but here's some of what we learned from Georgia's Tuesday news conference.

-- Mark Richt was exceptionally pleased with Georgia's special teams, particularly the kick return unit. Six of the starters on that unit are freshmen and Justin Fields is the lone senior, and their work against Oklahoma State was abysmal, Richt said. Of Georgia's five kick returns in the opener, Richt said there wasn't a single play in which just three members of the front five made their block and only once did two of them execute properly.

"They got called out, not in a real bad way, but we said, 'Men, we've got to have production,'" Richt said.

The improvement from week 1 to week 2, Richt said, was "astounding."

Richt said all five of the front five executed their blocks on Brandon Boykin's 100-yard return and he said the work remained strong throughout the game.

-- Richt said he wasn't exactly thrilled with Georgia's 13 penalties, but he wasn't too upset either. "The enthusiasm for really the whole game, if a byproduct of that is some penalties, I'll take that over a team that doesn't ever have a penalty but also doesn't have a pulse."

-- Along those lines, Richt said he's not chastising Reshad Jones any for the two personal foul flags he's gotten in Games 1 and 2. Richt said he doesn't think refs are targeting Jones, but he said he's been happy with how the junior safety has handled his job.

"I love the way he's playing, and I love the energy he's playing with," Richt said. "I don't think he tried to hurt anybody as far as the sideline play. He was just trying to tackle the guy. The other play at Okie State, I think he did everything right. … I don't want to say anything to Reshad except just keep playing real hard."

-- Richt joked about the variety of big news surrounding Joe Cox that has come out the past two weeks and said he had planned to make his quarterback show up for today's news conference wearing an eye patch.

That didn't happen, but Cox was wearing tape on his left ring finger. Cox said he jammed the finger trying to tackle Eric Norwood six yards deep in the end zone following an interception. "I guess that's what I get for throwing a pick six," Cox said.

-- Cox said his shoulder injury -- which was first reported last week -- first began causing him problems in February. He said he took several days off during the spring from throwing, and the plan to take Wednesday practices off from throwing this fall had been in place since then. The reports that he would be benched in favor of Logan Gray only surfaced last week because someone mistakenly assumed Cox's off day was an indication that he wouldn't play.

While Cox said the injury hasn't affected him in a game situation at all and doesn't hurt when he throws, he said the fact that Gray is getting significant practice time with the No. 1 unit is a silver lining.

-- Cox said he thinks Rantavious Wooten and Marlon Brown are more than ready to play, but said he thinks coaches have been reluctant to put them in the huddle during key situations because their knowledge of the offense is still limited. He said he expects that to change as the season goes along.

-- Richt said he didn't know who would start at guard this week -- Chris Davis or Justin Anderson. The official depth chart from the school has Davis listed as the starter, but Anderson started last week's game. Either way, Richt said, both will see significant action this week.

-- Richt raved about the work Abry Jones has done and pointed to him as one of the freshmen on special teams to make the biggest improvement from Week 1 to Week 2.

-- Richt said he isn't sure whether Marcus Washington will primarily see action at linebacker or defensive end this week. Justin Houston returns at D-end, but the team lost starter Rod Battle to a season-ending knee injury. The linebacker corps took a hit last week, however, with Nick Williams and Darius Dewberry missing the game. Richt said Williams has a chance to return this week but Dewberry will not play.

-- Darryl Gamble is currently listed as Georgia's starting Sam linebacker, but Richt said the team would prefer to have him at Mike. Marcus Dowtin is listed as the starter there.

-- Caleb King's status for this week appears no different from last week -- he's questionable and will need to prove he can last through a full practice before his playing time is considered.

-- Josh Davis was cleared to return to action after missing the first two games while recovering from two offseason shoulder surgeries. Richt said he wasn't sure how much work the junior tackle would get this week.

-- Quintin Banks was cleared to play last week but he didn't see action in the South Carolina game. "He's able to play, but he hasn't had a lot of practice reps, and I wouldn't say he's 100 percent back to the best Quintin Banks he can be," Richt said.

-- Richt said he was pleased with the penetration that the pass rush got last week against South Carolina, but complained that the containment was lacking, pointing mostly to the interior part of the defensive line. "I would have liked to have seen the big men inside squeezing better than they did and making more plays," he said.

-- Richt noted that due to a low-end opening opponent and a bye week last week, he figured Arkansas had been game planning for Georgia for quite some time. While the off week before the game isn't as crucial for getting players fresh this early in the season, Richt said it's that extra time to game plan that makes a key difference. He noted, too, that Georgia's next opponent, Arizona State, will also have had a bye and two games vs. non-BCS conference teams leading up to their date with the Bulldogs.

