UGA football spring practice report

Athens — Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels doesn’t believe in No. 2 right tackles or third-string guards. He believes only in offensive linemen, and he rates them one through however many he has at his disposal.

And one day very soon, he hopes to have plenty at his disposal.

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Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com

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For now, Searels has limited numbers for spring practice. Four players, all with starting experience, are missing the 15-practice session with injuries. As a result, Searels can’t say how Georgia will line up when it opens the season at Oklahoma State.

“We want to try to find the best-five combination, and the first sub is going to be the sixth guy,” said Searels, who is accepting interview requests this year after not talking last season. “He’s going to be the best player. He’s not going to be the second right tackle. He’s going to be the sixth-best player. That’s why I want guys to understand how it all fits together.”

So Searels cross-trains almost all of his charges to play multiple positions. No one has been a better example of that than Clint Boling. The 6-foot-5, 297-pound rising junior has started at every position but center in his two seasons.

“I’d like to settle down at one position, but I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do,” Boling said. “Toward the end of last year I don’t think I even came off the field. That’s a good and bad thing. You want to be out there helping the team win, but at the same time you want to keep your legs under you and be fresh.”

The expectation is that Boling will get that luxury in 2009. Trinton Sturdivant (knee), Vince Vance (knee) and Chris Davis (hip) will return this summer, and Josh Davis (shoulder) will join them closer to the start of the season. They have 48 starts between them.

Searels said he’ll worry about how to mesh them together when the time comes.

“When we get everybody back, we’ll figure out how we’ll fit into the positions,” Searels said. “Right now we’re working on the fundamentals, we’re working on competing, toughness. Those are the things we’re looking for.”

For what it’s worth the No. 1 line on Friday appeared to be: Boling at left tackle, Cordy Glenn at left guard, Ben Jones at center, Tanner Strickland at right guard and Justin Anderson at right tackle.

Mat kings

The following players were proclaimed “mat kings” after the Bulldogs’ offseason mat drills.

Big Skill — quarterback Joe Cox, linebacker Akeem Dent; skill position: safety Bryan Evans; linemen — defensive end Demarcus Dobbs.

Standouts in individual disciplines included: vertical jump — cornerback Brandon Boykin (41 1/2 inches), cornerback Vance Cuff (38); broad jump — Boykin (10-10), linebacker Rennie Curran (10-9); 225-pound bench press — defensive tackle Jeff Owens (41 reps), defensive tackle Geno Atkins (32).

Junior Day on Saturday

More than 100 junior prospects are expected to be on hand Saturday as the Bulldogs host Junior Day.

It’s represents an unofficial visit for invited players, who will tour the dorms and the football facilities. But Richt said the emphasis of this particular Junior Day “will be on the football part of it,” Richt said. It just so happens to coincide with Dogs’ first day in full pads.

“It’s a huge day,” he said. “They’ll probably be over 300 people because they’ll probably average two or three people with them. They’ll get to see our coaches coach and see us get after it.”

Getting physical

It will be hard to top the intensity of Friday’s practice. Fights and minor skirmishes broke out often during a long 11-on-11 session that capped the day’s two-hour workout.

“Today was really outstanding, especially defensively,” Richt said. “Defense is without question setting the tone this spring, and I think that’s really good for this team. When I was at Florida State and we had that 14 years of [finishing in the top 5], I don’t remember a spring that the defense kicked our butts.”