Petrino’s return, Sturdivant’s comeback, Murray’s progress, etc.
ATHENS – Saturday’s game in Sanford Stadium will be Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino’s first in the state of Georgia since he abruptly resigned as the Falcons’ coach with three games left in the 2007 season.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” Petrino said Wednesday of his return to Georgia. “This game is all about our players.”
Petrino, who bolted the Falcons for Arkansas, is 15-12 (5-11 SEC) as the Razorbacks’ coach.
++++++++++
Georgia offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant, who missed almost all of the past two seasons because of knee injuries, played just one series — three snaps — against South Carolina last week. It was his first action of the season after missing the opener with a stomach ailment.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo thinks Sturdivant will play more as he gains confidence in his surgically repaired knees.
“He’s healthy,” Bobo said. “Anytime a kid goes through two major knee surgeries, it’s something that is hard for anybody to understand what he might be thinking. But he’s out there practicing, he’s out there getting better every day, and I think it’s going to click sooner or later that, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go, I’m full speed.’”
++++++++++
Georgia beat Arkansas 52-41 last year in a game in which Bulldogs quarterback Joe Cox threw five touchdown passes and earned a national player-of-the-week award. So Richt was asked if Cox’s successor, redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray, has progressed to the point that he is ready for a similar shootout.
“We have to let him shoot a little bit more than we have lately,” said Richt, referring to Georgia’s conservative game plan the past two weeks.
Richt said he generally finds it impossible to predict whether a game will be high-scoring or low-scoring.
“Of course, Joe Cox had a heck of a game [against Arkansas] last year,” Richt said, “and no one would have predicted that, especially after we played Oklahoma State [two weeks earlier] and didn’t have much offensive production. Then it kind of flooded.”
Richt and Bobo made it clear after last week’s game that it’s time to open up the game plan for Murray. Bobo, of course, isn’t eager to disclose exactly what that means going into Saturday’s game against Arkansas. “Just allowing him to make some more plays, I guess, would be the answer,” he said in his weekly chat with reporters Tuesday night.
++++++++++
After the debacle of poor tackling against South Carolina, Georgia has made its practices more physical this week.
“It got ramped up a little bit more,” Richt said Wednesday night. “Our practices have been good [previously this season] but apparently not good enough in regard to simulating tackling without tackling, which is what we call ‘thud.’ So we tried [this week] to make something a little bit more intense than thud but still a little bit less than grabbing guys and throwing them to the ground. When you tackle to the ground all day long in practice, you tend to get people hurt. … I’ll just say it got intensified a little bit.”
++++++++++
A couple of freshmen who are impressing Richt on the practice field: safety Alec Ogletree and inside linebacker Demetre Baker.
On Ogletree: “He’s one guy that will strike you, there’s no doubt about that. He loves to hit. … Because of that, I’m anxious for him to learn what to do and continue to get work and hopefully get some scrimmage downs.”
On Baker: “I don’t know if it’ll turn into any kind of playing time right now, but one guy on the scout team that has really kind of ramped things up has been Demetre Baker. He is showing signs of being able to really run and strike. He’s been playing with a lot of energy, so when you watch him, you’re like, ‘That guy’s going to be pretty good one day.’”
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388 comments Add your comment
Paul IMA Johnson
September 16th, 2010
1:35 pm
Claire are you that stupid? Richt has won 2 SEC championships already. Go get a fing life and tell your husband to grow a pair.
GTJeff
September 16th, 2010
1:39 pm
Boo to the weasel! Go dawgs! Run his arse out of the state.
Dosta Dawg.
September 16th, 2010
1:43 pm
Richt’s practice philosophy sucks.
“make sure you don’t step on anyone in practice.”
“eliminate tackling in practice and use only “thuds”???
Never will win with this type of practice.
Bunch of pussies.
Don
September 16th, 2010
1:44 pm
Al lI can say is we looked terrible and scared to Tackle..you dont hit anyone up ontheir Shoulder pads it looked really pathetic actually..when I played pee wee I could tackle better than these kids..run through the player lock their legs under them and hit them low..take their legs out form under them and wrap your arms around their BOTH legs and stop them in their tracks
Schmeckdawg
September 16th, 2010
1:46 pm
Claire @ 1:26
In nine years, CMR has us play in 3 SEC Championship Games and won 2 of them. Get your facts straight before you come on here flapping your obviously uneducated gums! As far as booing Petrino goes, I think if the DAWGS would drill rkansas’ eyes out, that would suffice just as well and hurt a hell of a lot more! That little possum eyed grunt could care less if we booed him…he has no conscience!
how2fish
September 16th, 2010
1:47 pm
Claire you were Kel at 10:48 this morning and guess what you said the same old sh%% then..Just asking. ..Bug coward!