Big Hits Back on the Menu

Every now and then, defensive coordinator Willie Martinez will sit his defensive backs down and have them watch film of some of the most impressive hits Georgia safeties have dished out over the years.

If the highlights aren't shown often enough, however, safety Reshad Jones said he'll take the time to look them up on YouTube. Watching what the Bulldogs' nastiest tacklers have done in the past provides a nice bit of motivation for the future, he said.

Against Oklahoma State last Saturday, Jones and fellow safety Bryan Evans added two of their own teeth-rattling tackles to the highlight reel, and Jones said it was an important step in reinventing Georgia's defense after a long 2008 season.

“Coach has been preaching that we need to be more physical and just set the tempo and show people how Georgia safeties are known for playing," Jones said. "So that’s what we wanted to do.”

Evans was the first to deliver a hit worthy of SportsCenter highlights that night.

Quarterback Zac Robinson appeared to have completed a pass to wideout Dez Bryant near the sideline, but Evans had a beat on the receiver from the beginning.

“That guy is so fast already that when he gets moving, it’s dangerous when he hits anything,” Curran said of Evans.

As the ball arrived in Bryant's hands, so, too, did Evans, who laid a devastating hit on the receiver, dislodging the ball which fell harmlessly to the ground for an incompletion.

“There was a lot of talk about me being an undersized safety and they didn’t know if I was going to be a physical safety," Evans said. "That’s something that I wanted to step up to the challenge and face. Reshad is already a pretty hard hitter, so I was just trying to match his intensity, and hopefully that will send a message to a couple of other teams that watch the film.”

Jones may be a hard-hitter, but even he admits, his reputation is more of a playmaker than a punishing tackler in the mold of Georgia greats like Thomas Davis and Greg Blue. But that doesn't mean Jones didn't want to get in on the act against the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State was driving early in the fourth quarter, up by a touchdown. Robinson found a receiver open down the middle and lobbed a pass to Justin Blackmon that was just a touch high. Jones closed quickly and drove his shoulder into Blackmon with authority, breaking up the pass and drawing gasps from the crowd.

It was textbook, his coaches later told him, but the official tossed a flag on the field and whistled Jones for unnecessary roughness anyway.

“I think that was my hardest hit since I’ve been here," Jones said. "I was shocked when I saw (the flag). I don’t know what else they wanted me to do, but after I talked to the coaches they said it wasn’t a flag and I felt pretty good.”

No punishment was handed down by the coaches for Jones' penalty, which turned out to be significant as Oklahoma State scored just three plays later. It was a good, clean hit, Martinez said, and it was just what the coaching staff had been looking for.

“You want to be able to run to the football and play with energy and establish an identity that we want to be a physical football team," Martinez said. "You always want to see that.”

The beauty of the big hits, Martinez said is that the effects resonate long after they have been delivered.

For one, a particularly awe-inspiring tackle can be a momentum changer, and as linebacker Rennie Curran said, the punishing blows get the rest of the team fired up.

"I love seeing that from my safeties – guys playing hard-nosed," Curran said. "Since Greg Blue, Thomas Davis, we need safeties back there with that hungry mentality that will take your head off.”

As exciting as it is for their teammates to see a big hit, Jones knows it can be just as demoralizing for the opposition -- not just during that game, but even down the road.

“I think watching film, it sends a message to the other guys," Jones said, "and you’re going to see a lot more of that this year.”

Practice Notes: Pugh Better, King Not

After two radio interviews, Mark Richt's morning news conference, player interviews in the afternoon, writing two blog posts, a notebook and feature for tomorrow's paper and doing more interviews tonight, I simply don't have the energy for any more quote transcribing (though if someone would like to work as my transcription assistant, there's a six pack of Milwaukee's Best in it for you). So, just a few brief details from tonight's practice...

-- Makiri Pugh returned to practice for the first time today since being diagnosed with swine flu last Thursday. Mark Richt said no other players showed symptoms, and Pugh said he's feeling 100 percent now and expects to play Saturday.

-- Richt heavily endorsed the notion that Caleb King will play this week during his morning session with media, but Mike Bobo put a damper on that prognosis tonight. He said Caleb wore a green non-contact jersey in practice and was very limited once again.

-- Bobo said Vince Vance graded out pretty well in his approximately 25 snaps on the O line Saturday and will continue to be the left tackle for the foreseeable future.

