Archive for August, 2010

A significant part of the reason Mark Fox came to Georgia 16 months ago was his belief that UGA President Michael Adams and athletic director Damon Evans were committed to building a successful basketball program.

Fox expects that commitment to continue under Evans’ successor, Greg McGarity.

“He’s obviously very prepared for the position, and he’s passionate about Georgia,” Fox said. “And from my perspective, he’s also been at an institution [Florida] where basketball and football have co-existed at a very high level, and he understands that part of it. So I’m very excited.

“I was very impressed [by McGarity's news conference Friday], and I’m really glad we have an athletic director as the school year begins because I think not having one would have taken energy and focus away,” Fox said. “Now the kids, the coaches, the staff –- everyone — knows ‘this is the boss, here’s our new direction,’ and it’s going to make life easier for everybody.”

Florida won three national …

Continue reading Fox ‘excited’ new AD has known hoops success »

This from AJC correspondent Andy Johnston in Athens:

Georgia center Ben Jones was one of three starting offensive linemen to miss today’s scrimmage in Sanford Stadium.

He sat out with a knee injury and will have arthroscopic surgery Sunday.

Coach Mark Richt said it’s a meniscus and cartilage issue and that Jones should return in time for the Sept. 4 opener against Louisiana-Lafayette. Jones is expected to miss the next couple of weeks of practice.

Richt said it’s best to go ahead and have the surgery instead of Jones trying to play through it and have it lock up during the season, when he would miss two or three games.

Jones was joined on the sidelines today by guard Cordy Glenn (mono) and tackle Josh Davis (ankle).

Richt said the defense dominated play in the scrimmage, which was closed to the media. On a scale of 1-10, Richt rated the day a 7 for the defense and a 4 for the offense.

Here are scrimmage stats provided by UGA:

Passing

Aaron Murray: 8-for-20, 133 yards, long …

Continue reading Starting center Jones will have arthroscopic knee surgery (plus scrimmage stats) »

RELATED: UGA sees tough side in nice-guy AD McGarity

(Updated 8 p.m. Friday)

ATHENS — A 2 1/2-hour lunch in New York and a two-hour interview in Chicago brought Greg McGarity home to Athens.

The University of Georgia on Friday named McGarity, the University of Florida’s No. 2 athletics official and an Athens native, as its new athletic director — the culmination of a speedy process that McGarity acknowledged left him pinching himself.

McGarity, 55, was formally introduced at a Friday afternoon news conference as the successor to Damon Evans, who resigned as Georgia’s AD in the aftermath of a June 30 DUI arrest. Moments before the news conference, the UGA Athletic Board approved a five-year contract that will start McGarity at $420,000 per year with $20,000 raises each subsequent year. He’ll also get a $125,000 longevity bonus if he completes the contract.

McGarity said he was offered the job in a Wednesday morning phone call from UGA President Michael Adams, whom he …

Continue reading McGarity’s route from Florida to Georgia ran through NYC, Chicago »

ATHENS — Cornerback Branden Smith has been cleared academically and will rejoin Georgia’s football team Friday, coach Mark Richt said.

“He is academically in good standing for the 2010 season,” Richt said Thursday night. “So we are fired up.”

Richt declined to go into detail about Smith’s academic situation.

Smith, a sophomore from Atlanta, left the team last week and stayed away while awaiting word on whether he would be cleared to enroll in fall-semester classes. The issue was related not to Smith’s grade-point average but to a placement-test score.

Smith is expected to contribute to Georgia’s team in all facets of the game: defense (as a possible starter at cornerback), offense (as an occasional threat at tailback or wide receiver) and special teams (as a kick returner).

Despite missing eight practices, “I don’t think he’ll be too far behind,” Richt said.

Smith seems pleased with how the situation worked out.

“Will be back in Athens tomorrow,” …

Continue reading Branden Smith cleared to rejoin team; Quintin Banks ‘retires’ from football »

(Other UGA news: Branden Smith cleared to play.)

ATHENS — Greg McGarity, the University of Florida’s No. 2 athletic official, will be named the new athletic director at the University of Georgia, a person who spoke directly with McGarity told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday night.

The person, who asked not to be named because an announcement hasn’t been made, said McGarity told him he will travel to Athens for a news conference on Friday afternoon.

