Injuries, NCAA ineligibility jeopardize Georgia’s O-line for Ole Miss
ATHENS – Georgia’s situation on the offensive line turned suddenly precarious on Wednesday. Starting right guard Chris Burnette went down in practice with a knee injury and head coach Mark Richt revealed afterward that offensive lineman Kolton Houston is currently ineligible with an “NCAA issue.”
Burnette
Burnette fell out with a knee injury during individual work early in practice. Richt initially characterized the injury as “a tweak,” but the nature and extent will not be known until Thursday.
“Right this second we don’t think it’s anything serious,” Richt said. “We’ll see if it swells and see how he does tomorrow. Hopefully it doesn’t swell a lot.”
Richt said it was the same knee in Burnette injured last season that forced him to sit out as a redshirt. That was a patella injury.
Compounding the seriousness of the situation is former starting left guard Kenarious Gates just returned to practice Tuesday from an injured ankle that has kept him sidelined since the first half of the first game of the season. Sophomore Dallas Lee has been starting at left guard ever since.
“Gates did finish out the practice,” Richt said hopefully. “That helps. Between those guys hopefully we’ll have one of them ready, if not both.”
But what if neither is available?
“Don’t ask me that me that question,” Richt said with a feigned laugh. “I don’t know what would happen.”
Most likely, he allowed, the Bulldogs would slide over senior center Ben Jones to right guard and start David Andrews at center. Andrews, a true freshman from Norcross, got his first action last week against Coastal Carolina.
Meanwhile, Jones watched the first half of Wednesday’s practice in street clothes “because something he ate didn’t agree with him,” according to Richt. But Jones felt better later, went back inside and suited up and “toughed out” the second half of practice.
As for Houston, Wednesday was the first time it was revealed that he was sidelined for any reason other than “coach’s decision.” The 6-5, 291-poundredshirt freshman from Buford was competing for playing time at both guard and tackle in preseason camp but has not played in the Bulldogs’ first three games.
“It’s an NCAA issue,” Richt said. “It’s just an individual case that we’re not going to get into details about. It’s NCAA related. We think it’s going to cleared up. We just don’t know when.”
Numerous open records requests for documents regarding NCAA investigations filed by the AJC over the last few months have not uncovered any information stating that Houston’s eligibility was in question.
Georgia Athletics Director Greg McGarity declined comment Wednesday night, saying the matter was protected by federal student privacy laws.
Mitchell becomes main target
With Marlon Brown expected to be sidelined for a second straight week with an ankle injury, freshman Malcolm Mitchell is slated to get his third start in four games at split end. But the 6-foot-1, 184-pound speedster from Valdosta would likely be playing extensively anyway.
“Since camp started he’s shown his ability to make plays,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “We knew he was a guy we were going to try to get the ball to.”
Mitchell is the Bulldogs’ leading receiver with 14 catches for 159 yards and has two touchdowns. And it’s not all just natural ability.
“He’s worked extremely hard at perfecting his craft,” Bobo said. “He’s a competitor. He’s not scared; he doesn’t flinch. We saw that early on when we put him in competitive situations in practice and he’s been the same way in games. I think he’ll only get better and be a big-play receiver for us.”
One time, at kicking camp
Saturday’s camp will reunite two of the best high school kickers in the land. Georgia’s Blair Walsh attended the prestigious Chris Sailers Camp in South California in 2007-08. along with Ole Miss junior Bryson Rose.
“Yeah, I know him,” Walsh said. “I haven’t really kept up with him since he went to Ole Miss but I’m glad he’s getting an opportunity to kick there.”
Rose, who is from Raleigh, was rated in 12th by Sailers in 2007.. He was redshirted his first year at Ole Miss and didn’t take over as the Rebels’ starting kicker until last season. Walsh, who was at one time ranked No. 1 bySailers, has started all four years at Georgia and is threatening the school’s all-time scoring record.
Etc. . . .
Starting free safety Bacarri Rambo remained in a non-contact jersey Wednesday due to a strained neck. Richt expects him to play Saturday, however. . . . Offensive lineman Austin Long returned to practice this week from an eye infection that sidelined him last week. . . . Georgia practiced for two hours Wednesday on the Field Turf, the same surface it will play on Saturday atVaught -Hemingway Stadium. . . . Legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley will be the special guest at a Georgia-Ole Miss viewing party at TheBuckhead Theatre on Peachtree Street Saturday at 11 a.m. He will sign copies of his book before and after the game and will conduct a Q&A with the audience at halftime.