-- Marlon Brown confirmed what Michael Moore told me Sunday: Tony Ball said he simply didn't realize Brown and Rantavious Wooten hadn't played against Oklahoma State.

“He said the game was moving so fast and he was trying to find out what plays worked and what didn’t work, and he said he just forgot, it slipped his mind,” Brown said.

-- Reshad Jones said coaches told him his hit that drew a flag in the second half Saturday was not a penalty after watching the film closer. He also got a text immediately after the game from last year's starting safety, CJ Byrd, saying "Nice hit."

-- I got some clarification from Willie Martinez on what happened on the fourth down play with the disputed spot. He said that Georgia could have challenged the play, but chose not to rather than risk losing a timeout. The refs could have chosen to review it since it was so close, but they also decided against it. Here's the exact quote:

"The game was going so fast, and obviously they review every play," Martinez said. "You're always careful -- it's Coach Richt's call -- but you're always careful with losing a timeout in a tight ballgame. You just hope that it was close enough for them to review it, but obviously it wasn't."

-- I didn't get a chance to talk to Logan Gray, but Anthony Dasher from Rivals writes that up until Saturday morning, Gray thought he was going to be the starter against Oklahoma State with Joe Cox experiencing flu symptoms. (Note: Subscription only.)

I did talk to Aaron Murray, and he said he was a bit more confident that Cox would be in the lineup.

"I was preparing, but we knew pretty well that Joe would be back and make the start," Murray said. "But I go into every game preparing in case something happens because it builds good habits, watching film and preparing as if I were the starter."

-- Also, I forgot to include this quote from Richt's morning presser in my earlier post, but for all you folks who hate the directional kicking, I figured you'd really enjoy Richt's synopsis of the South Carolina game: "As I look at this game I’m seeing two defenses that played pretty darn good and two offenses that are trying to find their way. More than likely the special teams will be the deciding factor in this one."

-- And for those of you craving post-practice info, here's the official UGA release...

The No. 21-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (0-1) practiced for approximately two and a half hours in full pads on Tuesday afternoon in preparation for this Saturday's Southeastern Conference opener against South Carolina (1-0) at Sanford Stadium.

"Practice was long and hard," said head coach Mark Richt. "They hung in there and fought through it pretty good."

At the beginning of practice, Richt announced the captains for this weekend's contest as Rennie Curran and Kade Weston for the defense, Joe Cox for the offense and Prince Miller for the special teams.

Richt also met with the media Tuesday afternoon for the Bulldogs' weekly press conference. There he discussed the matchup with South Carolina at length.

"They are really an outstanding football team," Richt said. "As I look at this game I’m seeing two defenses that played pretty darn good and two offenses that are trying to find their way. More than likely the special teams will be the deciding factor in this one. As we know, it’s a team that we have always had great battles with and very, very close games. We have won six of the last eight and just about every time we play, the score is within a touchdown. Rarely has anybody scored more than 20 points on either side. The way it’s shaping up, it looks like another one of those, quite frankly.

"We’ll play it with a lot of energy and enthusiasm," Richt continued. "I know it will be exciting to be home for our players. We are looking forward to our Dog Walk and getting the guys excited about the game. The night atmosphere certainly adds to the atmosphere. It’s the first Southeastern Conference game. The SEC has begun and we are looking to go 1-0.”

Practice Notes: Samuel a 'Solid No. 1'

What seemed like the likely outcome since last week’s first scrimmage is now official, according to head coach Mark Richt. Sophomore tailback Richard Samuel is firmly atop Georgia’s depth chart with a chance to become an every-down runner.

“I’d say Richard is a solid No. 1,” Richt said. “He’s playing with a lot of energy. Some of these practices, by the end of practice he’s still blazing a trail pretty good. When the other guys fatigue, he looks even faster.”

Samuel figured to have a more competitive battle with fellow sophomore Caleb King for the starting job, but King went down with a hamstring injury last week and has been unable to practice.

Richt was quick to note, however, that King’s injury hasn’t made Samuel the default choice as the starter.

“We would have rated Richard No. 1 after the scrimmage regardless of the injury,” Richt said, “but we’re anxious to get Caleb back healthy, I can promise you that.”

Both Samuel and King struggled in reserve duty at times a year ago, but Samuel has been able to take a huge leap forward during the offseason.

In two scrimmages, Samuel has tallied 233 yards on 19 touches with four going for touchdowns.

“That one year makes a huge difference,” linebacker Rennie Curran said. “You can tell he knows his plays, knows the right fits, he knows where to be. It shows on the field. He’s running that ball hard. He’s definitely that type of running back we need in the SEC to play that hard-nosed football.”