(UPDATE, 8:20 A.M. FRIDAY: Georgia announced this morning that UGA President Michael Adams will hold a news conference on the AD matter at 4 p.m. at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. In addition, the UGA Athletic Board, which would approve the hire and contract of a new AD, called a special meeting for 3 p.m., also at the Georgia Center.)

McGarity didn’t return repeated phone calls from the AJC on Thursday. UGA officials had no comment.

Georgia has been searching for an athletic director since Damon Evans …

Continue reading UGA selects new athletic director »

ATHENS – In his 13th season at Georgia, defensive-line coach Rodney Garner has quite the rebuilding job on his hands –- replacing three NFL draft picks and converting the returnees from a 4-3 to 3-4 scheme.

So how’s it going?

“We got to get better,” Garner said Wednesday evening. “Like I told them the other day, they got a lot of room to improve. The guys we lost off last year’s team, changing of the scheme and all of that -– there are lot of big shoes to be filled. And I’m not for sure we’re there yet.

“I see [Demarcus] Dobbs trying to take ownership, trying to be a leader. We need other guys to step up and be leaders, too. To be a good football team, you got to have leadership up front. And that’s one thing that has to emerge. Hopefully, as they become more confident in the system and become better fundamentally, maybe some of those characteristics will start to come out.”

Dobbs, a senior, is the projected starter at right end, and sophomore Abry Jones and senior Brandon …

Continue reading Rodney Garner’s rebuilding job »

ATHENS – Injuries have hit hard at inside linebacker for Georgia.

Four players at the position were sidelined from practice Wednesday: Akeem Dent (toe surgery last month), Marcus Dowtin (scrapes from  a minor scooter accident, according to coach Mark Richt), Richard Samuel (unspecified leg injury) and Mike Gilliard (unknown injury).

No position moves are planned to shore up the position, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said after Wednesday’s practice, because none of the injuries are long-term.

“They are injuries that are a nuisance right now, but when you look at status for the first game, [the players] are probable,” Grantham said. “Because no one is out for the year or expected to miss games, I think we just stay the course.”

Samuel is expected to miss a week or two, and that “hurts him a lot,” Grantham said. “Just because he’s young as a linebacker anyway, and he basically needs reps. . . . Anytime you miss an opportunity for that, it’s going to slow you down a little …

Continue reading Injuries piling up at inside linebacker for Dogs »

(Updated after Wednesday’s practice with comments from RB’s coach Bryan McClendon)

ATHENS – The most-asked question in Georgia’s preseason practice a year ago was about who’d open the season as the starting tailback. The answer turned out to be Richard Samuel, who’s now a backup linebacker.

There’s an open question this preseason, too, about who’ll be the starting tailback. But it is drawing a lot less attention than a year ago, mainly because the Caleb King-Washaun Ealey tandem had so much success late last season that there’s a sense it doesn’t matter which one of them starts. Both will play, and play a lot.

“I don’t think about it every day, but of course we both want to start,” said King, a junior. “I believe with the competition -– I’m pushing him and he’s pushing me –- we both work hard and get better. I think the competition is good for us and good for the team.”

Ealey, a sophomore, has expressed similar sentiments.

“I think it’s a very healthy …

Continue reading Tailback competition is low-key in UGA camp this time (UPDATED) »

“Unofficial official” statistics from Georgia’s closed scrimmage Tuesday, as provided by Mark Richt:

RUSHING

Washaun Ealey: 5 carries, 66 yards

Caleb King: 14 carries, 63 yards

Carlton Thomas: 9 carries, 26 yards

Hutson Mason: 2 carries, 3 yards

PASSING

Aaron Murray: 12-for-21, 1 interception, 2 touchdowns, 237 yards (long pass of 63 yards to A.J. Green)

Hutson Mason: 9-for-23, 1 intercpetion, 1 touchdown, 78 yards

Parker Welch: 1-for-3, 41 yards (to Logan Gray)

Greg Bingham: 0-for-3

RECEIVING

A.J. Green: 5 catches for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns (long of 63)

Logan Gray: 2 catches for 45 yards (long of 41)

Carlton Thomas: 2 catches for 38 yards  (long of 21)

Tavarres King: 2 catches, 33 yards (long of 28)

Artie Lynch: 1 catch, 3 yards

DEFENSE

Akeem Hebron: 6 total tackles, including 4 solo, 2 assists and 1 sack

Demarcus Dobbs: 5 tackles (4 solo and 1 assist)

Nick Williams: 5 tackles (3 solo and 2 assists)

Christian Robinson: 4 tackles (3 solo and 1 assist), 1 forced …

Continue reading Check out the stats from Tuesday’s UGA football scrimmage »

ATHENS – The starting time for Georgia’s Oct. 2 football game at Colorado has been changed to 7 p.m. ET (5 p.m. Mountain Time), the  schools announced Tuesday.

