Georgia Football Limping Into Bowl Game
Brendan Douglas among Georgia football players not practicing Sunday ahead of bowl game.
Related: Georgia Football Places Three on All-SEC Teams
Reports out of Athens have not been all that welcoming in recent weeks for Georgia. The turnover among coaches is a story in itself. Former head coach Mark Richt has moved to Miami. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was not re-hired by new head coach Kirby Smart. Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt accepted the same position at Alabama.
Wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon has taken over as the interim head coach for the TaxSlayer Bowl, while Smart finishes the season as the Alabama defensive coordinator. Tight ends coach John Lilly will assume offensive coordinator responsibilities, while outside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer takes over as the defensive play-caller.
More from Georgia Football
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
- Georgia football: Sunday afternoon thoughts and feelings
To add insult to injury, a slew of Georgia players are questionable heading into the team’s final game on January 2nd.
According to Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald, backup running back Brendan Douglas did not practice Sunday. His brother, a student at Georgia Southern, tweeted out that Douglas underwent an undisclosed surgery.
Douglas has made somewhat of a name for himself in Athens picking up significant playing time following injuries to the Dawgs’ top running backs. After an injury to Keith Marshall in 2013, he had his best season at Georgia rushing 84 times for 345 yards. When Sony Michel went down in 2014 and Todd Gurley was suspended for four games, he once again assumed backup duties.
This year, following the season-ending injury to Nick Chubb, Douglas once again stepped up. He has totaled 36 carries and 140 yards this season.
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
With the news of his surgery, the already thin backfield at Georgia may take another hit if Douglas cannot play in the bowl game. Michel has carried the brunt of the load running the ball since the late-October matchup at Tennessee, and he will continue to do so in the final game. Freshman Terry Godwin should receive even more carries and wildcat looks should Douglas sit against Penn State.
Standout linebacker Tim Kimbrough and freshman Jonathan Ledbetter also missed practice for undisclosed reasons.
The Dawgs seem to be limping into the bowl game and many people forget that the team can still produce a 10-win season with a victory. All of the negative news coming out of Athens may be exactly the type of motivation the team needs to put together a complete game to finish their less-than stellar season.