Georgia Football: Wednesday Practice Report

facebooktwitterreddit

Josh Harvey-Clemons, photo by Sonny Kennedy, http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/

The 11th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs moved closer to concluding preparations for their home opener with sixth-ranked South Carolina.

The Bulldogs held a 90-minute workout in full pads Wednesday at the Woodruff Practice Fields.

“We got the weather we needed; it was nice and warm and tested everybody,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “We pushed them, and they responded well. Overall, it was a well-run practice with good focus.”

Richt added the decision to go in full pads for the second straight day was a move to continue to work on blocking and tackling.

“We kept them in full gear and tackled better today,” Richt said with fifty percent of the practice featuring live contact and the other half “THUD” (tackle, hold until down).

When asked about the play of junior offensive lineman Kolton Houston, who made his Bulldog debut as the starting right tackle last Saturday, Richt commented on his versatility.

“We like what Kolton is doing; he can play anywhere on the line and could up end anywhere except center,” Richt said. “He’s our putty guy. If he’s one of the best five, he’ll start, and he come in for a guy too.”

The Bulldogs open the Southeastern Conference portion of their schedule Saturday with South Carolina for the 21st time in school history. Overall, Georgia is 13-7 against the Gamecocks in SEC openers, and the Bulldogs lead the overall series 46-17-2. However, the Gamecocks own a three-game winning streak in the series.

Last week, South Carolina began its season with a 27-10 home victory over North Carolina while Georgia went on the road and fell 38-35 to eighth-ranked Clemson. Saturday will mark the first time since 1998 that the Bulldogs face top-10 opponents two straight weeks.

Kickoff Saturday in Athens will be at 4:31 p.m., and ESPN will televise the contest.