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
Boise Dawg
August 30th, 2011
9:22 am
Are you kidding me? We already need to analyze how we should react IF we lose a game that hasn’t been played? If Boykin gets shut down and Georgia loses, it will have nothing to do with one stupid tweet from one player.
Why don’t we get excited for a big game on a Saturday night and leave it at that.
Lharding Dawg
August 30th, 2011
9:22 am
I would think there would be more to talk about than Boykin today. He’s a kid, trash talking. Have none of you ever coached any type of team. I don’t care if your 8 years old or 38 years old, trash talk is part of the game. Hell, we have been trash talking on these blogs for years. Give the kid a break, he’s having fun, and that’s exactly what he should be doing. Having fun.
1eyedJack
August 30th, 2011
9:24 am
Surely Kellen Moore is not stupid enough to target Brandon Boykin. We could only hope.
Boykin dares BSU to kick to him ......
August 30th, 2011
9:25 am
[...] [...]
Delbert D.
August 30th, 2011
9:25 am
They may plan to dump the ball to Doug Martin more to try to nullify the pass rush, especially blitzes.
RedandBlackDAWG
August 30th, 2011
9:26 am
Nothing could be finer,
Spuurier doesn’t permit his players to use twitter, but pubicly states to the national media that Garcia is stupid and you don’t suspend players for being stupid. Which action do you think was a bigger distraction to the QB and the team?
Joey
August 30th, 2011
9:27 am
Win the game.
Then have fun . . .
TampaDawg
August 30th, 2011
9:32 am
Ok, again, can we quit whining over a tweet. So much good news on this blog post regarding injuries and we got people complaining over a tweet. Notice he didn’t say “you guys can’t stop me” .. or “Dear Coach Peterson, your slow kick team should have a good look at my numbers as I pull away” .. no, nothing like that disparaging towards the BSU players. He just said, I dare you to kick it to me. GET OVER IT! The BSU staff already did.
Boise Dawg
August 30th, 2011
9:34 am
Interesting article on the 2005 game in the Idaho Statesman yesterday. The coaches at Boise State felt they made way too big of a deal out of one game and learned never to do it again.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/08/29/1776798/broncos-move-forward.html
UGA Insider
August 30th, 2011
9:38 am
If I’m CMR I would ban Downtown Athens for the next couple of weeks. If you are in a bar after 9PM you are suspended. Easy as that. This is NO time for drunken late nights guys… You have the rest of your life for that crap trust me. Stay home and get your rest and stay away from Downtown!
McDawg
August 30th, 2011
9:38 am
i can’t believe all the lame wussy comments on here-i hope they do kick it to Boykin and i hope he takes it to the house
Delbert D.
August 30th, 2011
9:41 am
This just in:
Texas A&M is leaving the Big 12.
The NY Times reports that the university’s president, R. Bowen Loftin, sent a letter to the Big 12 board chairman, the Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton, notifying the league that the Aggies would formally withdraw — very likely on Tuesday — according to two college officials with direct knowledge of the decision.
From an article by Pete Thamel.
TampaDawg
August 30th, 2011
9:41 am
I agree with Insider and McDawg in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY!
Big Dawg
August 30th, 2011
9:41 am
Athens Dawg
August 29th, 2011
9:33 pm
Ealey= Gone
King= Gone
Gray= Gone
Green= Gone
Houston = Gone
Dowtin= Gone
Nick Williams= Gone
A.J. Harmon= Gone
Brent Benedict= Gone
Athens I hate to disagree with you but Marcus Dowtin was not a cancer on the team, the opposite was true about him, as he was a real nasty player on the field. He often hit so hard he hurt himself. He had off the field issues that should have been dealt with when he first got to Athens by the coaching staff, but was largely ignored by Willie Martinez and company. We lost a very good player with this one, but I agree with you that it was necessary in the long run. My point is this one could have been avoided if the coaching staff had handled it better.
