Practice update: The latest on Samuel, Smith, Rambo and Boykin
ATHENS — Georgia held its final full-pads practice of the preseason Monday, with two key players still limited by injuries.
Tailback Richard Samuel sat out half of the practice to protect a quadriceps injury, and cornerback/punt returner Branden Smith did only some jogging and rehabbing because of a foot injury.
Both, however, said they expect to play in Saturday night’s season opener against Boise State in the Georgia Dome.
“I’ll be ready by Saturday, no doubt about it,” Smith said. “It’s not a major injury. Just trying to be on the safe side.”
Smith has not practiced since injuring the foot on Thursday but vowed that it won’t slow him against Boise.
“I’m still at a 4.3,” he said, referring to his 40-yard dash time. “I still have my speed.”
Samuel, meanwhile, said he has “no doubt” he’ll play Saturday despite the quadriceps injury that has bothered him for 2 1/2 weeks.
“I went half of the practice [Monday], so it was not too much of a setback,” he said. “It felt fine. Just didn’t want to push it too far too fast.”
Coach Mark Richt said Samuel is “not 100 percent yet, but he’s getting there.” If healthy, Samuel is expected to share carries with freshman Isaiah Crowell against Boise. As of Monday night, Richt said Samuel remains the Bulldogs’ No. 1 tailback.
“He has been the projected starter,” Richt said of Samuel. “Today he is still our projected starter.”
Rambo’s status
Richt declined to say whether safety Bacarri Rambo, who started all 13 games last season but is not currently listed as a first-teamer, has been suspended from Saturday’s game.
“No, I’m not going to address that,” Richt said Monday night. “At the appropriate time, if anybody has anything like that, I’ll let you know, though.”
Asked when the appropriate time would be, Richt replied: “I don’t know. I’ve got to figure that out. Still working on that.”
Richt said on Saturday that Sanders Commings and Shawn Williams are currently the No. 1 safeties.
Boykin’s challenge
Georgia cornerback/kickoff returner Brandon Boykin issued a challenge to Boise State via Twitter over the weekend.
“Dear Coach Petersen,” Boykin tweeted, referring to Boise coach Chris Petersen, “I DARE you to kick to me. Sincerely, Me and my Dawgs.”
Boykin was hardly backing down from his tweet Monday.
“It did exactly what I wanted it to do. It created a buzz and got the fans excited,” Boykin said. “I didn’t say anything disrespectful, I don’t feel like. So if they didn’t like it, I mean, whatever.
“Me and my teammates and the coaches are excited and feel like we’ve got to come out and be confident and have that swagger in order for us to be successful against a team like Boise.”
He acknowledged the tweet generated a mixed buzz from fans.
“I knew some of our fans would be like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s great.’ And some of them would be, ‘What are you doing? You’re going to give them an advantage,’” Boykin said. “I mean, that’s their job to come and tackle me. Maybe it did give them an extra incentive, but we’ve still got to do what we’ve got to do, regardless.”
Boykin said he informed Richt of the tweet shortly after posting it.
“He said, ‘OK, now you’ve got to back it up,’” Boykin said.
Etc.
Nose guard John Jenkins, who had been sidelined with a hamstring injury, and wide receiver Marlon Brown, who had been out with an ankle sprain, practiced Monday. . . . . “I felt pretty good, actually,” Brown said. He had missed the past several practices but said there’s “no doubt at all” he’ll play Saturday. . . . Also back at practice Monday: fullback Bruce Figgins, who had been sidelined with an injured hamstring. . . . Boise State’s team will arrive in Atlanta late Thursday and plans a walk-through practice in the Georgia Dome on Friday.
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260 comments Add your comment
MarineDog
August 29th, 2011
10:30 pm
I for one am tired of all the talking. Time to play some football. In about 5 days all of this speculation will come to an end. Either the supporters or the naysayers will be wrong. Leave everything on the field.
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:30 pm
hahahahhahahahahahahahahaahha
waiiiitttt a minute…. did you say that boise was to fast and athletic for uga? son you need to lay off those potatoes.
Athens Dawg
August 29th, 2011
10:31 pm
Boise too fast and athletic for the Dawgs? Are you kidding me? Dude seriously, somethings wrong with you. It’s not worth arguing.
