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.’”
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
388 comments Add your comment
Concrete Pete
September 16th, 2010
6:52 pm
GOOOOOOOOOO TECHHHHHHHH
5150 P.O.A.D
September 16th, 2010
6:58 pm
SAY WHAT & fake p.o.a.d. I will be watching the TECH game and posting on-line about hte uga game. I go to games and have TECH season tickets(since 74). Do you actually attend UGA games?
tim
September 16th, 2010
6:59 pm
Tim,
any word on Richard Samuel lately? I saw him last Friday night at his high school almamater and he was walking fine. I was wondering what his status is.
Harold
September 16th, 2010
7:00 pm
I LOVE TECH!!!!!!!!
Harold
September 16th, 2010
7:00 pm
GO TECH!!!!! YOU ARE THE BEST
5150 P.O.A.D
September 16th, 2010
7:04 pm
I LOVE WATCHING TECH! THAT HIGH SCHOOL OFFENSE REALLY GETS ME GOING!
BobbyDawg
September 16th, 2010
7:28 pm
I was born in Georgia and have been a UGA fan for over 50 years and this is the first time I’ve heard UGA referred to as the cesspool of the south. A Ga. Tech fan must have written that!
Harold
September 16th, 2010
7:58 pm
Viva Petrino!
Good riddance crime ridden Atlanta and all you dirty birds!
Harold
September 16th, 2010
8:00 pm
TECH RULES ATLANTA! THE BULLDOGS IN THE DIRTY PEN OF ATHENS!
college is forever
September 16th, 2010
8:07 pm
http;//www.collegelunchboxes.com Come on Dawgs redeem yourselves, beat the Hogs!!! Don’t forget to go by Kroger on your way to Athens and pick up your classic tin lunchbox.
Say What???
September 16th, 2010
8:17 pm
5150 P.O.A.D… Yes, yes I do attend Georgia games. And when I can’t, I am tuned into the TV to watch the Dawgs. As a matter of fact, I even graduated from UGA. However, I feel my time is better spent doing something positive rather than posting on a Tech blog, insulting the Jackets and their fan base. As a matter of fact, the only time I really pull against Tech is when they play the Dawgs.
See, there for a while I was associating Tech and all of the Tech fans with people like you. You know, trolls who have found that the only way they can feel better about themselves is by belittling everyone else behind the anonymity of a screen name on the AJC chat board. As a matter of fact, I have found myself in the past engaging in the typical war of words that you seem to love. But, not any more. I have learned that through practice, I can filter the posts of you and your ilk and concentrate on those posts that actually express an opinion without any hate. So therefore, I bid you a fond ado. Until you can post something that actually has a point other than to point out how much UGA sucks, I do not plan on wasting any more time responding to you and your drivel. Maybe some of the other UGA fans on here will do the same… Who knows?
The last thing I will say is the fact that you will be watching your team on Saturday makes me feel a little bit better about your state of mind. However, I still think you may want to talk to someone to get all of your rage out.
nmdawg
September 16th, 2010
8:23 pm
Having had a chance to review this string of “communication”, I am surprised that anyone who actually wantedto communicate about footbll and ideas would spend any time here. This childish blabber, especially from a knucklehead like “YEP”,makes it painful to participate. lots of real fans and people who have ideas and resonable thought processes, trying to figure out and communicate about a passion for many (hence the money involved). However, the losers who only want to be fantasy coaches or tear down all the good things about college football, without regard to all the great kids who participate is a reason to ignore the masses. If you take this post as coming from someone who thinks they arepretty far superior to the posters represented here, I sure do!!! And for those who reply, “Stay off our posts man” or “shut up, old school”, you can be sure that happens. What a waste of time for someone who actually has a life!!! I am a Dawg fan, believe that the current staff knows more than I do about football, and wish them the best. All the wanna be coaches and advisors can applywhen the Dawgs fire whoever they fire…see how that works out for you experts. Upon further review, I can’t fix the misspellings herein, so I suppose the biggest losers, who do not understand communication, will respond with a spell check reaction insted of thinking about their own childishness. Ols guy, out from here…looking far a more mature audience!
The Exterminator
September 16th, 2010
9:00 pm
Re: missed tackles, only way to fix that is full speed practices. Saturday it looked liked there were too many summer practices in shoulder pads and shorts. Good call this week, CMR.