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236 comments Add your comment
ga gator
September 22nd, 2011
12:47 pm
Tampa, why is it that the Tech Trolls can’t seem to admit UGA’s instate superiority? Heck take out FSU this year and the ACC is the Big East.
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
12:50 pm
the numbers are what they are, 46-76-1…paint it how you want, excuse what ever you want, whatever…46-76-1, that is undeniable, set in stone, concrete, the official record, PERIOD….wow, what a championship schedule that was…be proud my friends, be proud…
WDE
September 22nd, 2011
12:50 pm
@1980 champs a fraud really all the great story lines in college football going on right now and you come up with this…a waste of living tissue is what you are.
TampaDawg
September 22nd, 2011
12:51 pm
LOL gator, is the ACC even that strong at that point? FSU does look REALLY good this year though. Bottom line, you play the teams on your schedule. Did anyone question the horrific PAC-10 schedule when USCw was beating up lower tier teams in their conference? Nope. So fraud GT boy (and I do mean boy) can take a hike.
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
12:54 pm
wde, this is a great bit of investigative reporting on my part…unbelievable…46-76-1, and you guys rip on boise for their schedule…wow…
Reality Check
September 22nd, 2011
12:57 pm
1980 Champs a fraud, you can spin a 30 year old NC anyway you want it, but UGA only lost 1 SEC game from 1980-1983. More realistic is that UGA rode the coattails of Herschel for three of those years. UGA did win the Sugar Bowl and went undefeated which is the bottom line.
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
12:59 pm
i’m not argueing it happened, just sayin it may be the weakest undefeated record in the last 50 years…
what of it?
September 22nd, 2011
1:02 pm
I’m sure the injuries have nothing to do with the strength and conditioning program
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
1:05 pm
techs 1990 regular season opponents final records:
60-52-2…they beat the final ap poll #9 clemson and #23 va tech…
they beat #25 nebraska in bowl game…and they beat a scrappy 4-7 georgia squad …there you go…looks like they earned theirs…uga, not so much…
TampaDawg
September 22nd, 2011
1:05 pm
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
12:59 pm
i’m not argueing it happened, just sayin it may be the weakest undefeated record in the last 50 years…
—————————————-
I am sure you are going to use your “investigative reporting” skills to justify that statement right? You know, by disecting the schedules of 49 other national championship teams; point is, the only thing you have made an accurate point about is the record of those teams. But then you try to weakly spin the fact that there were some good teams on the schedule that get caught up in the mix with the 8 or 9 loss teams that year like GT and TCU. Point is, your spin is still just spin. The dawgs that year had Herschel Walker, one of the most dominant, if not THE most dominant RB in the last 50 years.
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
1:08 pm
i’m not spinning anything, the records are the records…you are the spinner here..46-76-1 is the truth…end of story…
TampaDawg
September 22nd, 2011
1:16 pm
it’s not the end of story even though you would love nothing more than for it to be. Yes, putting out the 46-76-1 and calling that the final word is SPINNING it. There is always more to a schedule than just the records of the teams you play as a whole. if you don’t know that, then football isn’t your thing.
Dawg Tired
September 22nd, 2011
1:17 pm
Here’s a sample of how the Dags are viewed by people not drinking any Kool Aid. This is from a newspare in TN:
“Georgia and Ole Miss play each other this weekend. Both are 1-2. Both are playing really bad football. Both head coaches are prime candidates for the unemployment line-or a gig as a color commentator for the Thursday night games between teams like Wyoming and North Dakota State. Each must win in order to salvage anything from this season. The loser is finished. The winner could manage to end up bowl eligible and be able to point to this weekend as the turning point of the season.
South Carolina and Vanderbilt face each other with identical 3-0 records. Each have two non-conference wins, as well as a win over a team in the league. Is this a must win game? Not for Vandy. James Franklin is the first Vanderbilt coach since World War II to open with three wins in the first year of his tenure. The ‘Dores have already made a 50 percent improvement on their number of wins over last season, and with Georgia, Kentucky, Army and Wake Forest still ahead on the schedule, Vandy is in a position to be bowl eligible. Just imagine what a treat it would be for Vanderbilt fans to have the opportunity to make a rare journey to the exotic holiday location of East Nashville if their team makes a return appearance in the Music City Bowl.”
Go to the williamsonherald.com website for the full article.
Somewhat embarrassing, but a non-biased viewpoint.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 22nd, 2011
1:20 pm
1980 champs a fraud
VT and Clemson boy that was some big wins.
