Logan Gray: full-time wide receiver AND backup quarterback?

ATHENS –- When Georgia’s football team opens preseason practice, Logan Gray likely will be working full-time at wide receiver. But if Aaron Murray gets hurt early in the season, Gray “naturally” would be called on to play quarterback.

That’s how offensive coordinator Mike Bobo sized up Georgia’s backup-quarterback situation Wednesday.

The Bulldogs’ quarterback depth chart has Murray No. 1, Gray No. 2 and freshman Hutson Mason No. 3. But the picture behind Murray has been muddled since April, when coach Mark Richt said Gray would be given a chance, as he desired, to earn playing time at receiver.

“It’s not 100 percent, but right now [Gray] is going to be working full-time receiver and trying to get in that mode to see if he can help us there,” Bobo said Wednesday. “We don’t want to jerk the kid around and say you’re doing this one day and [that] the next day.”

But who, then, would take over at quarterback if Murray, a redshirt freshman, is injured in preseason or early in the schedule?

First, Bobo knocked on wood -– a conference-room table –- to try to ward off  injury to Murray.

Then, he answered: “I’d say naturally it would be Logan Gray if something happened because he’s got experience and he’s practiced that position for three years now. I’d say [Gray] unless the freshman [Mason] comes out here and lights it up and you feel like, ‘Hey, we’ve got something right here.’ You never know who will surprise you, but if something happened I’d probably say Logan right now.”

It’s an unusual situation: a backup quarterback who might not practice at quarterback.

“It is scary,” Bobo said. “It’s scary starting any season with a new quarterback that hasn’t played . . . and now you don’t have any depth at that position, [which] is scary. But that’s where we are.

“We as an offensive football team have really got to depend on our offensive line this year, and hopefully this is the year we stay healthy and stay together and play like we think we can play.”

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Georgia safety Shawn Williams‘ family lost their home in Damascus, Ga., to a fire Tuesday night. Damascus is in Early County in southwest Georgia.

Fundraising efforts are underway to help the family replace belongings destroyed in the fire. After consultation with the NCAA, UGA said donations can be deposited into a special account at: Bank of Early, attention Andy Smith, P.O. Box 527, Blakely, GA, 39823.

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Offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant, who has missed almost all of the past two seasons with knee injuries, is expected to be ready for the start of preseason practice. But Georgia is “going to have to wait and see how he progresses” in practice before trying to figure out how the offensive line might be shuffled to accommodate his return, Bobo said.

“If he comes back healthy and is able to play this year, it will definitely be a bonus,” Bobo said. “Where he fits and what we do there, I can’t answer that right now. There’s a lot of practice to determine that.”

Other UGA news today:

Dogs break football tradition, drop two-a-days

Facebook page likes Stinchcomb for athletics director