All bugs who post on this board have nothing better to do, and I must remind them:
8 out of 9.
Go Dawgs.
Claire
September 16th, 2010
9:05 pm
It is simple as that. 30 to 24 baby….
Hi there, dawgtard.
You Dawgtard fans who keep repeating “30-24″ like a mantra enjoy yourselves all you want. The thing is… Tech alumni and fans have lives that don’t depend entirely on what a bunch of kids does on Saturday afternoons. College sports are fun to follow, but the biggest reason for going to college is to get an education.
UGA fans don’t seem to care about anything but football, and they don’t care if their players are enrolled in silly majors that no parents who are paying the bills would send their kids to UGA for. The very few football and basketball players who graduate have no job opportunities and end up unemployed or working in menial jobs that hardly require a college degree.
Georgia Tech is a real school with serious academic standards, and that includes scholarshipped athletes. UGA has a long history of being a party school, where parents send their kids for an easy degree, even if the degree itself is practically worthless.
Jan Kemp exposed the crap going on at UGA with athletes being enrolled in courses a ten-year-old kid could pass. That was almost three decades ago, and nothing has changed. If anything, the abuses are more blatant today. Way too many illiterate morons are being recruited, and the very high arrest rate shows clearly that Richt does not care if his players have any morals or self-discipline.
The bottom line is that most Tech fans have very good jobs and productive lives that don’t depend on Tech’s football record for their happiness in life. It would be great to beat UGA more often, but when you put scholar-athletes up against thug-athletes, it’s usually no contest.
It’s pretty pathetic to see UGA fans who typically have never been within miles of a college classroom and who live or die with UGA’s weekly results on the football field.
So keep on posting your “30-24″ all you want, especially since you’re home with plenty of time on your hands. I wish you well, maybe you’ll get lucky and get your old job back at the sawmill before your unemployment checks stop coming.
And congratulations on winning the Fulmer/Richt Cup.
CobCob
September 16th, 2010
9:17 pm
Maybe that’s why our defense can’t tackle… They only get a chance to go all out on Saturdays
UGAVIII
September 16th, 2010
9:19 pm
It’s good to read that Bobo is going to “let Murray make plays”. I guess he didn’t let him make plays last week.
Jason
September 16th, 2010
9:26 pm
I don’t understand Tech fans like “Claire” and others who spend their time on UGA blogs. I certainly don’t waste my time on theirs or any other teams that I dislike. Apparently they obsess over anything UGA. Kind of creepy if you think about it. Stalkers…
Banging my Head Against the Wall in Athens
September 16th, 2010
9:29 pm
We can all hope and Pray that UGA will be able to tackle on Saturday, but the truth of the matter is:
We do not have the players(athletes) on the defensive side of the ball. When Van G was here he demanded from CMR that certain athletes play on his side of the field. He would battle for them and usually won. In the past 4 years since he left we have seen practically every great athlete signed on the Offensive side of the ball. Well my friends, that is recipe for disaster. This is not the ACC and since Van G left we are a second tier team in the SEC and 1 and 5 against the East in our last 6 games. If you think Arkansas is the same as they were last year on Offense and Defense then you are mistaken. The Razorbacks have improved by putting better speed and athletes on defense and their offense is a better version than in 09.
We had better be able to tackle 15 yards down field because that is where 90% of the first contact will be.
Haven't thought about it
September 16th, 2010
9:29 pm
That’s how insignificant the Atlanta Falcons really are as a pro team. Think about it…”I’d rather coach Arkansas than the Atlanta Falcons!” What a b slap to Blank. SO great. Petrino is going to break one off in UGA. Nobody in the country does less with more than the crappy bulldogs. I’ll be back on the board to watch all the UGA fans cry about how much they hate Richt after he gets handed another “L”.
BobbyDawg
September 16th, 2010
9:31 pm
“30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″
“30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ “30-24″ I give up I’ll never be able to post it as much as I want! I’m going back to the sawmill.
casey rupp
September 16th, 2010
9:37 pm
I hate bobby petrino with the heat of a thousand suns…what a coward…i hope the dawgs win 72-0
nmdawg
September 16th, 2010
9:44 pm
Dear Claire– My kid graduated fom Gerogia and makes 500K a year….Not about the school and their “we finished here on the Fotune 500: rankings…it is always abount performance once you are in the real world. Congats on your schooling, how are you doing financially in a down market? Nerds look at degres, Dawgs look at performance.
