Wednesday Practice Report

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs held a two-hour practice Wednesday in preparation for their upcoming SEC road contest with Ole Miss.

Coach Mark Richt said the team has improved the last two days.

“It was hot out there today, and the guys pushed through it, and we got a lot accomplished and are on the right track,” said Richt. “We’ll look at the film and see what we’ll keep in the game plan and what we’ll throw away.”

Georgia (1-2, 0-1 SEC) faces the Rebels for the first time since 2007, a 45-17 Dawg victory in Athens. Saturday will mark Georgia’s first visit to Oxford since 2006 when the Dawgs edged Ole Miss 14-9. Ole Miss (1-2, 0-1 SEC) is coming off a 30-7 defeat to Vanderbilt in Nashville. The Rebels opened the year with a 14-13 loss to BYU in Oxford and then bounced back with a 42-24 decision over Southern Illinois.

Already this season, Georgia has seen an array of players contribute in a couple of different spots in the lineup. On defense, junior Sanders Commings has played safety and cornerback; junior Shawn Williams has lined up at safety and linebacker; junior Cornelius Washington has played linebacker and rushed the passer; and now freshman Ramik Wilson is getting action at outside and inside linebacker. Richt said it’s nice to have that luxury.

“We’ve got some pretty versatile guys on defense like Brandon Boykin and Branden Smith and then on offense, guys like Bruce Figgins can play fullback and tight end too.”

Boykin and Smith are special teams standouts as returners and have seen action on offense in their career too. Boykin has 450 all-purpose yards this season. He has played 166 snaps on defense, 19 on special teams and 13 on offense.

Meanwhile on the offensive line, Georgia has a veteran starting group but not a lot of experienced depth. On Wednesday, redshirt sophomore Chris Burnette “tweaked his knee,” according to Richt.

“The same thing happened last spring, and he missed a couple of days and then practiced so we’ll see what happens if there’s no swelling,” said Richt.

Sophomore Kenarious Gates finished practiced in Burnette’s spot, and Richt said he hopes to have them both available Saturday.