Basstringerfish
August 29th, 2011
10:31 pm
We’re not going to sack Kellen Moore in today’s Boise State offense. He’s like Peyton Manning getting rid of the ball so quick. This team is well coached. The receivers will be in their spots when they need to be there. To beat that we have to force passing situations and therefore we can anticipate the play and coordinate the defense. Then we have to rush the throw, force the play and get off the field… I think we can stop the run. I then feel we will be able to rush the front gaps and force bad plays from them. My biggest concern is how disciplined we are. They will be. How will we come out? Can we play our positions? And then can we play fast? And after that can we unleash the natural playmaking? I damn sure hope so because I’m having a he’ll of a pool tail gate party running up to kick off! Would be a bummer if we are not a better team top to bottom – including coaching.
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:33 pm
i mean cmon dude, we have have a freaks at LB who will absolutely EXPOSE boise for the the chumps they are.
Athens Dawg
August 29th, 2011
10:34 pm
WHO is Tyler Shoemaker? Does he work for Nike? I swear I’ve NEVER heard of the kid. Swear to God. Is he an impact player. Everybody on Georgia’s team you’ve heard at least once. Pettis gone, Young gone, new OC, punter gone, kicker gone, secondary players, gone…you just don’t stack up with UGA Boise state fans. You just don’t. Get over it.
Dumb ole dogs
August 29th, 2011
10:34 pm
reverse psychology? It’s called getting your butt kicked on National TV by the smurfs. Stay classy Georgia. I hope Boise beat’s the Holy Hell out of you Rednecks!
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:35 pm
but i’ll admit that those chumps are well-coached chumps.
Athens Dawg
August 29th, 2011
10:36 pm
Our linebackers run as fast as your TE’s. Our D-line faster and quicker than your O-line. Kellen Moore does have a quick release but the windows and the amount of space that his receivers will have room to work with just won’t be there with the speed of our corners and safeties. These guys are very big. Don’t let it fool you on tv. They’re big guys that can run.
John
August 29th, 2011
10:36 pm
Wow, get worked up over nothing? Any UGA fan that is upset with this is not a real fan. I for one am glad that someone is pumped up for the game. Ant to the “fans” talking about classes the players take. Why dont we just get the players Vandy gets to play for them. Sure they might be able to speak proper english, but football? Not so much.
Get em dawgs.
pirtdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:36 pm
“athletic and fast” please our NG can out run most of your team. Keep sleeping on Boykin and see how many he returns.
Athens Dawg
August 29th, 2011
10:37 pm
BroncoBlue, your an idiot. I think we have another GT fan on our hands guys.
Hairy Nuts
August 29th, 2011
10:37 pm
That;s funny Athens Dawg, I believe you and your fan base said the same thing about Miss St, Colorado, Arkansas, and UCF LOL! Idiot. UGA fan’s really love to bear their chest. I don’t understand why, it’s not like they are Alabama or LSU. There Georgia LOL
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:37 pm
shoemaker is going to be injured in the 2nd quarter after catching the ball over the middle and getting leveled by a linebacker. (TREE) just like what happened to devon bess. (uga vs hawaii)
Mobile Dawg
August 29th, 2011
10:39 pm
pirtdawg, that’s a tough question. First, one man can’t do it alone, but he should set the tone and the expectations. I really can’t speak for Richt, I don’t know whether he condones the behavior or not. IMO, one of Richt’s problems is that he hasn’t been consistent with his approach to discipline. Back to your question, I would be more inclined to take the approach of Nick Saban vs Mark Richt with college players. Fear can be a good thing so long as it’s not abused. Fortunately for me, and the 85 high school kids we will never know.
Athens Dawg
August 29th, 2011
10:40 pm
IGNORE THE TROLLS.
I agree bgdawg, we are going to hit them so hard. I just cannot wait to get this season underway. Then all the talking, all the trolls will go away for like a week then they’ll be back for SC. If we start 2-0, I think this comment board will only have like one page.
Basstringerfish
August 29th, 2011
10:41 pm
Let me restate… We won’t sack the QB straight away. We have to force them out of their game plan. Then we can tee off. That does not mean that we can’t hit the QB a lot….
