Georgia Football: Wednesday Practice Report

Todd Gurley, photo by Sonny Kennedy, http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/

The fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs are close to wrapping up preparations for their season opener with eighth-ranked Clemson.

The Bulldogs held a 90-minute workout in jerseys, shorts and helmets Wednesday at the Woodruff Practice Fields in the first of two dress rehearsals.

“We practiced with a lot of crowd noise, and we’ll do it again Thursday at the stadium,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “It went well and Todd (Grantham) and Mike (Bobo) seemed pleased with how it went too. (Aaron) Murray and most of the offense have lived through it, but still it’s going to be the first game of the year and everybody has to focus.”

The Tiger offense likes to move at a rapid rate including one game last year when they tallied a school record 102 plays in a 62-48 win over N.C. State. Also, they ran 100 plays in their bowl win over then seventh-ranked LSU last season.

“They (Tigers) are as fast or faster then anybody we’ve played,” Richt said when asked about Clemson’s tempo. “We want our guys to focus on their job, study their responsibility and then carry their role out to the best of their ability.”

Also on Wednesday, it was announced that the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Marquee Match-Up for week one is Georgia senior Aaron Murray versus Clemson senior Tajh Boyd. Both quarterbacks were semifinalists for the 2012 Davey O’Brien Award. Throughout the year, the Davey O’Brien will highlight the best weekly quarterback match-up. Murray leads all active college FBS quarterbacks with 95 career touchdown passes while Boyd ranks second with 73. The Davey O’Brien Fan Vote, which counts as five percent of the voting process, will open on Tuesday, Sept. 3. It gives fans an opportunity to vote for the nation’s best college quarterback. Fans are invited to cast their vote as often as once daily at www.VoteOBrien.org.

The Bulldogs open their season Saturday when they travel to Clemson to face the Tigers at 8 p.m. The contest, which is 2013’s only season-opening top-10 matchup, will be broadcast nationally on ABC. Also, Clemson will play host to ESPN College GameDay for the first time since October 21, 2006 when the Tigers crushed Georgia Tech 31-7.

Photos are copyrighted property of Sonny Kennedy,
 http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/