Monday Practice Report

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs began preparations for both its home and Southeastern Conference opener with a one-hour practice on Monday.

Georgia will entertain South Carolina on Saturday at Sanford Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m.

The Dawgs logged a full Labor Day on Monday with weightlifting, meetings and practice. The latter began under overcast skies, allowing the Dawgs to get in the first half of practice. Then rain and lightning forced the team into its new multipurpose room for the second half of the session. While the defense was put through its paces, the offensive players had meetings. After 20 minutes, they switched places.

“I think it went fine for us,” senior center Ben Jones said. “Monday is a mental day where you work on your corrections and start focusing on the next game. So it didn’t matter if we were in or out. We just wanted to start getting dialed in on this week’s game.”

“It went well,” coach Mark Richt said. “We didn’t plan on doing a lot of full speed stuff anyway. We’re just in shorts and hats, and this indoor area was really good for us. We did get the special teams out on the field, which we needed, and then there was enough lightning in the area where we felt like we needed to get them inside.”

The Dawgs have kicked off SEC play against the Gamecocks each year since South Carolina joined the league in 1992. Georgia owns a 13-6 record in those games, including a 7-3 record under Richt.

Asked how his team is preparing for South Carolina, Richt said, “Intensely. We’re very excited about a chance to play in the Southeastern Conference and get ourselves on the right track.”