While Samuel’s upright running style has drawn some criticism of scouts and fans, Curran said a tailback who enjoys contact as much as Samuel can be difficult for defenses to stop.

“I remember tackling him one time and I got a headache,” Curran said. “He’s the type of back that can beat a defense down over time. If you throw a speed tailback in there to mix it up with him, that can really wear a defense out with a guy who runs straight ahead and hits the hole as hard as he does.”

Richt said redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas remains in the tailback competition after posting two strong scrimmage performances as well, but the bottom line is that Samuel has been the most impressive and has earned the trust of his coaches.

“He’s shown some flashes where he runs hard, plays hard and has a much more comfortable air about him, his body language,” Richt said of Samuel. “He’s in control of what to do, and he’s giving people confidence right now.”

WHAT A RELIEF

Richt said it looked bad when sophomore center Ben Jones collapsed with a sprained ankle Wednesday, but it turns out the injury doesn’t appear too serious.

Jones suffered a lateral sprain of his left ankle which resulted in some significant swelling, but Richt said there’s virtually no chance Jones will miss any playing time.

“I’d be shocked if he didn’t play (against Oklahoma State),” Richt said. “He really is day to day. When it happened, it looked worse than it ended up being. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get some work next week.”

Chris Davis and Kevin Perez took reps at center with the No. 1 unit for a second straight day Friday.

TO BE DETERMINED

Georgia president Michael Adams announced dates all school employees must take mandatory furloughs Thursday, but Richt said things remain undecided as to when the Bulldogs’ coaching staff will be on vacation.

The dates set by Adams would require Georgia’s coaches to take off work the day before the Bulldogs play Florida along with another day during Georgia Tech week.

While Richt said he’ll be meeting with athletics director Damon Evans next week to discuss how best to work around the furloughs, he said he isn’t expecting any time off during a crucial period of the season.

“If the university needs to do it, then we need to cooperate,” Richt said. “My guess is, I don’t know if we’ve ever had a day off during the season, so I really doubt that we’ll be able to just stay home and relax.”

PLANS HAVEN’T CHANGED

Before opening fall camp, Richt said he expected all of his true freshmen linebackers, defensive backs, wide receivers, tight ends and running backs to play this season. Three weeks into the preseason, things are still going according to plan.

“The majority of them are still absolutely in the race,” Richt said. “Some are right in the thick of it, and some of them are kind of right on the fringe, but they’re still battling, still working.”

Among the most likely to play are tight ends Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch, wideouts Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten, cornerback Branden Smith and linebacker Michael Gilliard.

While several others are still working to secure playing time, Richt said finals decisions on redshirts aren’t likely to come until after the fourth game of the season.

“You just don’t know with injuries and you don’t know who’s going to perk up all of a sudden,” Richt said. “Once we get into a little bit of a different routine and everything becomes a little more familiar, they start to play a little faster and they’re not as confused. So all of a sudden a guy who you didn’t think had a chance after scrimmage No. 2 has a lot of life.”

HOW THEY DOING?

Richt's comments on two of the potential "fringe" guys:

On Jordan Love: “Jordan has done very well, and we still have every intention of playing Jordan this year.”

On Chase Vasser: “Chase is more of a bubble guy right now. He’s got to prove that he can be reliable on special teams at this point, and he’s still got a ways to go to learn what’s got to be done as an every-down scrimmage player. We haven’t given up on the thought of him playing as a true freshman, but he’s probably a little farther off than some of the others.”

GETTING CLOSER

Safety Reshad Jones has been back at practice for two days, but he's still donning a green non-contact jersey. Although he's being kept out of contact drills, he said he's feeling just fine.

"Hamstrings are frustrating and kind of tricky," Jones said. “I’m full speed, I’m just limited in drills, not being able to do everything right now. But next week, I should be back without the green on.”

Consider that the case for the majority of Georgia's cast of characters missing action due to sore hamstrings.

Bryan Evans, Caleb King, Akeem Dent, Aron White and Darius Dewberry all fit the bill, and while Richt said all are looking a lot better, the training staff is taking a cautious approach to bringing them back.

“We’re at the point with some of these hamstrings where, if we were three or four weeks away from a game, they’d probably be going right now," Richt said. "But we know if we get another little tweak right now, it might cost those guys the ability to play in that game. So we’re being conservative right now, but they’ll almost all be back next week.”

DOBBS DOING FINE

Demarcus Dobbs has been in green the past two days thanks to a sore neck suffered during 11-on-11 drills, but Richt said the junior defensive end hasn't missed much.