5150 P.O.A.D
September 16th, 2010
1:48 pm
Uga D is MIA because Richt and Bobo don’t want their 5star players to get hurt. AHHAHAHA. I am pretty sure the rest of the SEC will play by those rules on game day.
5150 P.O.A.D
September 16th, 2010
1:48 pm
How 2 fish? Just put bait on the hook and wait for a Dawg to bite.
Buck Belue wears a toupee
September 16th, 2010
1:52 pm
Petrino is gonna punk the dawwwwwwwgs worse than he did the Falcons.
27 – 6 Hogs.
Pago Pago Dawg
September 16th, 2010
1:53 pm
Who really cares about Petrino and his nfl job. You better worry his SEC job and that great qb he has.
how2fish
September 16th, 2010
1:55 pm
5150 P.O.A.D my God man what comedy show do you write for? That was every bit as witty as we have come to expect from you…well done..really!
how2fish
September 16th, 2010
1:57 pm
I had a great time at the Adam Lambert show last night. Even got to meet him and go back to his hotel. He said I should have played football, because I was a first class Tight End!
Maybe
September 16th, 2010
1:58 pm
richt should ask the other SEC coaches to take it easy on his players each Saturday-we wouldn’t want the little fellas to get hurt, now would we?
TKE Fraternity
September 16th, 2010
1:58 pm
Getting up a game of touch football, need recruits.
First game, against the Georgia Bulldog varsity.
Nate the Great
September 16th, 2010
1:58 pm
Claire,
We do win SEC championships. Two as a matter of fact, which is just as many as Bama and LSU over the past ten years and one less than Florida. We play in the most competitive conference, so winning all the time is impossible and schools will have years that are not as good as others. Oh yeah, and he’s paid to win games and recruit athletes. Sorry if some athletes come out of hs thinking they are gods, but we bring them back down to earth when they come on campus. I would rather them to be humbled and get caught drinking underage than think its fine to rape women later (Ben Rothlisberger)
It is actually harder to get into UGA than it is Ga Tech (which I assume is where you went or got denied from UGA). The #1 party school isn’t based on the highest number of drunk students, but rather student perception of students on campus and number of bars within “x” mile(s) radius of campus, among other things.
Athens is the #2 college town and one of the top places to retire according to Forbes. Atlanta was the murder capital of the world for awhile, so you got that going for you.
Get your facts straight and get your head out of your arse.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
September 16th, 2010
2:01 pm
A mannequin stuffed with skunk excrement has more integrity than Petrino.
George Holman
September 16th, 2010
2:01 pm
This guy is a first class dirt bag. What he did in getting the reporter fired for wearing the wrong hat to a news conference is inexcusable. I hope GA crushes ARK!
Boys
September 16th, 2010
2:01 pm
don’t be harassing Claire-you saw what happened to the Jets
TKE Fraternity
September 16th, 2010
2:11 pm
NOTICE
All intramural fraternity touch football leagues.
Cancel regularly scheduled practices on campus.
Report to Sanford Stadium this afternoon,
Coach Richt wants to implement a new practice session.
We are to play a practice game against his first team
offense and second team defense.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 16th, 2010
2:20 pm
GO TECH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks like the only hitting and running
September 16th, 2010
2:20 pm
done at uga is in cars
TKE Fraternity
September 16th, 2010
2:21 pm
GO TECH GO TECH
Looks like the only hitting and running
September 16th, 2010
2:21 pm
GO JACKETS
5150 P.O.A.D
September 16th, 2010
2:23 pm
TECH RULES! Best team in history! We beat Kansas last week. Great Victory for our program!!!
Gary
September 16th, 2010
2:24 pm
I understand why the coaches at UGA are timid about hard hitting practice. They had a brilliant team desimated by summer practice injuries a few years back and could not recover from loosing those key players on offense. They need to find a healthy balance.
TKE Fraternity
September 16th, 2010
2:25 pm
Claire – get back in the kitchen and make me some dinner women!
