UGA RB Samuel to miss spring practice after surgery

Freshman Richard Samuel, a leading contender to replace Knowshon Moreno as Georgia’s starting tailback, will miss spring practice after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair injured ligaments in his left wrist .

Georgia, though, expects Samuel to be fully recovered by the season.

Samuel and Caleb King were the Bulldogs’ only tailbacks other than Moreno to carry the ball in 2008. Freshmen Carlton Thomas and Dontavius Jackson were red-shirted.

With Samuel now out for the spring and Jackson expected to be limited initially because of arthroscopic knee surgery last month, King and Thomas will have a chance to get a jump on Moreno’s old spot.

New running backs coach Bryan McClendon has said the job will be wide open.

Samuel had undergone a series of diagnostic tests and physician evaluations since injuring the wrist in the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl. He’ll have the wrist in a cast for three months, after which he’ll have a second operation to remove surgical hardware.

Samuel raises to 15 the number of Georgia players who will miss spring practice while rehabbing from surgeries.

Samuel rushed for 133 yards on 26 carries this past season, an average of 5.1 yards per attempt. King ran for 247 yards on 61 carries, an average of 4.0.

Moreno, who rushed for 1,400 yards in 2008, announced earlier this month that he is leaving school early for the NFL draft.