“Dobbs is fine," Richt said. "He got his neck tweeked a little bit, but he’s out there running full speed. We’re just trying to keep him from using his (head to tackle) right now.”

Dobbs said he feels good and expects to practice fully Saturday.

Beyond the injury report, Richt also gave Dobbs a ringing endorsement in terms of production, too.

“Dobbs has really had a good camp," Richt said. "I’m proud of his effort. He’s come a long way.”

TRIPP'S TAKING IT EASY

Kiante Tripp has missed the past several practices as well due to a sore shoulder. While the time away isn't helping the converted offensive lineman prepare for Oklahoma State, he said the rest is mostly for precaution.

“The shoulder’s good," Tripp said. "I’m just trying to stay in shape. I’m still in the green jersey now because they don’t want any contact because they want to keep it alright until game time, but everything feels good.”

ANOTHER SCORCHER

After Thursday's practice, Jeff Owens sent a Twitter message telling friends he had just been through the toughest practice in four years.

Friday, the sun was still hot, the bodies still sore, but the coaches didn't let up -- and that's exactly what Richt was hoping to see.

“It was hot out there and kind of miserable, but they fought real good," Richt said of the team's practice. "We’re still making a few mistakes here and there, but I really liked how they practiced today. They pushed. Yesterday was a tough day, so to come right back with another one, coaches are just coaching their tails off and guys are responding. We need days like today.”

The tempo being set by the coaches hasn't diminished throughout the preseason, Curran said. Considering the problems of a year ago, that's fine by him.

"We know nobody’s going to feel sorry for us this season, nobody’s going to give us any breaks when it comes to playing those games," Curran said. "If we don’t sacrifice now, it’s going to get ugly. The way I look at it is I’d rather hurt now than hurt on ESPN or in front of those fans and look sloppy in front of the fans. We’ve been putting work in day in and day out, and hopefully it’s going to pay off.”

NO HARD FEELINGS

The Sporting News posted a list of its selections for the top 10 players in the SEC, and while Florida was well represented, and Alabama receiver Julio Jones earned a spot, no Georgia players made the cut.

That might add a touch of motivation for the current season, Curran said, but the truth is, he doesn't think any of the Bulldogs have earned that type of recognition just yet.

"At the end of the day, you’re just trying to win those games," Curran said. "If the offense is doing well, the defense is doing well and we’re winning games, that respect is going to come. The lists that they’re making because their teams made it far. They made it to the SEC championship, to the national championship. We can’t expect to get respected when my defense isn’t producing and people are getting 40 points on us. That’s how it works.”

ONE MORE THIS WEEK

Georgia practices at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by the team's annual fan picture day at Sanford Stadium.

Deleted Scenes: Lessons Learned by the Defense

I have a story in today's Telegraph on the lessons the defense learned after last year's disappointments. There were a bunch of quotes I couldn't squeeze into the story, though, so here they are...

Jeff Owens on what the defense needs to improve on the most...
"Two things I believe need to happen -- stopping the run and turnovers. If you stop the run, you force teams to pass and make teams do something they don't want to do. When you get turnovers, the offense has more chances to put points on the board."

Owens on the lack of togetherness on last year's D...
"I can remember last year when I was hurt, it felt like I wasn't a part of the team. I wasn't at practice, I wasn't on the bus, I didn't go to the games. You felt like you were disconnected from everyone, and a lot of the guys who were injured felt the same way. This year more guys have come together, and last year the injuries did affect us."

Owens on the lessons to take from last year...
"The one thing I want to take from last year is working on our consistency. Some days we played good, some we played bad. I think to be successful both on the field and off the field, you've got to be consistent, so that's what we're working on."

Demarcus Dobbs on being motivated by last year's problems...
"It's hard not to use people talking bad about you as fuel. It's always in the back of our minds how we struggled last year, how we struggled on defense. We have a tradition, and we want to hold up our end of the deal and pull our weight."

Reshad Jones on how last year influenced this offseason...
"It was a really big motivator. We knew how many points we gave up, and we knew what we had to work toward and what we had to correct in order to be successful."

Rennie Curran on the importance of unity in the locker room...
"You want to have that camaraderie, that unity, it just helps -- especially in those tough times when things get close and adversity strikes. You want to have guys that trust each other, that know when times get hard, you've got each other's back."

