Georgia Football: Bulldogs Hold Scrimmage At Sanford Stadium

Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Fifth-ranked Georgia conducted a two-hour scrimmage in full pads Wednesday morning at Sanford Stadium as preseason preparations continued here.

Overall, Georgia coach Mark Richt was disappointed in the team’s eighth practice, saying, “We got a ways to go in a short time to get there.”

Richt said the number one unit for offense and defense did well, and the defense did better in the situational drills. However, the quarterbacks struggled with some of their throws as the defense registered six interceptions. Senior Aaron Murray finished 13-for-18 for 198 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Junior Hutson Mason was 12-for-18 for 197 yards and one touchdown. Freshman Brice Ramsey was 4-for-7 for 36 yards and two interceptions while sophomore Christian LeMay was 1-for-7 for nine yards and one interception.

The Bulldogs looked kind of tired, according to Richt, who was hoping to see more energy from a scrimmage at Sanford Stadium.

“They were trying to fight, but for the first time this camp, I didn’t see as much juice. I’m not saying they were dogging it, but it lacked enthusiasm. I did see a lot of good things; there were some good plays in spurts. A few of the interceptions came not as a result of bad decisions, but throws where the ball placement and velocity were not good. The defenders were in a good position because the ball was in the air to long and they reacted, ran it down and to their credit caught it.”

Sophomore cornerback Sheldon Dawson had two interceptions for 39 yards while senior Damian Swann, junior Shaquille Fluker, freshman Brendan Langley and senior Austin Herod had one apiece. Also, Fluker had five tackles.

“Even though we had some people out, it’s fun for everybody else to get a chance to play, that’s the way we look at it,” said Dawson. “Both sides of the ball still have to get better, we’ve got room for improvement. There’s no I, we are all in this together, we’ve got a great group of guys and we got each other’s back.”

The leading tacklers from Wednesday’s action were sophomore linebacker Jordan Jenkins and freshman linebacker Reggie Carter as they had six each. Jenkins posted a team-best three sacks while sophomore linebacker Josh Dawson had two sacks. Senior linebacker T.J. Stripling enjoyed a productive morning with five tackles including three tackles for a loss.

Sophomore Keith Marshall was the leading rusher with 80 yards on two carries including a 75-yard touchdown. Sophomore Todd Gurley had a team-high 12 carries for 59 yards and one touchdown. Malcolm Mitchell, Justin Scott-Wesley, Arthur Lynch and Jonathon Rumph had four receptions each. Lynch had a team-high 91 yards and one touchdown.

Fall semester classes begin at UGA next Monday, Aug. 12, and the annual Fans Picture Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 17, in the Reed Plaza area of Sanford Stadium. Georgia football players will be on hand for photos and autographs from 3-5 p.m. between Gates 2 and 4. Richt will also be available from 3-5 p.m. for those with ticket coupons.