The game was originally scheduled to be played 2 1/2 hours earlier, at 4:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. MT).

As before, the game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net.

The reason for the change: TV contracts, of course.

ABC is televising the Oklahoma-Texas game at 3:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 2. Shifting the Georgia-Colorado game preserves ABC’s Big 12 exclusivity in the 3:30 p.m. window.

Also posted this afternoon on the UGA beat:

Dogs are scrimmaging between the hedges.

Continue reading Georgia-Colorado game time changed »

ATHENS – Georgia’s first preseason scrimmage is underway in Sanford Stadium, where about 25 of the 92,746 seats are occupied.

The practice was closed to the media after warm-ups.

Offensive lineman Cordy Glenn and wide receiver Kris Durham are not participating in the scrimmage. Will get updates from Mark Richt afterward on whether they’re injured.

On the field for the scrimmage but in green non-contact jerseys: OL Trinton Sturdivant (working his way back slowly after missing the past two seasons with knee injuries), LB Akeem Dent (toe surgery last month), S Quintin Banks (swollen knee), WR Rantavious Wooten (sprained knee) and OL A.J. Harmon (unknown injury).

Tanner Strickland appeared set to work as the No. 1 left guard in Glenn’s place.

No surprise at this point, but cornerback Branden Smith is absent from the scrimmage. He isn’t expected back with the team until, or unless, his “academic issues,” as Richt called them yesterday, are cleared.

Richt and two or three players …

Continue reading Dogs scrimmaging between the hedges »

Georgia’s football team holds its first scrimmage of preseason camp this afternoon in Sanford Stadium. More on that later today. Meanwhile, here’s a quick and surprising note:

College Football News is out today with its preseason national “Top Five” rankings.  No surprise who’s Nos. 1 and 2, Alabama and Ohio State, same as in the coaches’ poll last week. But look who’s No. 3:

Georgia.

The same Georgia that is No. 21 in the coaches’ poll.

The same Georgia that won’t be ranked in the Top 25 of Sports Illustrated’s College Football preview issue that hits newsstands tomorrow.

So why such a lofty and consensus-defying opinion of the Dogs from College Football News?

You can click here for the full report, but here’s part of what CFN says about the Bulldogs:

This year’s team should be back to form thanks to a deep offensive line that will be among the best in the country (if everyone stays healthy), a phenomenal linebacking corps, a strong backfield, and a future NFL star in WR …

Continue reading College Football News ranks Dogs No. 3 — in nation »

ATHENS — Branden Smith — expected to contribute to Georgia’s football team on defense, offense and special teams — is not currently practicing with the Bulldogs because he is “working through some academic issues,” coach Mark Richt said Monday.

Richt said the situation will be resolved “soon –- by the end of the week.”

Asked if he expects Smith back with the team, Richt would only repeat: “Branden is working through some academic issues right now.” Richt wouldn’t say what the “academic issues” are.

Smith, a sophomore from Atlanta, was not on the field for either of Monday’s two practices. He participated in Georgia’s first few practices of preseason camp last week but is believed to have missed practices on Friday and Saturday.

He would be a big loss for the Bulldogs.

As a freshman last season, he played in 13 games, seeing action in all facets of the game.

On special teams, he returned 16 kickoffs for 279 yards, a 17.4-yard average. On offense, he lined up …

Continue reading ‘Academic issues’ sideline UGA’s Branden Smith (PLUS: another AD applicant) »

ATHENS — This is Georgia’s only day of two-a-day practices this preseason. The Dogs have finished the first of today’s practices, a Sanford Stadium session focused on special teams. They’ll be back on the Woodruff Practice Fields at 4:50 p.m.

Talked with a few players after the morning’s session, which was closed to the media:

• Defensive lineman Kwame Geathers, who arrived here a year ago admittedly out of shape, is proud of how far he has come since then.

