Saturday Scrimmage Report

FOOTBALL

Two touchdown receptions by tight end Jay Rome highlighted the Georgia football team’s scrimmage at Sanford Stadium on Saturday morning.

Rome, a redshirt freshman, hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hutson Mason during regulation, then pulled down a leaping touchdown pass from Parker Welch during goal-line drills at the end of the scrimmage.

“Jay Rome had two touchdowns today, and that was nice to see,” coach Mark Richt said. “His one catch during goal-line was pretty acrobatic. He had to turn his body and reach back to snag it. It was a really nice catch.”

The Dawgs had offensive drives begin on various parts of the field, with first-teamers vs. first-teamers and second-teamers vs. second-teamers. Rome had the only touchdown during regulation, and Jamie Lindley kicked a field goal.

Quarterback Aaron Murray was 9-of-18 for 74 yards, followed by Mason at 5-of-12 for 59 yards and Christian LeMay at 2-of-7 for 44 yards. Justin Scott-Wesley led the receivers with 51 yards on three grabs. Marlon Brown had two catches for 37 yards and Rome followed with his 30-yarder. The ground game was fairly evenly spread out: Brandon Harton (8-24), Kyle Karempelis (8-22), Keith Marshall (5-18), Isaiah Crowell (4-19) and Ken Malcome (4-13). Malcome and Crowell each scored a touchdown in the goal-line drills.

Safety Shawn Williams paced the defense with 4.5 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception that he returned 34 yards. End Ray Drew and cornerback Branden Smith each had four tackles. Nose Mike Thornton and linebacker Chase Vasser each had 3.5 sacks (which are subjective as the play is blown dead before contact is made with the quarterback). Georgia’s defense registered 12 “sacks” on the day. Linebacker Mike Gilliard also had an interception.

“I just see guys making plays all around,” Richt said. “On every snap, it seems like someone does something well.”

Richt announced Saturday that defensive back Marc Deas has decided to transfer to seek more playing time at another school. Deas met with Richt Friday and informed him of his decision. Earlier, Richt announced a similar decision by defensive end Derrick Lott.

“They love Georgia and we love them,” Richt said. “They had a choice to make. They decided to move on. They’re great kids and we wish them well. ... Their teammates understand they’ve got decisions to make and lives to live. No one likes losing a teammate, but we love them and if they think their best chance is at another school then I think their teammates understand.”

During Richt’s post-scrimmage media briefing, he was asked about off-the-field issues.

Said Richt, “At Georgia, we’ve got rules and policies that we feel are in the best interest of the players — things like going to class, going to tutors and study hall, and how to behave. Everything we do and every rule we have is to benefit these guys and the team. A lot of our discipline does involve playing time. That’s the one thing guys covet the most. When you discipline guys and take away playing time, you’re hoping that sticks enough where it will change that individual’s behavior so it’s better in the future. We’re willing to carry it out, even if it hurts. We have high accountability for everyone. If a guy makes a mistake, we handle it. We don’t just let it go by. Those are the expectations we have. If you do right, you’re rewarded. If you don’t, you get disciplined. That’s part of learning, part of growing.”