Curran on what it means to have everyone stay out of trouble during the offseason...
"It's a real proud feeling to know where we came from last year and how much that affected our season and how we all responded. The leadership helped people realize why we came here -- and that was to go to school, play football and hopefully make a living for yourself one day. We just realized that and refocused and come in day in and day out and handle whatever task we were faced with."

Curran on the different feeling surrounding this year's D...
"It's been night and day with the morale of the team, the attitude of the guys. Whether it's running 10 hundreds or whatever, everybody's just focusing on doing whatever it takes. It's great to have all the guys buy in and know that when they come to Butts-Mehre, it's time to work, that they separate the work from the play."

Bryan Evans on how the seniors made a plan for the offseason...
"Our senior leaders on defense started it by having more meetings in the offseason. Our freshmen right now are way ahead of where we were when we came in. We met almost every day during the offseason, just trying to get the basics down, so now all they have to do is learn the in-depth part. We won't have to focus on things we already learned, we can just keep going smooth."

Willie Martinez on the defense's leadership...
"This year they've done a great job since January. I like our leadership. We're trying to be flexible, figure out who are the guys, develop a two-deep, but I think our leadership is pretty solid with guys like Rennie Curran and Jeff Owens in the middle of your defense. We're just trying to develop more depth and see where we'll be Sept. 5."

Practice Notes: Houston's Spirits Still High

Justin Houston won't be on the field for the first two games of Georgia's season, but that hasn't hindered his preparation.

The sophomore defensive end had a breakthrough spring and was expected to be the anchor of Georgia's pass rush, but a two-game suspension for violating team rules threatened to put the breaks on his growth. Instead of sulking, however, head coach Mark Richt said Houston has handled his punishment with maturity and gone right back to work.

"He's got a wonderful attitude," Richt said. "From the minute he had his issue, he was very remorseful. He took his discipline like a man and he's been working extremely hard. He understands he's got to pay a price, but he's anxious to get back into games."

Despite the suspension and a minor hamstring injury, Houston tackled his offseason with as much vigor as he did during a masterful spring in which he was one of just two healthy defensive ends.

Despite the suspension, Houston never missed a voluntary workout, and the results were obvious. When Georgia's players hit maxed out in the weight room at the end of their offseason conditioning, Houston set the team record for power cleans, lifting 420 pounds.

"He's been really good about it," defensive end Demarcus Dobbs said. "He's been coming to all the workouts, showing up on time and being a great leader to those other guys. Even though he's had this setback, he doesn't show it."

HAPPY IN THE MIDDLE

During his preseason news conference, Richt joked that he'd be far happier if Georgia was ranked No. 2 than No. 1 in the first polls of the season. Starting at the top didn't suit his team well a year ago.

As it turns out, he won't have much to worry about this preseason. The Bulldogs were ranked 13th in the first USA Today/Coaches' Poll, released Friday. The news didn't come as much of a surprise to Richt.

"I figured we'd be somewhere in there," he said.

The No. 13 ranking is the same place Georgia started in 2007 when the Bulldogs wound up winning the Sugar Bowl and finishing the season at No. 2 in the poll. With a difficult schedule that includes 11 BCS-conference opponents, Richt said the opportunity for a similar performance is there this season.

"Our schedule is set for if we have success, we'll move up, no doubt," he said.

A WHIRLWIND START

The NCAA mandates players have five days in shorts and shoulder pads before they can participate in contact drills during the preseason, and freshman lineman Kwame Geathers was already behind schedule after failing to earn NCAA clearance to report to camp until Thursday.

His first day in Athens was a whirlwind, Richt said, as the team rushed him through a physical and some quick orientation to make sure that the five-day clock started immediately.

Geathers' first practice Friday included little beyond running and conditioning, something Richt said the freshman needs to do a lot of during the coming days.

"It's very evident when you see a guy come in that late compared to a guy who has been here all summer, working with our strength staff all summer, working in the heat of the day, having veterans be able to teach him the ropes on and off the field," Richt said. "He's behind because he wasn't here, and we understand that. We'll be pushing him, but we can only go so quick."

GETTING HIS FEET WET

Senior linebacker Marcus Washington spent the majority of Friday's practice working with the defensive ends. Washington, who missed all of the 2008 season, spent some time as a stand-up rusher during spring practice, and Richt said the senior will continue to work at the new position regularly.

"He was working at defensive end in pass rush, in inside drills and a little bit in 11-on-11," Richt said. "He's starting to learn how to line up. We're seeing what kind of a knack Marcus has."

Richt said the plan is to use Washington at linebacker during traditional defensive sets and move him up to the line of scrimmage when the defense shifts to a nickel package.