VT at that time was on the level of East Carolina and they still cannot win against top 10 teams even today
VT is 1-19 against top 5 teams boy thats a big win for the mighty GT tech 1990 schedule
You tied UNC that year who if I remember had 1 win that year LOL
And a middle of the road Nebraska team boy that was a tough one you had in your championship game in the Citrus Bowl.
Oh yea you didnt even get an invite to a BCS bowl
3 teams who play no one throughout their schedules that year
the ACC always has been a joke and continues to show it year after year. Even in 1990
LOL
Call us when you win a unanimous National Championship. Or better yet let us know when you go back to another BCS bowl. I figure another 40+ years
WDE
September 22nd, 2011
1:22 pm
@Dawg Tired my God man a non-biased viewpoint ?? Its a Tenn paper talking up a undefeated Tenn team….somewhat embarrassed it what you should be…
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
1:28 pm
1990…CLEMSON 34 UGA 3…yeah, clemson was a big win…call america when you beat somone on the big stage…if they let you back on the big stage…oh yeah, TECH 40 UGA 23…in front of 82000+ bib overall wearin hicks at sanford and son stadium…46-76-1…wow…
Dawg Tired
September 22nd, 2011
1:34 pm
Well, Vandy is 3-0. But the main point for us Dawg fans is the perception the author has of UGA football. I read his column every week. Historically the author has been very kind to UGA. However, he does call ‘em as he sees ‘em. He is not a Vandy guy either. I have looke dhim up. He is an Alabama graduate.
Dawg Tired
September 22nd, 2011
1:35 pm
But think what you like.
Kiss The Ring
September 22nd, 2011
1:41 pm
When comparing 1980 UGA to 1990 tech ts like comparing Rosanne Bar to Rosie Odonnel….neither are that great.
WDE
September 22nd, 2011
1:48 pm
@Dawg Tired ok lets review the might of Vandy after this weeks game with USCe…we will have a much better idea of how much real progress that program may or may not have made.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 22nd, 2011
1:50 pm
1980 champs a fraud
In 1990 UGA also lost to Ole Miss, FL, AUB, LSU and Kentucky
Boy that was a big bad UGA team in 1990
Call someone when we beat someone on a big stage LOL
What big stage has GT won in 50 years. Enquiring minds would like to know
Again in 1990 you tied UNC who had one win that year LOL LOL LOL what a joke
You want to come on here and talk trash with nothing but garbage to back it up
Again call us when GT wins an outright NC or better yet wins; WINS, WINS a big stage game as you call it.
A big stage game is a BCS bowl game. Something Tech cant seem to make an appearance but once every 40 yrs
Oh and this time if you do happen to play in a so called NC game. Play someone thats ranked in the top 10 not someone who is almost out of the top 25
TampaDawg
September 22nd, 2011
1:53 pm
And yet another troll “Kiss the Ring” chimes in .. and which school allegiance are you trolling from?
TampaDawg
September 22nd, 2011
1:55 pm
UNC was 6-4-1 in 1990
DawginLex
September 22nd, 2011
1:57 pm
ga gator
Kentucky’s offense stinks
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
1:59 pm
guys, i’m not a tech or uga fan…just pointing out the fact that uga’s 1980 team played nobody that season…not their fault, it just worked out that way…title should have an * next to it…
TampaDawg
September 22nd, 2011
1:59 pm
And the Gator defense looks sharp ..
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 22nd, 2011
2:03 pm
1980 champs a fraud
Is not a Tech fan now ok sure
TampaDawg
September 22nd, 2011
2:04 pm
Does USCw have an * next to their title in 2004? NO! Should they despite the only schools with decent records they played that year were VaTech (not even a good VaTech team either), Arizona State and Cal? NO! They had the softest schedule in the country but were considered the easy choice that year for the NC game.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 22nd, 2011
2:08 pm
1980 champs a fraud
Also you want to call out UGA’s 1980 season a fraud
Trust me up until the BCS just about every other year could have been a fraud for the winner
Starting with GT
Or just start with Miami’s first NC; they were blown out their first game by FL 28-3 give me a break
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 22nd, 2011
2:09 pm
Va Tech is never a big win why
they are 1-19 vs top 5 teams period
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
2:13 pm
ap titles should be listed as follows:
1977 notre dame
1978 alabama
1979 alabama
1980 georgia *
1981 clemson
1982 penn st
* indicates played very poor schedule; had to crown someone, though should have been left blank…
Dawg Tired
September 22nd, 2011
2:16 pm
Actually I’m thinking Lattimore will run wild. I don’t think Vandy is that good (but I actually thought we were going to be good this year – so it’s fairly obvious I don’t know what is going on). Of course, that means Ole Miss is absolutely horrendous. I don’t really care how Vandy does against USC because a loss by USC probably becomes irrelevant to Dawg fans after we tank the rest of the season and blame it on injuries, bad officiating, etc.