Banging my Head Against the Wall in Athens
September 16th, 2010
9:58 pm
nmdawg….can Claire’s kid see your kid from the space shuttle? just joking…congrats on having a kid who works hard..
Delbert D.
September 16th, 2010
10:01 pm
It’s clear to me from following these blogs for over a year that afternoon drive time is not the time to be here. No sign of intelligent life, evidenced once again, on this blog today during the afternoon commute. The immature jackals are out in force until mommy and daddy get home.
Razorback BBQ plate
September 16th, 2010
10:01 pm
Pitiful Petrino will be embarassed in Athens.
Hog Fan
September 16th, 2010
10:08 pm
You people really need to get over it. Hating someone that much is not healthy.
Monkey says:
September 16th, 2010
10:15 pm
Has anyone else notice these Gator Bloggers such as TAMPA GATOR have not been on here since the “TIME TO DIE” text was made public..and the article in the Orlando Sentinel about the 30 arrest since Urban’s arrival in Gainesville? And at least at UGA they do not all use the same defense attorney…like in Gatorland……they must all be on the VOLS Blogs talking trash…..
Monkey says:
September 16th, 2010
10:16 pm
Hog Fan…I love Pork but not a Razorback..the meat is too tough….
Dawgfanjason
September 16th, 2010
10:22 pm
Wow…i really thought the majority of us were over the scum bag bailing in the middle of the night………….but apparently not! I suggest some of you take your head out of your @$$ and realize our bulldogs are in for a serious fight saturday
SLim
September 16th, 2010
10:25 pm
Going to be ugly….Ark 49 GA 14
Fat Matt Wilson
September 16th, 2010
10:28 pm
We best team ever we number 1 best coach best tradition we win it all these year
Monkey says:
September 16th, 2010
10:28 pm
Mark Bradley is gun shy from all you UGA fans from last week….you guys gave him a beating and he has stuck with the Braves all week. I guess the pelting he took is going to aimed a Petrino.
You UGA beat Bradley like Howard Stern beat Benji today…no mas no mas….
Delbert D.
September 16th, 2010
10:31 pm
Todd, did you clear those comments about Petrino with Mark? Are you feeling okay? Got to watch the blood pressure at your weight. Take care.
5150 P.O.A.D
September 16th, 2010
10:36 pm
AHHAHAA you don’t understand Clair? Well jus read Dawg poster and maybe you will get some insite.
Blake
September 16th, 2010
10:37 pm
I think a handful of Falcons ought to meet him at the airport!
5150 P.O.A.D
September 16th, 2010
10:39 pm
Did I spell that good Nuff for MUTTS 2 read?
LakeDawg
September 16th, 2010
11:15 pm
UGA is in deep trouble. Richt:”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.” That might be good practicing for touch football, but the last time I checked UGA plays in the SEC. What is “Thud anyway. Is it anything like “patty cakes.”
The Ghost of Wally Butts
September 16th, 2010
11:37 pm
Bobby “Pig-Sooey” Patrino is coming to town! I hope Sturdivant gets to do some of his patented end-zone dance moves!
Holy Cow, an entire week without an arrest! What’s next? An entire game, perhaps, with no player on suspension?
The Ghost of Wally Butts
September 16th, 2010
11:38 pm
By the way, as for CMR’s comment about “people getting hurt in practice”, my players, Billy Henderson, for example, would tell you that MY practices ended only AFTER blood was flowing.
See no evil
September 16th, 2010
11:45 pm
Petrino and Jimmy Mora were both terrible hires by Blank who doesn’t get enough blame for the mistakes he made bringing the two baffoons in here, not to mention his penchant for overpaying for players. I’ll bet he’d pay $10 for an AJC.
Monkey says:
September 16th, 2010
11:58 pm
What do you call 11 guys dressed in Red Jerseys with black trim and silver pants all in a huddle?
You can call them anything but a “DEFENSE”!