A STYLIST'S NIGHTMARE

It's tradition for Georgia freshmen to get their heads shaved by their veteran teammates each preseason, but linebacker Chase Vasser is hoping to avoid the embarrassment. Already sporting some flowing locks, Vasser earned the name "Cush" due to his resemblance to former USC linebacker Brian Cushing.

Hoping to avoid the haircut, Vasser said he struck up a deal with senior Darius Dewberry in which, rather than going completely bald, the freshman can't cut his hair for a full year.

"I said I'll grow it out long for a year, so as of right now, I'll be growing it out long," Vasser said. "I've never had it shaved before, and I don't know if I might have a giant mole under there or something."

A NEW 105

Until classes begin, Georgia can only have 105 players in camp, which limits the number of walk-ons and injured players who can participate in practice. For the first few days, offensive lineman Josh Davis, who is recovering from two offseason shoulder surgeries, didn't make the cut, but a hamstring injury to redshirt freshman Johnathan Owens caused Richt to make a switch.

"We're doing it mainly because of (Davis') ability to teach the young players what to do," Richt said. "If we're going to have two guys injured, you might as well have a veteran in there."

Owens is only expected to miss about seven to 10 days, but his return will coincide with the start of classes and reduced roster restrictions.

Davis is expected to miss the majority of the preseason and will not be ready for game action in time for Georgia's opener against Oklahoma State on Sept. 5.

A QUICK RETURN?

Safety Reshad Jones sat out a second straight practice with a hamstring injury, but he hopes to make a prompt return to action.

Jones hurt the hamstring originally over the summer during a conditioning drill and said he re-injured it during one-on-one drills Thursday. While he understands the risk of trying to come back too quickly, Jones said he's doing everything he can to minimize his time off the field.

"I want to take it day by day, but I'm working hard in the training room doing everything possible to get back," Jones said.

Richt said the current timetable for Jones' return is a week to 10 days.

ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE

After four days of practice -- two in pads, two in shells -- Richt said it's hard to get too much of a gauge for the season so far. But while he sees plenty of mistakes from the youngsters, he likes the hustle the players have shown on the field.

"It's obvious there's a lot of guys who don't know what to do exactly the way coach wants it done every time, but the attitude, effort, coachability, enthusiasm, very good, and that's crucial," Richt said. "So to this point, I'm pretty pleased."

DAY FOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Once again, it was the defense that highlighted the day's practice session by creating a couple of key turnovers.

Richt said excellent coverage on a passing play by Darius Dewberry led to a nifty interception by Prince Miller, which Miller returned for a score. Defensive tackle Geno Atkins also drew praise for picking off a pass and returning it for a touchdown on a play Richt called, "a thing of beauty."

Coaches Rank UGA No. 13; Jones on Thorpe List

From UGA release...

The Georgia Bulldogs were ranked No. 13 in the initial USA Today coaches' poll release on Friday morning. In additional news, safety Reshad Jones was named to the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award on Thursday.

The Thorpe Award is given annually to the nation's top defensive back. The ledger of 31 leading candidates was derived through a point system based on pre-season All-American teams listed in various football publications.

Jones, a 6-2, 212-pound junior from Atlanta's Booker T. Washington High School, was a second-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press last season after leading the Bulldogs with five interceptions. He started 12 of 13 games in 2008, posting 76 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, and posted three pass break-ups.

The Thorpe watch list is not final, and players who have exceptional seasons may be added. Ten semifinalists will be named on Nov. 2, and that list will be trimmed to three finalists on Nov. 23. The winner is announced on ESPN's College Football Awards Show telecast in December. The official presentation of the award will take place in Oklahoma City in February.

Georgia will open the season on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Oklahoma State, which was ranked No. 11 in the pre-season poll. The Bulldogs will face four teams ranked in the top 15 of USA Today rankings ­ No. 1 Florida, No. 9 LSU, the No. 11 Cowboys and No. 15 Georgia Tech.

The Dogs finished No. 10 in the final USA Today poll following a 10-3 campaign a year ago. Georgia has now posted six top-10 finishes in the coaches' poll in the last seven years, including No. 3 in 2002, No. 6 in both 2003 and 2004, No. 10 in 2005 and No. 3 in 2007.

Practice Notes: Geathers Makes the Grade

It took a little longer than expected, but Georgia's 2009 freshman class is finally complete.
Head coach Mark Richt confirmed Thursday that lineman Kwame Geathers was cleared by the NCAA and will be on campus when Georgia holds its fourth day of fall practice today.