“I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in in my life,” he said. “I’m feeling very good.”

Geathers, playing the nose position in Georgia’s 3-4 defense, said he weighs about 324 now -– down from about 345, he says, when he arrived last August. He was redshirted as a freshman last season.

• Freshman inside linebacker Demetre Baker, from Orange Park, Fla., is one of the few UGA players who have previous experience in the 3-4 defense.

“In high school, we played a 3-4 and nickel like we’re playing here,” Baker said. “So I’m …

Continue reading Practice updates: Geathers ‘in best shape I’ve ever been,’ plus visits with Baker, Ogletree, Gamble »

(From AJC correspondent Andy Johnston in Athens:)

Dexter Morant, the freshman linebacker who quit the Georgia football team on Tuesday, rejoined the Bulldogs today.

Coach Mark Richt said Morant called him on Friday and asked if he could  return to the team.

Richt said he conferred with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and the senior players before agreeing to let Morant return.

Morant participated on a limited basis  in today’s practice.

Morant, a 6-foot-7, 240-pounder from Manning, S.C., signed with Georgia in February. He did not practice Monday, the Bulldogs’ first day of preseason camp, and told Richt the next day that he was leaving the team.

But since then, Richt said today, Morant had sent text messages to several players indicating he made a mistake by leaving.

Coming out of high school, Morant was rated the nation’s No. 15 defensive-end prospect by Rivals.com, No. 44 by Scout.com and No. 73 by ESPN.com. He projects as an outside linebacker in Georgia’s 3-4 …

Continue reading Freshman LB rejoins UGA team four days after quitting »

ATHENS – Georgia’s defensive and offensive coordinators chatted with reporters after Friday’s practice, which was interrupted for about 80 minutes by a late-afternoon storm:

• I asked Todd Grantham where the hottest battles for starting jobs are being waged on defense, and the first one he mentioned was a bit of a surprise:

“Outside linebacker. You got [Darryl] Gamble and [Cornelius] Washington. I’ve been pleased with both those guys’ progress. Both of those guys have improved.”

Justin Houston is entrenched at one OLB spot, and Washington came out of spring practice a solid No. 1 at the other. But Gamble, who moved from inside linebacker to outside in the final week of spring, “has had an excellent camp,” Grantham said. “And literally Cornelius has improved the last couple of days. So we’ll see how those guys go when we start playing.”

• The other positions Grantham mentioned as battles for starting spots: strong safety (Nick Williams vs. Jakar Hamilton) and one cornerback spot …

Continue reading Grantham sees Gamble pushing Washington at OLB »

If you missed it, here’s my story from late yesterday on 49 people applying for the UGA athletic director job, including, to name a few, Florida executive associate AD Greg McGarity, long-time NFL exec Jim Steeg and Troy athletic director (and former UGA football player and assistant coach) Steve Dennis.

Now, digging deeper into almost 500 pages of correspondence between UGA and the AD applicants,  obtained by the AJC under the Open Records Act, here’s more:

• Among the applicants: Mark Parkman, who was a student assistant in the sports information department while attending UGA in the 1980s and has gone on to a varied career in sports business. He now is an executive with the International Olympic Committee’s broadcasting subsidiary. He lives in Atlanta.

• And another: Jay Rossello, who is director of legal affairs and assistant general counsel for the NCAA. In a cover letter sent with his resume, Rossello notes that he spent several summers of his youth in Athens “training …

Continue reading More candidates for Georgia’s AD job, and a strong endorsement for McGarity »

The first of college football’s major preseason polls -– the USA Today coaches’ poll -– came out early this morning, with defending national champion Alabama No. 1, Georgia Tech No. 17 and Georgia No. 21.

The coaches gave Alabama 55 of 59 first-place votes, with the others going to Ohio State, which is ranked No. 2.

Rounding out the top five: No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Boise State.

And completing the top 10: No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 7 TCU, No. 8 Oklahoma, N0. 9 Nebraska and No. 10 Iowa.

The SEC has six teams in the Top 25, with Alabama and Florida followed by No. 16 LSU, No. 19 Arkansas, No. 21 Georgia and No. 23 Auburn. Coming off an 8-5 season, Georgia has its lowest ranking in the preseason coaches’ poll since since 2001, when the Bulldogs started Mark Richt’s first season in Athens unranked. The Dogs started last season No. 13 and the 2008 season No. 1.