WizardohOgZ
September 17th, 2010
12:08 am
Listening to these Georgia/ATL fans bitch about Petrino is just like listening to the secretaries and guys who work in the mail room bitch about what goes on up on the 38th floor where the executives live. In both cases, the bitchers know NOTHING about how things work in the rarified (for the complainers) air of the board room.
I won’t bother to go through a detailed description of WHAT happened, WHEN and by WHOM, but anyone with a brain and any semblance of what actually goes on in the world of carefully worded statements and public posturing (which apparently excludes about 99% of Atlanta) would understand that it is BLANK who is the true villain in this whole “Petrino left early” misdirection ploy. Suffice to say that after he (Blank) failed to live up to what he had promised Petrino – and after telling Petrino he would let him go to a college job (Arkansas) after the season – he abruptly changed his mind and told Petrino point-blank that “it would get ugly” if he went on and did what Blank had told him all along he would allow him to do. Petrino did not back down, acted on what Bland had originally told him, and – true to his word – Blank “made it ugly” (aided masterfully by his lacky, ESPN, to whom he pays Millions annually).
There’s an old poker axiom that if you sit down at the table to play and can’t spot the “sucker”, it’s probably you. In this case, those who don’t understand that it was Blank and NOT Petrino that F’d things up in the Atlanta situation are the ones who DON’T know the true story and have been brainwashed by “Slick” Arthur.
And that’s a fact.
Razorhog
September 17th, 2010
12:30 am
Only a man of great character would take a two million $ a year pay cut to make himself/family happier. Those of you that still cry over him wouldn’t know about character anyway. As a Falcon fan I’m happy as both teams are much better since the move. Now, back to the game in hand…you are going to hate him more after his Hogs rubs your noses in it.
drbasic1
September 17th, 2010
1:05 am
Claire
If “WE” are all obsessed with only football, why are “YOU” on a Georgia blog, spewing drivel that shows you are upset over Georgias winning tradition over several decades? I am also a Ga grad, making a VERY comfortable living for myself and family. I do not think it is “US” that is obsessed, but rather you. Let your anger go. I do not deny that Tech is a good college and we infact need engineers, that being said, we need other professions as well and not everyone WANTS to be an engineer. I am sure there are numerous Ga grads (and other graduates from other universities as well) that can and do pass quantam physics. Do not put Tech on any higher plain than anyone else, if you do, i believe you find them not even in the middle of the pack. “I live” for saturday football afternoons, but at days end, life does go on win or lose. Get things in perspective, get a life and get over yourself as i am sure no-one on this FOOTBALL blog cares one iota for what drivel you spew. Good day. Best of luck to all teams, but my heart ALWAYS bleeds red and Black! GO DAWGS!!
Flo-Ri-Duh!
September 17th, 2010
1:17 am
5150. P.O.A.D. – you are a coward boy – Sturdivent is all muscle (no fat in sight) and even with two bad knees would crush you in less than ONE second – you coward. Slime like you does not belong on this vent …………. I bet you are a prissy little thing hiding behind the vent.
5150 P.O.A.D
September 17th, 2010
2:06 am
Flo ain’t that the name of Alice’s waitress frind at mel’s Diner? S TURD a Vent can’t survive a 12 week college season so how do you think he can play a 16 week Pro season? S TRUD needs to take some real college classes and plan for his future outside of UGA football. Don’t call me out when I want the young man to get prepared for his future without FOOTBALL. If you think he can get a paycheck based on his time at UGA you sir are the fool.
Dawg Time
September 17th, 2010
2:21 am
The dawgs blew out ark last year with Joe cox. This year, with murray, it will be worse. Dawgs roll big time!!! Dawgs 49 Hogs 19
fayncdawg
September 17th, 2010
2:23 am
Boy I hope AD McGarity did not read this article. CMR has one foot in the casket if McGarity read this! I mean, wasn’t McGarity AD at Florida, a team known for hitting? I love CMR, but lately I’m beginning to wonder, “WHAT IS THIS MAN THINKING???”
fayncdawg
September 17th, 2010
2:25 am
‘Bout tired of all the excuses about why we can’t tackle!!!
5150 P.O.A.D
September 17th, 2010
2:29 am
Dawg Time the mutts BLEW out Arkesaw last year? You need to sober up. 52 to 41 when the game was in doubt all night is a blow out?