K DAWG
September 16th, 2010
2:25 pm
Petrino is scum. Hope his hogs go 0 and forever and they run him out of town on a rail. Then he can go coach the gaytors.
K DAWG
September 16th, 2010
2:26 pm
Or maybe Tech.
UGA Alum
September 16th, 2010
2:26 pm
I think UGA is going to kick Arkansas’s tail. Arkansas has not had a real game yet. UGA ate some humble pie last week in Columbia and should be looking to prove some critics wrong. IF UGA comes out flat against Arkansas, it is going to be a LOOOOOOOOOONG year!
I like UGA to put pressure on Ark’s QB and force him into making bad choices. We swarm after the ball on D, create a couple of turnovers, and smack them in the face while doing . On O, we just flat out beat them up and wear them down…
UGA 34 Ark 17
HawgMan
September 16th, 2010
2:26 pm
Gonna be ugly after the Hawgs beat the Dawgs in Athens..1-2 and headed for worse.
Mark Jackson
September 16th, 2010
2:27 pm
I designed a page dedicated to Bobby Petrino lol http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-am-going-to-boo-Bobby-Petrino-when-he-comes-back-to-Georgia/114604438598498?v=page_getting_started
HawgMan
September 16th, 2010
2:27 pm
GO GA TECH
Maybe
September 16th, 2010
2:27 pm
hey, you forgot me-GO TECH
5150 P.O.A.D
September 16th, 2010
2:30 pm
You know after the Jay Hawks spanked our AZZES last week me and Claire and Buck Belue wears a toupee spend the entire rest of the weekend at the North Ave Tickle Pile rubbing lotion on all those poor boys sapnked AZZES…we are hoping Nc
HawgMan
September 16th, 2010
2:30 pm
There was nothing last week for the Dawgs, no spark at all. All SC had was a hard charging running back – freshman! taking down everything in his path (kind of Herschel-esque??…). The TV shot of Murray chewing on his finger nails late in the game – and of Richt wiping sweat from his head – priceless. UGA Alum – UGA is not coming to close to putting up 34 points…AR 24 GA 6
HawgMan
September 16th, 2010
2:32 pm
GO GT
Mobile Dawg
September 16th, 2010
2:32 pm
Two ways to look at it. I liked the old days when guys looked forward to Saturday because it wasn’t as tough as practice physically. The other, guys are way bigger and faster and the collisions take a much larger toll on the body in practice. It’s a tough call as to which way you go. I guess we could take a look at Alabama’s practice and find out. How bout it Tide fans, which philosphy does Saban use?
haters are skaters
September 16th, 2010
2:35 pm
can’t help but notice the stat that’s been circulated lately about mallet.
35 tds last yr (30 @ home & 5 on the road)
will at least be interested to see whether the trend continues or he legitimizes himself as a top tier qb.
South Georgia With Nothing To Do
September 16th, 2010
2:35 pm
It seems all sports teams from North Georgia
are chokers. And they have some really well
educated obnoxious fans on these blogs.
I can see
September 16th, 2010
2:36 pm
not doing it all the time everyday-but there has got to be some game speed hitting during practice
South Georgia With Nothing To Do
September 16th, 2010
2:37 pm
GO GEORGIA TECH
DostaDawg
September 16th, 2010
2:38 pm
Mobile Dawg
It all starts in the weight room and
it filters into hard practice sessions.
The Dawgs should try to steal Saban’s
strength coach before their defensive coordinator.
The Dawgs are a bunch of pussies.
ATL Tiger
September 16th, 2010
2:39 pm
Arkansas will win big handing UGA 2nd straight SEC loss!!! Count on it!
ATL Tiger
September 16th, 2010
2:40 pm
GO TECH
DostaDawg
September 16th, 2010
2:41 pm
LET’S GO TECH
GO GEORGIA TECH
September 16th, 2010
2:42 pm
oh how the mighty have fallen-touch football Monday through Friday………………………………………………and on Saturday (GO TECH-I thought I would save you the trouble by typing it for you)
GO GEORGIA TECH
September 16th, 2010
2:43 pm
WE BEAT KANSAS! YOU KNOW IT! NATIONAL CHAMPS BABY
GO GEORGIA TECH
September 16th, 2010
2:44 pm
uga a legend in their own minds
GO GEORGIA TECH
September 16th, 2010
2:45 pm
tech not quite as good a north dakota state
GO GEORGIA TECH
September 16th, 2010
2:46 pm
ga not quite as good as a fourth rate high school team