The ACC has five teams in the preseason coaches’ poll, including four from the Coastal Division in the top …

Continue reading Preseason coaches’ poll: Georgia Tech No. 17, UGA No. 21 »

ATHENS – Florida associate athletic director Greg McGarity and long-time NFL executive Jim Steeg are among 49 people who have asked to be considered for the vacant athletic-director position at the University of Georgia.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday obtained, under Georgia’s Open Records Act, copies of e-mails, letters and resumes submitted to UGA by McGarity, Steeg and others applying for the position vacated by the resignation last month of Damon Evans.

McGarity — an Athens native, a UGA graduate and the No. 2 athletics official at Florida -– made a pitch for the job in a letter to Tom Gausvik, UGA’s associate vice president for human resources.

“I have been very fortunate to work alongside the very best in collegiate athletics at two outstanding institutions, the University of Georgia and the University of Florida, over the last three decades,” McGarity wrote. “I know what it takes to lead and direct an athletic program at the highest level, and am ready …

Continue reading Florida’s McGarity and former NFL exec are among 49 applicants for UGA AD job »

A much-discussed but generally unseen aspect of the Georgia football program -– the famous mat drills –- will be featured extensively on SportSouth’s “Under the Lights: Georgia Football,” a 30-minute behind-the-scenes look at the Bulldogs that airs for the first time at 10 p.m. Saturday.

“We haven’t had a camera man in here in 10 years,” Mark Richt tells his players at the start of the mat-drill session featured on the show.  “We’re going to allow them in here today.”

The show — I watched an advance copy –- gives a good glimpse of the February mat drills: players arriving at 4:48 a.m., going through a grueling series of conditioning drills, then struggling to put the ordeal into words.

“It makes February the longest month of the year,” snapper Ty Frix says.

“Under the Lights” is SportSouth’s occasional series of behind-the-scenes looks into the lives of players, coaches or teams.

In addition to mat drills, the Georgia show also puts cameras in team meetings, practices …

Continue reading An inside look at UGA’s famous mat drills »

Six months after signing with Georgia’s football program, and without participating in a single practice,  freshman outside linebacker Dexter Morant left the team.

“Football’s just not for everybody,” coach Mark Richt said at his post-practice media briefing Wednesday.  “I think he felt like he lost the desire to play. We tried to convince him that it would be in his best interest to stay and fight through it. . . . In the end, he felt like it wasn’t for him, at least not right now.”

Morant, a 6-foot-7, 240-pounder from Manning, S.C.,  signed with Georgia in February. He played defensive end in high school but was projected as an outside linebacker in new UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s 3-4 alignment.

Coming out of high school, Morant was rated the nation’s No. 15 defensive-end prospect by Rivals.com, No. 44 by Scout.com and No. 73 by ESPN.com.

Morant, who had been in Athens since June, informed Richt of his decision to leave before Tuesday’s practice.

“He told …

Continue reading Freshman leaves UGA football team (UPDATED WITH RICHT REACTION) »

Former Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger has a new team: the Butler Community College Grizzlies,  a perennial power in junior-college football. Butler is located in El Dorado, Kansas.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Mettenberger is on the Butler roster and quotes coach Troy Morrell from Jayhawk Conference Media Day: “We did our research on Zach. We feel like he can be a great asset to our team, and it’s widely known that he paid the price for what he’s done and he’s trying to move on.”

Mettenberger was dismissed from the Georgia program in April, shortly before pleading guilty to two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery in Valdosta. He was sentenced to 12 months probation, 80 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine.

Butler is ranked No. 6 among the nation’s junior-college football teams in the preseason poll.  The Grizzlies have won five JUCO national championships since 1998, including titles in 2007 and 2008. Butler starts practice Thursday and plays its season …

Continue reading JUCO team in Kansas welcomes Mettenberger »

(Please check out our bulked-up UGA page, ajc.com/uga. It has been redesigned to include more Bulldogs coverage than ever.)

ATHENS – Georgia’s offensive linemen generally prefer to do their work in anonymity, but the spotlight has found them early in this preseason camp.

On a team without a quarterback who has ever started a college game, Georgia returns five offensive linemen with a combined 127 college starts. So the message has been sent: The wealth of experience on the line must offset the dearth of experience at quarterback.