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:42 pm
hmmm im thinking that LV is looking at our record from last year. they don’t kno how much we changed from a psychological point of view. you look at boise’s record they went 11-1. if i was betting money on two teams that i knew nothing about i would obviously go with the team that had the better record.
so there ya go
bitter vince dooly
August 29th, 2011
10:42 pm
well–well——–the snake shows his head———–i smelt you tide roll before you rose from
————————the sewer——————hahahahaha—————bamma stinks
————————————————————————————————tree killers—-hahahahah
Harold
August 29th, 2011
10:42 pm
t’s a shame that Branden Boykin has to try to motivate the Dawg nation. This is something the coaching staff is suppose to do.–Hey Dalton Dawg, it’s called being a LEADER which is something that this team has lacked the last couple of years. It doesn’t matter how much “motivating” the coaches do, clearly, look at the results! The Dawgs need leaders like that talk the talk, but that can walk the walk and Boykin clearly can. You ever play ball before?
MarineDog
August 29th, 2011
10:42 pm
I watched the BS-VT replay and if the same team that barely beat VT after jumping to a big lead, they are going to have some serious problems if they fall behind against UGA, Their secondary had huge holes and it can be exploited. Their 2 leading receivers are also gone and their running back fumbled after taking a big hit.
Sounds like the same issues that UGA has had the last few years.
All I’m saying is that Boise is not unbeatable. VT blew that game and there was a couple questionable officiating calls made at the end of the game.
tide roll
August 29th, 2011
10:42 pm
Then what is the problem? You’ve got Daryll Gamble starting for the Chargers, Akeem Dent will make the Falcons. Even Damarcus Dobbs is in line to make the 49ers. This doesn’t include Stafford, Moreno, A.J Green, Rashad Jones, Danny Ware. The list goes on and on. Your coaches should be allowed to use everything within their power to reasonably motivate these players. Some respond to a little public embarrassment. Others don’t. Don’t preclude their position coaches from making make the distinction. They know their players better than anyone. Stop restricting them. Let ‘em coach.
bring the pain
August 29th, 2011
10:42 pm
i just have this feeling that BSU my well be headed into a real head knocker, just think CTG has his boys breathing fire to get after it Sat. I also believe that Bobo may finally have the chance to have a 2nd year QB that he can take the reins off of. Laugh if you like but i have heard that we will be doing alot of up tempo multiple sets to expose BSU’s defense honestly saturday i feel SALVATION for all of us DAWGS who bleed Red and Black, the train is coming boys move off the tracks or get destroyed.
Mobile Dawg
August 29th, 2011
10:44 pm
Nah, you’re right, I think we should just crank up the volume when Soulja Boy blares through the PA, and maybe do the victory dance over a BS receiver when we make a tackle some 30 yds down the field.
Gravy Train
August 29th, 2011
10:45 pm
Hey Bronco Smurf Blue, quit your yapping! If Boise was so fast and athletic, where was it in Reno last year? Nevada has a football team? Yes, and they owned your candy rear. Has Boise ever beaten an SEC team? Now get outta here, your women are leaving horse chips everywhere!
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:45 pm
lemme get this straight, you think that because your team is favored in LV that automatically means your team is the more talented??
wow and they call us southerners stupid.
Milan Big Dog
August 29th, 2011
10:46 pm
Lets fire up the grills, ice the drinks, hide the women and small children cause Bulldog football is coming to the Dome Saturday night. Let all the naysayers talk and enjoy their gloom and doom prognostications. The only thing that is gonna matter is the scoreboard at the end of the game. The Big Dog from the sticks sez my UGA Dogs are gonna bark loud and long . As far as everybody getting upset with B. Boykin I always heard an old saying, Its a poor rooster that wont crow around his own barnyard.
iago's yoda
August 29th, 2011
10:46 pm
Act like you’ve been there before, magazine-boy.
THAT’S how you do it.
bring the pain
August 29th, 2011
10:47 pm
bronco blue honestly are you 12 or 13? lets just let them play. like i said earlier this UGA team will show up sat with MALICE in mind, KMoore should call Colt B. i think he is seeling spam and pineapple somewhere in Honolulu.
Harold
August 29th, 2011
10:50 pm
“and on the 6th day God created college football and He said this is good and it pleased God .on the 7th day he rested .and wathched the nfl” Hey JP–If you are going to attempt to quote the Bible, you need to read it first. Since the NFL plays on Sunday I would assume you mean that God rested on Sunday, but there’s one problem. Sunday is and always has been the first day of the week. Saturday, the day He rested from all His work, is the seventh. Makes you think huh?
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:51 pm
i swear you people get mad over NOTHING. you don’t want our team to have swagger? you don’t want the second coming of the junkyard dawg d? because being a junkyard dawg is all about swagger.