Go Dawgs
UGA Insider
August 30th, 2011
9:42 am
Delbert D,
By halftime you will have forgotten who Justin Houston ever was. Jarvis Jones will be responsible for that. He has a better motor and is nasty. JH has all the talent but always took plays off and was out of shape. He was no leader and was playing for NFL.
Innocent Bystander
August 30th, 2011
9:44 am
Don’t worry Mr. Boykin, Boise will be kicking to you. Over and over and over.
TampaDawg
August 30th, 2011
9:50 am
@Innocent Bystander — maybe if Boykin is now returning punts
Summit Dawg
August 30th, 2011
9:51 am
Athens Dawg…..Cancers??? You are a sick Dog!!
TampaDawg
August 30th, 2011
10:00 am
Athens Dawg – Ealey and King, I can agree with. I think AJ Green got a raw deal and just had to deal with it. And Logan Grey, although I wasn’t a fan of his, did seem to be willing to go out and do whatever to make a difference on the team.
The BLUE meanie from BS
August 30th, 2011
10:09 am
I hope the emergency rooms in south Georgia are ready for the season. Two things you can COUNT ON are women ending up in the ER after a “tough Bulldog game”. The other is a UGA student athlete hurting himself on a scooter.
Q&A: Boise’s Chris Petersen has ‘put ‘05 Georgia game out of my mind’ | UGA sports blog
August 30th, 2011
10:15 am
[...] Richard Samuel, Branden Smith vow they’ll be ready (Rambo won’t) [...]
TampaDawg
August 30th, 2011
10:17 am
@The BLUE meanie from BS – most of the BSU fans come on here with a level of class .. YOU are not one of them. Nice job.
Dawg06
August 30th, 2011
10:29 am
@ BLUE meanie – south Georgia, really? The University of Georgia is in Athens, in the northeastern part of the state, and Atlanta (where the kick-off classic game will be played) is in north Georgia, just below the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. If you’re going to talk crap, at least get your facts straight.
WDE
August 30th, 2011
10:31 am
@The BLUE meanie from BS I have a question what is the Boise battle cry ours of course is Go Dawgs Sic em or Woof Woof . What’s Boise’s something along the lines of “Wilbur when are you taking me to Miami” or “Go you sassy Bronco’s Go ?
TampaDawg
August 30th, 2011
10:42 am
Boise State RB Malcolm Johnson out for the season with knee injury
Read more: http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2011/08/29/bmurphy/boise_state_rb_malcolm_johnson_out_season_with_knee_injury#ixzz1WWTumpy4
TampaDawg
August 30th, 2011
10:43 am
Great post WDE
WDE
August 30th, 2011
10:50 am
Thanks Tampa , most of the Bronco fans are pretty good folks but hey we all have a few bad apples.
ATL Sports Fan
August 30th, 2011
10:50 am
Blue Meanine, I’ve been to Boise, heck I’ve even been to Emmett, Pocatello, Coeur d’alene and I can tell you there are REDNECKS everywhere. Guess Treasure Valley Medical Center and Saint Alphonsus should be on high alert.
ATL Sports Fan
August 30th, 2011
10:52 am
Y’all are right. Suspend Brandon Boykin. I mean he gave the Boise State special teams players so much motivation. I mean they are going to now be able to run faster down the field and tackle him harder on kickoffs.
You people are amazing!! Probably never played a sport at a high level
richie_rich1986
August 30th, 2011
10:56 am
Lets Go Dawgs Baby!
CHDawg
August 30th, 2011
11:06 am
Bystander, that would have been one of the great comebacks in CF history if Petersen had come up with it: “Well Brandon, we aim to please and we hope to be able to kick it to you 10 or 15 times on Saturday.” Let’s hope he only sees a couple!
I-DOG
August 30th, 2011
11:09 am
Sorry to hear about Johnson’s injury. Hopefully he will be back at full speed for Boise in the near future. This is the only injury I have heard about for Boise this Fall, maybe I am missing some of the info, but thourhg they just weren’t reporting their injuries as they seemed to have none.
I am a quiet person
August 30th, 2011
11:10 am
GAME WEEK !!! I AM PUMPED UP !!!!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOGS !!!