“If we’re going to be a good football team or a great football team, we’ve got to have great play out of the offensive line,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “They’ve been challenged by the head coach, by me and by their position coach that we’ve got to be a dominant offensive line this year.”

The challenge appears to have been embraced.

“If we’re able to accomplish what I think we’re able to, I think we’ll be pretty special,” offensive …

Continue reading Dogs’ offensive line is challenged: ‘We’ve got to be … dominant’ »

ATHENS – It was one practice, the first practice, and it was held in shorts, jerseys and helmets. But Georgia freshman quarterback Hutson Mason made a strong impression, nevertheless.

“I was really pleased with Hutson Mason’s command in the huddle,” offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo said Monday night. “He got in there and took charge. Everything wasn’t perfect, but I was just pleased with the way he approached practice and the way he carried himself. Liked a lot that I saw.”

Mason, from Marietta’s Lassiter High School, has a chance to be Georgia’s backup quarterback behind starter Aaron Murray. Basically, if Murray stays healthy and Mason has a good preseason camp, Logan Gray probably will remain at wide receiver.

“Hutson looked real good,” wide receiver A.J. Green said after the first practice. “He’s just so quick with his decisions, just being a freshman. Just the way he carries himself, he looked real good today.”

As Lassiter fans know, Mason last year …

Continue reading Hutson Mason makes good first impression on Dogs »

ATHENS — Aaron Murray has dropped the glove.

Georgia’s starting quarterback, who wore a glove on his throwing hand throughout spring practice, has reconsidered the idea and decided to play without it in preseason camp and during the season.

“I tried it on and off through the summer but just decided I felt more comfortable without the glove,” Murray said Monday. “I feel great right now, my timing and my throwing, and so I think I’ll be fine without it.”

Gloves have become a bit of a trend among NFL quarterbacks in recent seasons, with Kurt Warner, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady, among others, wearing them at times. In the spring, Murray said he thought the glove provided a better grip and more control of the ball.

For more on the quarterbacks — Murray, Hutson Mason and two walk-ons — from Day 1 of camp, please click here.

‘New ballgame’ for Gray

After three years at Georgia as a quarterback, Logan Gray made his practice-field debut at wide receiver Monday.

“It’s a new …

Continue reading Logan Gray’s ‘new ballgame’ (and other notes from Day 1 of UGA camp) »

ATHENS — Georgia’s football team opened preseason camp Monday with its most experienced quarterback a redshirt freshman who has never played a snap in a college game.

“That quarterback room has got to be the youngest maybe in the history of college football,” coach Mark Richt said. “It’s a little bit scary in there.”

There are four quarterbacks in the room: Aaron Murray, who won the starting job in spring practice, and three backups who were still in high school in the spring.

The young quarterbacks moved from the meeting room to the practice field on an overcast Monday afternoon, with the redshirt freshman Murray taking the first snaps, followed by true freshmen Hutson Mason, Parker Welch and Greg Bingham. Mason, from Marietta’s Lassiter High, is on scholarship, while Welch and Bingham are walk-ons from Wayne County and Columbus, respectively.

Four quarterbacks. Zero college experience.

“Coach Bobo is really going to earn his pay,” said Richt, referring to offensive …

Continue reading ‘It’s a little bit scary in there,’ Richt says of youth in QB room »

ATHENS — Here you go, the first bits of news from Georgia’s preseason camp:

• After wearing a glove on his throwing hand throughout spring practice, quarterback Aaron Murray said he has rethought the matter and will not wear a glove in preseason camp or during the season. “I tried it on and off throughout the summer but just decided I felt more comfortable without the glove,” Murray said today. “I think I’m fine without it.”

• The plan, at least at the moment, is for quarterback-turned-wide receiver Logan Gray to take no practice reps at QB. But coach Mark Richt said Gray has been told to stay “mentally prepared” to play QB, and that the situation might be reassessed in a few weeks depending on how true freshman Hutson Mason is progressing as Murray’s potential backup.

• So for now Georgia has a redshirt freshman (Murray), a true freshman (Mason) and two walk-ons (freshmen Parker Welch and Greg Bingham) at quarterback. “The quarterback room has got to be youngest room in the …

Continue reading Murray drops the glove (plus other news and notes from UGA camp) »