Monday Practice Report

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs continued preparations for the 2011 season with a 90-minute workout Monday in helmets, jerseys, shoulder pads and shorts on the opening day of the fall semester.

“It was the first day of school, and you wonder how focused everybody is going to be at practice, and we had a good day,” said coach Mark Richt. “We had them for 12 days straight with no distractions and now they have some other responsibilities, and it can be tough especially on the freshmen. I liked our leadership and the energy flow out there today.”

Richt provided an update on injured junior tailback Richard Samuel, saying the 6-2, 243-pound native of Cartersville, is not quite ready to get back to practice yet.

“I’d say it will be early next week before we think about him being back out there, and Richard knows what he’s doing, so there’s no set timetable,” said Richt. “If Richard is ready, he will go.”

Richt also commented on freshman outside linebacker Ray Drew who sustained a right shoulder sprain in a scooter accident Sunday while on his way home from church.

“We’re thankful that Ray had his helmet on; he had a shoulder separation but not a dislocation so no surgery is necessary,” said Richt.

The Dawgs will not practice Tuesday to give the team a chance to make sure they are all set for the beginning of the new semester and then resume practice on Wednesday for the remainder of the week.

“We’re still on track to get 29 practices in, we’ve built the schedule to have one off day in there and we asked our academic counselors which would be the better day for the student-athletes, and they said Tuesday,” Richt added. “It gives everyone a chance to make sure they got the right classes, their books and lets them regroup after that first day.”