My main point (again) is how we are being viewed by folks who actually pay attention to SEC football. You gotta admit, the fall has been sort of unbelievable.
Dawg Tired
September 22nd, 2011
2:20 pm
But remember this: CMR said just this week (or was it last week?) that he thinks this UGA team is very good and will only get better and better as the seaason goes on. Of course, I would be thrilled if that turned out to be true. However, I am having a difficult time believing it to be true.
WDE
September 22nd, 2011
2:21 pm
@Dawg Tired be of good cheer, remember even when we had very good years folks made comments like “we aren’t man enough” play with this or that team. Its the SEC we don’t do a very good job of giving the devil his due around here.
Big Dirty Dawg
September 22nd, 2011
2:21 pm
This blog went down hill fast!! as always…trolls ruin a good conversation!
TampaDawg
September 22nd, 2011
2:24 pm
1990 GT **
2004 USCw *
* indicates played very poor schedule; had to crown someone, though should have been left blank…
** indicates team awarded NC despite playing a weak ACC schedule and playing a mediocre team in a mid-level bowl
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
3:07 pm
the 2004 usc team beat undefeated oklahoma by 34 points; opponents reg season record was 67-66-0; beat 4 teams that were ranked at seasons end…3 more ranked teams than uga’s 1980 team of the milleneum beat…let it go…it is what it is…
WEIRD SMELLY YECK FAN
September 22nd, 2011
3:28 pm
GT fans lets get one thing straight here on the fball front. You are NOT good and you need to focus your attention somewhere else. Your team has no support and a coach that just doesn’t get it. You work for UGA grads so you degree is come with a discount too. You spend all day dreaming about the DAWGS and there fan base. You live your parents basement at the age of 33 and you need to take a shower. Sorry guys, we get the better fball program, better jobs, and hotter women in our lives. Good Luck Losers!
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
3:31 pm
why all the hate towards tech fans?
AJC ALERT!!!!!
September 22nd, 2011
3:33 pm
AJC you should be ashamed of the sprewing that goes on with your blogs. This in real professional and we did not expect it to be coming from you clowns. When are you going to have handles that allow for some accountability? You UGA and CMR, we blame you for not doing your job. You should be the ones on the hot seat.
Duh?
September 22nd, 2011
3:34 pm
Why not? Losers. Go to your own blogs dbag!!!!!!!!!!!
80 Champ
September 22nd, 2011
3:36 pm
read your handle and then ask your question
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
3:38 pm
there hasn’t been a tech fan on here since noon, goofy…
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
3:41 pm
my blog name doesn’t make me a tech fan…it is a statement of fact…
80 Champ
September 22nd, 2011
3:46 pm
The fact is you are a dbag troll and you win the dbag troll of the week award! Your fact is just merely a matter of opinion.
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
3:51 pm
46-76-1 isn’t an opinion…it’s a fact…
WDE
September 22nd, 2011
4:05 pm
@1980 champs a fraud never saw a “style” point chart for a NC just beating the folks on your schedule you see that is your mission win the games on you schedule…we did…if our opponents didn’t well we only a say in one of their games…you need to quite whining we won in 1980 we won’t have to give up the title due to cheating and there will be no asterisk…really move on with your life.
Delbert D.
September 22nd, 2011
4:12 pm
Not much to argue about with that 1980 team. They were as good as anybody else, and history can’t be changed. Well, actually the NCAA does change history in their view of things, but not that far back.
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
4:20 pm
hope is my shining the light of truth on this sham title will prevent it from happening again in the future…46-76-1….46-76-1…what a sad joke…you won, you wear it…gotta suck now that you know the truth…
1980 champs a fraud
September 22nd, 2011
4:25 pm
we’ll never know if they were as good as anyone else…they won a weak sec and didn’t even play the two best teams in the conference…bama probably lites them up…but, thats all water under the bridge…all it took to win it all that year was playing a schedule with a .377 winning percentage…you won it, be proud of it..i guess…not much else to be proud of…