Wednesday Practice Report

FOOTBALL

Seventh-ranked Georgia conducted a two-hour practice in jerseys, shoulder pads, shorts and helmets Wednesday.

Georgia will play host to Florida Atlantic (1-1) Saturday, and coach Mark Richt started his post-practice media briefing by complimenting the Georgia scout team.

“The scout team ran hard during special teams and I’m thankful of the job they did because it carries over to the offense and defense, and we had a good practice,” said Richt. “Their energy and enthusiasm helped us have a good day.”

Richt was asked about the availability of some players for the upcoming game including if sophomore cornerback Malcolm Mitchell would see action on offense. Mitchell missed the season opener with an ankle injury and returned last week against Missouri. He saw action only on defense in the 41-20 win over the Tigers, tallying six tackles and one punt return for three yards. Last season, he started nine games at split end and earned Freshman All-SEC honors with 45 catches for 665 yards and four touchdowns.

“We don’t want to use him on offense until he feels great, but he may play offense a little in this game,” said Richt.

The topic of who might be headed for a redshirt season came up Wednesday, and Richt said the coaching staff has talked about it recently. He mentioned one possibility was freshman flanker Blake Tibbs.

“It’s similar to Chris Conley last year,” Richt recalled. “A few things happened where some guys got hurt or had a hamstring, and he (Conley) got in there. We did play him, and he made some plays for us, and I’m glad we did.”

Conley, a 6-3, 205-pound native of Dallas, Georgia, ended up appearing in 11 games with 16 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Tibbs is a 6-2, 175-pound native of Lithonia.