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:55 pm
when i said that shoemaker would get injured i was talkin about like getting his wind knocked out, or something like that.
Gravy Train
August 29th, 2011
10:55 pm
So what was the Vegas line when you played Nevada? Yes, folks, Nevada does have a football team.
bring the pain
August 29th, 2011
10:55 pm
i think BB Tweet is is classic, hell kick it to him or don’t i think if they do and he gets a crease 7-0 dawgs quickly. How ballsy is BSU do they have the confidence to do it? I just hope they only get to kick it to him one time, know what i mean.
AceDawg
August 29th, 2011
10:56 pm
Boykin seems like a good guy – I am glad to see him adding some layers to the game, and it’s not like he actually said anything to worry about. Hopefully he DOES get to return some kicks.
bgdawg
August 29th, 2011
10:57 pm
you ever heard of a well coached team? sometimes well coached beats talent. and boise state is nowhere near our talent level
gadawgs
August 29th, 2011
10:58 pm
Bronco Blue.. Did I read you right when you say that Boise is more athletic AND faster than Georgia? Really?…..That is comical!!
Gravy Train
August 29th, 2011
10:58 pm
I love this idiot talking smack! I hope their team is this over confident as well. How much of an impact will their fans make in the Dome? All 12 of them?
Joshhh...
August 29th, 2011
10:58 pm
Richt is an idiot if he suspends Rambo. One of the most important games of Richt’s coaching & career and he’s suspending players?
It’s not time to be Mr. Nice Guy, it’s time to win some football games.
Mobile Dawg
August 29th, 2011
11:00 pm
BroncoBlue, you guys could be walking into the final scenario of Butch and Sundance in Bolivia. If the Dawgs play like they’re capable of playing, it will be a long day. If they play like the Dawgs we’ve seen the last several years we could be in serious trouble.
Gravy Train
August 29th, 2011
11:00 pm
They are so wildly popular in Idaho that they couldn’t even sell their allotment of tickets!
tom
August 29th, 2011
11:03 pm
Coach pete addressed the boykins comments during his press conference. His response was pretty funny.
AceDawg
August 29th, 2011
11:06 pm
Boise – you are a good team. Moore is a great QB. You have great coaching. You could possibly win. Still, UGA has Aaron Murray – a champ in his own right and on the verge of a real breakout year. We need a big running game from some uncertain players, but I feel pretty good about Aaron Murray being a Heisman kind of champ, and I think the Dawgs D added some great elements this year. I’m pretty sure the Dawgs will look better on both sides of the ball… and on special teams.
I’d say Moore is super clutch, and Boise has better coaching, at least comparing offensive coordinators. Still, again, Aaron Murray is a champ and will return UGA mentality to championships. His freshman chains are off, and he’s gonna be awesome.
DougsMugs
August 29th, 2011
11:07 pm
I sure am glad big Fig is back. 270 pound fullback converted from tight end. Man, Boise’s D is going to earn every stop Saturday night.
AceDawg
August 29th, 2011
11:08 pm
Joshhh, Bacarri Rambo last year was a loafing waste of space. He is talented but played like a damn quitter. If he acted up, he should ride the pine since he deserves to ride the pine for his effort last year anyway.
bring the pain
August 29th, 2011
11:10 pm
what was peterson response?
Mobile Dawg
August 29th, 2011
11:14 pm
He was talking about UGA special teams, it was just a quip, “they got that return guy down there that wants a piece of me, heck, I don’t even play” and the whole place broke up in laughter.
athdog
August 29th, 2011
11:15 pm
Boise too fast for UGA, or almost any SEC team, for that matter? That’s funny.
Word here in town is that Rambo is suspended for at least one game. Hopefully it’s academic and not
criminal. Both bad….one is worse.
Runnin With The Dawgs
August 29th, 2011
11:17 pm
This is gonna be a rompin’ stompin’ good time at the Dome Saturday night. The Dawgs have got something to prove and they’re on a mission to prove it. UGA — 42 Boise St. — 24 “GO DAWGS”!
bring the pain
August 29th, 2011
11:19 pm
honestly i just cannot wait for sat. i am going to sit with 7 year old son in our living room with some wings, pizza , etc.. and teach him how to yell, dance and truly enjoy the joys and yes at times the pains that come with being a BY GOD GEORGIA BULLDOG.