The Georgia Bulldogs held a 90 minute full pads practice Thursday with special teams being the primary focus. Head coach Mark Richt seemed very pleased during his post practice presser:
“We had a kicking scrimmage today, which I thought went very well.” “We got some really good film to look at and to learn from. Certainly, there are still some mistakes being made, but I thought they were made full speed and that the scout teams played hard enough to see what we needed to improve. That was one of things I talked a lot about to the scout teamers. If you go as hard as you can and give us a great look then if we got issues we can see what they are. If the scout team goes half speed and everybody is able to make their block, or whatever it might be, you might have a false impression that you’re ready. So we found a few cracks, and we got to make some adjustments but nothing major.”
Richt also updated the statis of Sophmore CB Branden Smith:
“Branden is academically in good standing for the 2010 season.” Smith will return to the practice field today after missing the last 8 practices due to “academic issues.”
Richt stated: “He’ll still have 21 practices and we’re still a few weeks out, so I don’t think it will affect him too much.”
Richt also announced that Senior Safety Quintin Banks was ending his football career at UGA.:
“Quintin Banks has basically decided to retire from football is one way of saying it.” “His knees have not allowed him to move the way he is accustomed to moving and to move well enough to compete at this level, so he’ll have some surgery in the next couple of weeks to months and try to get it all cleaned up to where he is healthy by the time he walks out of this fine university with his degree in hand. In the meantime, he’s going to help us. He’s got tremendous knowledge. He’s got tremendous love for this team and his teammates. He’s got a wonderful spirit. When you describe what you’re looking for in a person and a player, Quintin is exactly what we are looking for when it comes to a good Bulldog. It was very difficult for him to come to this realization, but he was man enough to make a decision like that and now live it out. But he will definitely continue to help us win as an assistant student coach.
“The other thing I’ll say about Quintin is that as a head coach you hope that when a young man walks out the door he’s ready for life. I talk about that a lot, and Quintin is absolutely ready. He’s grown into a really fine man, and anybody looking for a tremendous employee and future leader, Quintin is that.”
In my opinion, Quintin should be a fine addition to the staff this year.
Leash Laws
Sophmore RB Washaun Ealey missed practice Thursday to have some dental work done. Coach Mark Richt expressed no concern over this stating:
“He doesn’t work a lot on special teams, so it seemed like a good time to get it done.”
The Macon Telegraph is reporting that Greg McGarity, Associate AD at Florida is expected to be announced as the new AD at Georgia within the next few days. McGarity , an Athens native and a former alum at UGA worked as an assistant AD under Vince Dooley at Georgia in 1982. He was hired by Florida in 1992 as associate AD where he has worked under Jeremy Foley, regarded as one of the most powerful people in college sports. No official announcement has been made by the university at this time.
For this full story, click the link below:
http://www.macon.com/2010/08/13/1227600/mcgarity-to-be-named-ugas-ad.html