Richt said he was informed Tuesday morning of the decision, but Geathers still won't be a full participant in the Bulldogs' practice sessions for a few more days. The NCAA mandates that players are given five days of acclimation time before participating in contact drills, which means Geathers will be in shorts today when his teammates are in shoulder pads, and he'll still be in shoulder pads when the team holds its first full-contact practice Monday.

Geathers brother, Robert, played at Georgia and is currently a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, and his uncle, James, played 13 years in the NFL as well, so Richt said he's confident Kwame Geathers will be in good shape upon arrival.

"He comes from a family that has a lot of football players," Richt said. "They know how to work."

DOWN AND OUT

Safety Reshad Jones injured his hamstring Wednesday and was held out of Thursday's practice. Although the injury is not serious, Richt said Jones will miss some time.

"It's too bad because he was really practicing well and leading," Richt said. "He'll be healthy enough by the time the season starts and he has enough quality reps and playing time that I don't think it will be a huge deal, but he quite frankly had a lot of positive momentum coming into this camp."

Quintin Banks took reps with the first team in place of Jones on Thursday, with Baccari Rambo and Sanders Commings working with the second team.

SHOWING IMPROVEMENT

With Justin Houston suspended for two games and nearly every one of Georgia's other defensive ends coming off an injury, the start of fall practice figured to be rough at the position. Instead, Richt said the defensive ends have been among the most impressive groups in camp.

"(Demarcus) Dobbs is in great shape, (Rod) Battle's in great shape, Cornelius Washington, we're getting a chance to see him do some things," Richt said. "I see a lot of good."

BACK AND FORTH

Sophomore Nick Williams arrived as a safety, moved to linebacker midway through the season last year, then was switched back to safety this offseason when John Knox transferred. The changes didn't end there, however, and Williams is back to weakside linebacker yet again.

The change during the offseason was made to strengthen the numbers among the safeties, but now that Georgia's freshmen have arrived on campus, Richt said the coaches made the decision to move Williams where they thought he would have the biggest impact.

"You want as much speed on the field as you possibly can," Richt said. "We feel like he's one of the guys that's going to make an impact for us, and right now we're trying to find where he's best going to be able to do that. I don't want to give away too much of the game plan, but we think he can help us there."

MOVIN' ON UP

Richt wasn't sure how much Chris Davis would be able to practice before the team took the field for its first practice Tuesday afternoon, but by the end of the day, the junior offensive lineman was back with the first team.

Davis started all 13 games last year, but underwent hip surgery during the offseason and was slow to recover. After three days of practice, however, Richt said Davis is doing much better.

"I don't think it feels great, but he played with it last year, and he says its better than it was a year ago," Richt said. "He's fighting through it, and it doesn't seem to be slowing him down."

Davis joins Trinton Sturdivant, Ben Jones, Cordy Glenn and Clint Boling with the first-team offensive line, bumping senior Vince Vance to the second team. Vance is coming off ACL surgery, and while his knee is close to 100 percent, Richt said he still has a ways to go in terms of conditioning and mentally preparing for the grueling pace line coach Stacy Searels insists upon.

"Coach Searels has a way of getting guys to practice a certain way, and it takes a while to get there," Richt said. "I think he was at that point before he got hurt, but he was away from it a while, and now he's got to get back into that mode."

ODDS AND ENDS

-- Darryl Gamble recovered a fumble Thursday, marking the third straight practice in which he has come up with a turnover. "He's just making plays," Richt said.

-- The buzzword all offseason has been leadership, and while that has come naturally to a lot of Georgia's veterans, Richt has been particularly pleased with one senior who has had to work a bit harder at become a vocal leader. "Prince Miller has probably done one of the best jobs of getting out of his comfort zone and becoming more of a vocal leader."

-- Richt on who has impressed so far:

"It's so great to have Geno (Atkins), Jeffrey (Owens) and Kade (Weston) inside. Those three seniors know the ropes and they're doing a great job."

"A.J. Green, he just makes plays every day. A.J. is practicing very well."

"I do like how our running backs seem to be very focused and are competing very hard. I think they truly believe it is a wide-open competition, which it is."

-- Freshman tight end Arthur Lynch has been working as the long snapper on special teams for the past three days. Richt said Lynch is likely the third man on the depth chart at the position. Ty Frix is considered the front-runner for the job.

-- Logan Gray got another vote of confidence from his head coach, but Richt isn't setting anything regarding the No. 2 QB job in stone just yet. "I like how Logan's practicing. Today, in my opinion, he's still a very solid No. 2, but we'll continue to rep everybody and see."