Remorseful Bacarri Rambo believes he could’ve made difference vs. Boise St.

Georgia free safety Bacarri Rambo returned from a suspension this week and expects to return to the starting lineup on Saturday. (Photo by Guy Prokay/DawgTime.com)

Free safety Bacarri Rambo expressed remorse for what he called “a big mistake” and said he believes he could made a difference against Boise State last Saturday.

Rambo, the Bulldogs’ leading returning tackler, was reinstated this week after a one-game suspension for an unspecified team rules violations and is expected to start against South Carolina on Saturday.

“It messed up our team goals having to sit out that one game,” said Rambo, speaking to reporters for the first time since last spring. “I’m not going to say we could have won if I would’ve played. But I want to help the team as much as I can and the results of the game probably would’ve been different. That was a big mistake and I learned from it.”

Rambo would not say what infraction led to his suspension or exactly when it occurred. “I’d rather y’all ask Coach Richt,” he said.

Rambo traveled with the Bulldogs to Atlanta and was allowed to dress out for the game. That, in itself, was like a punishment.

“It was very tough” said Rambo, who started all 13 games a year ago. “I’m not used to sitting on the sideline, especially knowing I’m supposed to be starting. It’s very tough to see my guys out there playing and knowing I should be out there helping them, helping them communicate and fly to the ball, helping make plays, helping my team. It was very tough.

A powerful lesson was learned, he said.

“I broke a team rule,” Rambo said. “It was selfish mistake. I will not allow it to happen any more. I learned from that mistake. It was a big mistake. It didn’t affect just me, it affected the team because I couldn’t play and I’m not going to allow it to happen again.”

Dallas Lee to start at guard

Dallas Lee will get the first start of his career at left guard this Saturday. Richt indicated that might have been the case even if Kenarious Gates had not been injured.

“We thought he did real well,” Richt said of the sophomore from Buford, who took over when Gates left the game with a sprained ankle in the second quarter. “He might have played better than any of the guards as we graded it out. So whether Kenarious was healthy or not, he wouid have had a very good chance . . . of starting this week.”

Gates was held out of practice on Tuesday but is expected to be available Saturday.

O-line problems ‘correctable’

Georgia gave up six sacks to the Broncos and averaged fewer than 1.9 yards per carry on rushing attempts by the tailbacks. But Richt insists the Bulldogs’ poor line play can be rectified before facing South Carolina’s formidable defensive front.

“Everything is correctable,” Richt said. “The thing that was the most disappointing to me was the pass protection, especially third down. . . . Six sacks are way too many and the majority of the issues were on third down. We’ve already spent a lot of time making corrections in pass protection.”

Samuel to linebacker was considered

Richt said he briefly considered moving tailback Richard Samuel back to linebacker in the wake of the injury to Alec Ogletree. Samuel was Ogletree’s backup at “Mo” linebacker before backfield attrition forced the Bulldogs to switch Samuel back to offense, where he played his first two seasons.

“I thought about it kind of just laying on the pillow at night,” Richt said. “But by the time Richard got back and trained up and really ready to play, ‘Tree’ would probably be back and be healthy and ready to go. We’ve had 29 preseason practices plus last week, so we have over 30 practices with these other kids.”

Ogletree is out at least four weeks with a broken foot. Michael Gilliard, Amarlo Herrera and Jeremy Sulek are competing to start alongside Christian Robinson. Linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti said the Bulldogs are also exploring other options.

“There’s a million different things we could do,” he said, declining to elaborate.

Jarvis Jones to inside ‘backer not considered

The Bulldogs gave little to no thought of moving Jarvis Jones from outside linebacker to inside linebacker. Jones was playing inside linebacker before the Bulldogs moved Ogletree to the position from strong safety. But Jones has been flourishing at “Sam” linebacker. He had 11 tackles, including 2½ for losses, in the opener.

“Jarvis is just doing so well where he is,” Richt said. “He’s locked in and playing fast and playing very physical. . . . He played great. He played like a guy who hadn’t played for a year and half and couldn’t wait to hit somebody again. He played with a lot of energy and got after it.”

Sticking with no-huddle

Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said the Bulldogs plan to stick with the no-huddle offense they unveiled in the Georgia Dome. He said the decision to switch in the offseason was an attempt to run more offensive plays. But the Bulldogs ran just 60 plays last Saturday to Boise State’s 71.

“We wanted to get more plays, which we didn’t do on Satuday,” Bobo said. “But we’re committed to doing it. More plays equals more opportunities, more chances to score. Last year we just didn’t think we had as many opportunities as some other teams.”

The no-huddle was not to blame for the offensive struggles, the Bulldogs contend.

“No matter how you operate offensively, the bottom like is you’ve got to execute,” Richt said. “And you execute well whether you no-huddle or you don’t no huddle. We didn’t have much trouble as far as the operation of it. The problem was once the ball was snapped. That’s when we had problems.”

Etc. . . .

Nose guard Kwame Geathers did not practice for the second straight day due to a neck injury. Richt expects him to play Saturday, however. . . . Freshman Malcolm Mitchell had “another great practice,” Bobo said. Look for him to play extensively against South Carolina. . . . A limited number of tickets remain on sale for Georgia’s home game against Coast Carolina (Sept. 17). They’re $45 each. Call 1-877-542-1231. . . . Georgia is holding a pep rally – they’re calling it a “Red Rally” – Friday night at Sanford Stadium. The Georgia Redcoat Band and cheerleaders will be in attendance and the Bulldogs will “show off” their new 2,000-square-foot-plus video board. . . . Here’s a link to video of some of Tuesday’s practice and some interviews from DawgTime.com.