Saturday Night Scrimmage

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs scrimmaged in full pads for an hour and a half at Sanford Stadium under the lights on Saturday night.

This was the 14th preseason practice for the Dawgs and the final one before school starts on Monday. After taking the day off for the first day of classes, Georgia will practice again on Tuesday at the Woodruff Practice Fields.

"It was fun to be under the lights and between the hedges on a Saturday night," Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. "The guys were playing with a lot of energy and I think the coaches got what they were wanting out of them."

Senior Joe Cox took a majority of the snaps with the No. 1 offense during the last scrimmage, but redshirt sophomore Logan Gray and freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger were behind center for most of Saturday’s scrimmage.

"Cox got less work tonight so that we could give the younger guys some reps and see them move the ball," Richt said.

Murray finished the scrimmage going 5-for-9 for 95 yards as Gray went 6-for-8 for 91 yards to lead the Bulldog passers.

On the receiving end, redshirt sophomore Israel Troupe registered three catches for 37 yards.

Redshirt freshman tailback Carlton Thomas led the way on the ground with 90 yards on six carries as sophomore Richard Samuel scored a touchdown and finished with 55 rushing yards.

Defensively, redshirt freshman safety Makiri Pugh had seven stops to lead his teammates and junior defensive back Chad Gloer had five tackles. Junior Vance Cuff had the game’s only interception and senior Rod Battle led his squad for the second scrimmage in a row in sacks with two and a half.

Richt also noted that the No. 1 offense managed to score three times on the No. 1 defense in goal-line situations, which he said, “doesn’t happen too often.”

The annual Fans Picture Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 22, at Sanford Stadium.

NFL DAWGS

Former Georgia quarterback and Detroit Lions rookie Matthew Stafford finished his first preseason NFL game going 7-for-14 for 114 yards with a touchdown and an interception versus the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday.

Former Dawg linebacker Tony Gilbert returned Stafford’s sole interception for a touchdown. In addition, former Dawgs D.J. Shockley, Thomas Brown and Verron Haynes also played for the Falcons in the preseason matchup.