Aaron Murray, photo by Danny Bishop

The Georgia football team continued working toward Saturday’s G-Day Game with a 90-minute practice on Thursday.

With the temperatures hovering in the high 30s and intermittent rain, the Bulldogs logged their next-to-last session before G-Day, which will kick off at 1 p.m. and can be seen on CSS and ESPN3. Georgia will practice again on Friday.

“It was a little nippy, but we got it in,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “I think everybody is looking forward to the spring game. On Friday, we’ll have a short practice to get even more organized for the game and then we’ll get after it on Saturday.”

Following practice, the Bulldogs were scheduled to attend the Lettermen’s Club Banquet at the Athens Country Club.

“The banquet gives us a chance to let the current guys get to know our lettermen a little bit,” Richt said. “We always want to try to help cultivate that relationship. It also exposes our guys to the club while they’re here so they’ll know what it’s all about once they’re done playing.”

Before practice, it was announced that split end Malcolm Mitchell will undergo a right knee arthroscopy for a torn meniscus on Friday morning at St. Mary’s Hospital. Mitchell sustained the injury to his knee in the Bulldogs’ scrimmage last Saturday. According to UGA Director of Sports Medicine Ron Courson, Mitchell will miss the remainder of spring practice, but is expected to make a full recovery by the team’s preseason camp in August. Mitchell was second on the team in 2012 with 572 receiving yards on 40 catches. He also led Georgia with 16 kick returns for 360 yards (22.5 average) last season.

Others appearing on the injury list included quarterback Faton Bauta (shoulder tendonitis, out); receiver Chris Conley (hamstring strain, limited to running); linebacker Ryne Rankin (ankle sprain, limited); and receiver Justin Scott-Wesley (chest contusion, limited, no contact).

The UGA Athletic Association will be teaming up with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia during G-Day to host a canned food drive. Bins will be set up at the Main Gate as well as Gates 2, 4, 6 and 9 to accept the canned goods from fans attending the game. Donation stations also will be in place for monetary contributions, as one dollar equals four pounds of food. All canned food and proceeds will go to assisting families in Northeast Georgia.

Murray and Couch were named Peach of an Athlete honorees by the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and Murray was named the overall male winner. They are among 12 collegiate student-athletes statewide to be honored. 

The Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America annually holds the Peach of an Athlete Role Model Banquet, an event designed to honor students who excel in academics, athletics and service to the community.

The Peach of an Athlete awards banquet has recognized deserving athletes whose character, scholastic achievement, athletic excellence and commitment to community service most closely match the aims and ideals of the Scouting program. The goal of the banquet is to raise funds for the Boy Scouts, while honoring amateur and professional athletes who daily provide a positive role model for area youth.

Murray’s list of community service projects includes volunteering with the Special Olympics, Extra Special People, the Wheelchair Football Championships, Healing Place Of Athens, Camp Sunshine and Bulldogs Battling Breast Cancer, as well as taking part in reading and after school programs at local elementary schools and visiting patients at several hospitals.

A native of Tampa, Fla., Murray also participated in the Extra Special People’s “Big Hearts Pageant,” a fundraiser for the organization assisting individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, Read Across America, the national program to read a story to young students to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Seuss, and the UGA Catholic Center 5K Human Race, an event that benefits a trio of charities.

A native of Towaco, N.J., Couch is a member of the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and her activities with SAAC include raising money for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, collecting money to purchase Thanksgiving dinners for families in need, volunteering at the annual Special Olympics “Home Runs for Hometown Rivals” baseball game, and serving meals to the homeless. She was awarded the Hornsby Howell Community Service Award for her work in the Athens area.

Couch was also a speaker for Girl Power Day, an event for underprivileged youth and girl scouts. In addition, she coached and interacted with participants at Special Olympics gymnastics practices. Couch also supported and aided Special Olympics participants in the SOAR 5K Race and led a warm up for the participants, and she also volunteered for the ‘In Her Shoes’ Breast Cancer Awareness Walk/Run.