Wednesday Practice Report

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs held a two-hour practice Wednesday as they continue preparations for their upcoming SEC contest with Mississippi State.

Along with providing an update on practice Wednesday, coach Mark Richt announced a couple of Dawgs have left the team with intentions to transfer to another institution.

“Derek Owens will transfer from Georgia,” said Richt. “Also, I had a young man walk in to my office prior to practice today and tell me he thinks he has fallen to far behind in the competition, and he would like to go to another school to get a fresh start and a better opportunity, that was Ken Malcome.”

Richt said dealing with student-athletes opting to leave the program comes with the territory of being a head coach.

“Generally, what happens is most everybody on the team was the best or one of the best players on their high school team, and they are used to playing,” said Richt. “Some guys are just better, and they play, and some guys have to compete to get playing time, and you have to learn how to do that. Some see that mountain too high and decide to go somewhere else, and that’s fine. I want our guys to have an opportunity to compete and to get an education. There’s value in fighting for your job and players have doubts sometimes. Some choose to fight and some move on. If Ken came back tomorrow and said ‘I lost my mind, I’ve decided to stay and compete here at Georgia, ‘I would give him a big hug and welcome him back.”

Malcome, a redshirt freshman running back from Decatur played in one game this year. Owens, a sophomore cornerback from Jacksonville had appeared in three games this season with two tackles.

When talked turned to practice, Richt said he saw some bright spots and praised the scout team for their efforts in helping the Dawgs get ready. In injury news, Richt said that junior split end Marlon Brown and junior linebacker Christian Robinson practiced Wednesday and are expected to see action Saturday and that sophomore offensive guard Chris Burnette did not practice but is making progress.

UGA leads the all-time series with MSU 16-6 including 9-2 in Athens. UGA has won the last eight meetings with MSU in games played “Between the Hedges.” MSU’s last win in Athens came in 1956 by a score of 19-7. The most recent matchup here was in 2006 when UGA won 27-24. UGA had a nine-game winning streak in the series until MSU posted a 24-12 win last year in Starkville.

MSU (2-2 overall, 0-2 SEC) opened the year with a 59-14 road win over Memphis and then lost a 41-34 thriller at Auburn. Third-ranked LSU spoiled the Dawgs home opener with a 19-6 decision. Thanks to strong special teams play that accounted for 14 points, MSU held off Louisiana Tech in overtime, 26-20 in Starkville last Saturday.

NOTE:

Malcome has reportedly reconsidered his decision to leave and may rejoin the team after meeting with coach Richt today.