Dogs linebacker out for rest of season

Athens — Georgia’s football team will be without backup linebacker Akeem Hebron for the rest of the season and backup tight end Aron White for at least this week, coach Mark Richt said Wednesday.

Both were injured during practice Tuesday.

Hebron will have surgery on a fracture dislocation of his left ankle. He faces four to six months of rehab.

White has a sprained right shoulder. His status beyond Saturday’s game at LSU is “week-to-week,” Richt said.

Hebron, a redshirt sophomore, played in six of Georgia’s first seven games. White, a redshirt freshman, started against Tennessee on Oct. 11 because of other injuries at tight end.

The injuries to Hebron and White continue a remarkably injury-riddled season for the Bulldogs.

“It’s been pretty extreme; it really has,” Richt said. “You know, you try not to think about it much. You kind of give your condolences to the guys who are hurt, and then you move on and go with the next guy and expect him to do well. And they have done well.

“But every once in a while, you look up and and see all the green [non-contact] jerseys and crutches. And you’re like, ‘My gosh, it’s been pretty bad, hasn’t it?’ And it has.”

Ellerbe, Chandler updates

As Hebron and White are sidelined, two other players at their positions could be returning from injuries.

Seniors Dannell Ellerbe and Tripp Chandler, the starters at middle linebacker and tight end, respectively, before missing the past two games, have a chance to play Saturday.

“Ellerbe is making progress,” Richt said. “He’s going to make the trip and pad up. We think he’ll play, yeah.”

Ellerbe, who has a sprained knee, has declined interview requests this week.

Richt said he doesn’t know who will start at middle linebacker even if Ellerbe is able to play, but his guess was that Darryl Gamble, the starter the past two weeks, would do so. “He is healthier right now.”

Chandler, who has an injured shoulder, remains “in the questionable range” for Saturday’s game, Richt said.

Chandler said after practice Tuesday that “it’s a 50-50 thing” whether he’ll be able to play.

“It’s definitely my goal to play,” Chandler said.

Sophomore Bruce Figgins started at tight end last week after opting to delay shoulder surgery until after the season.

Freshman kicker unshaken

Two of freshman Blair Walsh’s four missed field goals this season have hit the upright — a big surprise to him.

“Never in high school, never in probably 60 attempts, did I hit a post,” he said. “I come to college and do it twice.

“They should start making the posts count.”

Walsh has made 11 of 15 field-goal attempts this season, but he missed two of three last week against Vanderbilt —one by a couple of feet and one off the post. The misses were from 40 and 37 yards, his first misses of the season from less than 50.

Walsh made his final attempt against Vandy, a 39-yarder, and said it’s “nice I don’t have to go into this [week’s] game on an 0-for-2 streak.”

His confidence appears unshaken.

“I can’t wait to get down there,” he said of Saturday’s game at LSU. “It should be a cool experience.”