Branden Smith working through academic issues as Dogs have first 2 a days….

The 2010 Georgia Bulldogs completed the only scheduled 2 a day practice of camp Monday battling through rain and one pending academic issue. Their moring practice was mainly focused on special teams play while the afternoon workout consisted of drills and took place in a heavy rain. Some Richt quotes after the 2 sessions:

"“There was a 10 percent chance of rain and we got every bit of it.” “It’s funny. In the staff meeting this morning, I looked at the weather and the 10 percent chance today was the highest of about the next 10 days. I said that again to the players right before practice this afternoon, but I’m not that good of a weather man.“It rained hard, but there was not lightning so we worked in it,” Richt continued. “You never know when we might have to play in the rain. It was certainly reminiscent of Arizona State last season. I think we handled it pretty good. There were very few fumbles. There were a couple of bobbles and maybe one ended up on the ground. Overall, we handled it pretty good. We actually completed a couple of balls. The defense usually has a good day when it rains like that and they did well, too.”"

With the heat being a huge factor since camp opened last week, Most of the Georgia players welcomed the rain.

During the morning session, Richt was satisfied with the play if his special teams. “I liked it a lot,” Richt said. “As it was happening, I saw some very good kick returns and our kick coverage team did an outstanding job. I was kind of wondering if our scout team was giving a good enough look and playing fast and hard enough. When I watched the film, I realized that the scouts were doing a pretty good job. Our punt return and block teams worked against each other most of the time, and they got some good quality work. There are a lot of veterans on our punt teams. It was a good start but we’ve got a ways to go.”

The Dogs will return to full pads today for the second time in an afternoon scrimmage. “I think the guys are interested and excited about scrimmaging and tackling,” Richt stated. “We haven’t tackled a lot to this point so this will be a good test. Everything will be live but the quarterback. We’ll hit a lot of situations with a few drives also. We’ll have some third and short situations, third and medium, some red zone situations, two-minute drill and try to come out deep in our own territory.”

Richt is not looking to see sloppy play in today’s scrimmage. “I’d like for it to played cleanly,” “I’d like for our No. 1 units to perform extremely well. At this time of year, our No. 1 units are going against our No. 2s. I hope our No. 1 offense plays great, and I hope our No. 1 defense plays great. When it comes to turnovers, you want to get them defensively. I hope the No. 1 defense does get them and the No. 1 offense does a good job protecting the ball. I’d like for it to be played cleanly as far as penalties are concerned. I’m hoping for a fast-paced, high-energy scrimmage where guys are competing against each other and competing for playing time with their own position players.”

One player to looking to make an impact in todays scrimmage is Georgia Military transfer Safety Jakar Hamilton. Nicknamed “The Hitman”, Hamilton says:  “I’m praying to God every morning I wake up that I work as hard as I can so I get that starting position.”  Hamilton has shown an explosiveness to the ball so far and has “knockout capability”.

Leash Laws

Sophmore CB Branden smith is working through some academic issues and missed yesterday’s practice with the team. According to coach Richt, Smith hopes to have everything resolved by the end of this week. Richt could not disclose the specifics of the situation but Smith practiced last Tuesday.  On Thursday a reporter from the Athens Banner-Herald requested Smith for an interview and was told he was sick. Smith is among Georgia’s top three cornerbacks and is a threat to take it to the house on offense as well. When asked who was backing up at cornerback in Smith’s absence, Richt stated: “Just everybody who’s a corner. There’s nobody changing positions or anything. Every kid we’ve got who plays corner is playing corner right now.” Richt did state that no other players were facing academic issues right now.

Backup LB Richard Samuel rode a stationary bike during practice Monday with a bandage wrapped around his right leg.Richt stated Samuel may be out up to 2 weeks.

Safety Quintin Banks did not practice Monday and is listed as day-to-day with a swollen knee.

Defensive end Brandon Wood practiced in a non-contact jersey with an undisclosed injury.