Dogs defensive tackle Owens out for season

Athens — As expected, Georgia defensive tackle Jeff Owens is out for the year. Medical tests revealed the Bulldogs’ senior leader suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the first quarter of the Georgia Southern game on Saturday.

“He did have an ACL injury and he’s out of the year,” Georgia coach Mark Richt told reporters on Sunday. “He’ll have surgery on Sept. 9.”

Richt said he expects Owens to take a redshirt this season and return for a fifth season next year.

“That’s the best thing about it,” Richt said. “We’ll get to spend another year together. If he rehabs well he may be able to come back in even better condition next year.”

Georgia will also be without junior defensive tackle Kade Weston (MCL sprain) for at least another week. Richt indicated senior Corvey Irvin will start alongside Geno Atkins and Ricardo Crawford and Brandon Wood will move up in the rotation.

Richt said he thought the Bulldogs will be all right at the position but stressed that they can’t sustain any more significant injuries. Georgia also has lost offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant (knee) and linebacker Marcus Washington (shoulder) to season-ending injuries and will be missing fullback Brannan Southerland (foot) and safety Quintin Banks (knee) for at least a couple of more weeks.

“At this rate we won’t last very long,” he said. “We can’t afford much more. We’ve got pretty good depth at both spots (offensive and defensive tackle) as far as finishing out the season but we can’t take much more.”