Justice Clarence Thomas visits Georgia practice

Athens — Georgia players hear from a lot of dignitaries throughout their careers, but they were clearly impressed by the one who addressed them before practice Thursday.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in town to visit the UGA’s law school and attend Saturday’s game between Georgia and Alabama, spoke to the Bulldogs as they huddled up on the uppermost practice field behind Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. Thomas, a native of Pinpoint, near Savannnah, wore a black-and-red coaches’ pullover over his dress shirt and tie as four U.S. Marshals formed a loose perimeter around him and the team.

“Yes, he’s here, and that fires me up,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt, who visited with Thomas in his office earlier in the day. “He’s a Georgia fan. He has a No. 1 team ahead of Georgia, but he told me not to tell anybody, so I’m won’t. But it’s somebody way far away from here in a different conference, so it’s OK.”

Thomas was the commencement speaker for Georgia’s undergraduate ceremonies last spring and the featured speaker at a law school graduation a few years ago. Since then, he has visited the school informally a few times. Thomas will watch Saturday’s game from the president’s box.

Richt meets with media before practices on Thursdays and players are off-limits after Wednesday, so there was no way of knowing what Thomas said to the team.

Said Richt: “He’s a very delightful man. And in just the small time I was with him, you could tell he’s a very humble man considering who he is. I really enjoyed those couple of moments with him.”