SIC EM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Athens Dawg
August 30th, 2011
11:13 am
Well let’s hope that Boykin doesn’t get to return many kicks because returning kicks means that Boise has scored. Let’s hope he only returns it once or twice. Go Dawgs!
Rooster
August 30th, 2011
11:20 am
It will be even better when: Richt = Gone
Bobo = Gone
Murray = Gone
and good riddance!!!!
Dee
August 30th, 2011
11:21 am
I hope Richt doesn’t start Samuel in this game. Coming off an injury and he still suffers from fumblitis? I wouldn’t chance it if I were him.
WDE
August 30th, 2011
11:35 am
@Rooster that’s enough of your co** a doodle do crap…off with you troll.
TampaDawg
August 30th, 2011
11:36 am
Dang rooster .. you think they will fire Murray too .. That’s pretty hard core
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 30th, 2011
12:03 pm
OK, I’ll cut Boykins some slack.
I mean, this game is his last chance to play in the Dome before he leaves.
Athens Dawg
August 30th, 2011
12:11 pm
After all, who yells GO CAWKS as their team runs onto the field?! LOL
ugab
August 30th, 2011
12:14 pm
Enter your comments here
ugab
August 30th, 2011
12:25 pm
Boykin’s tweet disgust me. MR needs to discipline Boykin. That is not the Ga way. I am a dawg fan. Boise will be ready for this game on ALL sides of the ball. We did not need any tweets. It reminds me of the dancing in the endzone. It will backfire. Just go out and play some smashmouth football. Boykin has fumbled trying to return kicks. Boykin has gotten the dawgs pinned deep. No one remembers all those screw ups. This is an important game. Shut your mouth and play football. It does not matter how small Boise’s center weighs. Boise’s team plays with HEART.. Heart is what the dawgs have been missing the last 5 years. MR need to stop the talking trash.
Athens Dawg
August 30th, 2011
12:49 pm
You can have all the heart you want but eventually size and speed will get you. Just wait and see.
Athens Dawg
August 30th, 2011
12:50 pm
What if Geathers and Jenkins also have heart? You saying they don’t? Those guys didn’t play last season but know what their team went through. They want to do this for Richt, they want to do it for the fans, and most of all, they want to do it for themselves. They will come out hot and I bet Boise won’t be able to keep up. They just won’t.
Rooster
August 30th, 2011
12:58 pm
I believe all three of those cancers need to go. Maybe they will be shown the door with a little help after game #2.
Alabama | MrSEC.com
August 30th, 2011
1:19 pm
[...] Swamp. (Hoot? Owls? Get it?) 4. If Georgia tailback Richard Samuel is healthy on Saturday, he’ll split carries with Isaiah Crowell.5. Mark Richt won’t say if safety Bacarri Rambo is suspended for the opener or not.6. [...]
The BLUE meanie from BS
August 30th, 2011
2:00 pm
Thanks for the compliment ,Tampadaaawg. There is nothing like getting under the skin of a Athens Consolidated High School fan, such as yourself. Two words “Central Florida”. Now you, Bama Dawg, Lex Dawg, and all you other Dawgs can bite me.
RedandBlackDAWG
August 30th, 2011
2:26 pm
Rooster must have gotten plucked this morning.
WDE
August 30th, 2011
2:27 pm
@The BLUE meanie from BS I can see it now Normal game day for Boise the 30,000 Bronco fans screaming Go you sassy Broncos Go” as they sashay on to the Blue turf where they stare down the cup cake of the week. But wait reality comes calling to the Bronco Nation in a way not seen since 2005, in the Georgia Dome Sept 3rd.
RedandBlackDAWG
August 30th, 2011
2:32 pm
I would suspect that the “blue meanie from BS(?)”, was a techie hiding behind a handle as usual, but even techies know where Atlanta is. I guess though, when you are a 5th grader and come onto a blog, just to try and irritate opposing fans, you can be forgiven, the lack of geography smarts. All that is required of him, is to know where the next field of spuds is located.