Back at practice, Rambo still doesn't remember injury

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATHENS – Sidelined since a scary collision that knocked him unconscious late in a Nov. 14 victory over Auburn, Georgia safety Bacarri Rambo finally returned to full-contact practice the past two days.

He still doesn't remember the play that brought a hush to Sanford Stadium, still doesn't remember being carted off the field, still doesn't remember the ambulance ride to the hospital.

"It's like when I was down on the field, I was deaf, paralyzed and blind," Rambo said Thursday.

Teammates and trainers have told him that he spoke to them before he was removed from the field and that he inquired about the score of the game in the ambulance, but the first thing he recalls is coming out of a late night CAT scan at St. Mary's Hospital.

"That's when I really came back to myself," he said.

He repeatedly has watched video of his jarring hit on Auburn's Mario Fannin, trying unsuccessfully to stir the memory.

"I look at it and I'm, like, ‘I still don't remember that play.' I'm, like, ‘What happened?' "  Rambo said. "It's just crazy, really."

He said he recalls everything that happened in the game up until the fateful play in which he broke up what might have been a game-tying touchdown pass.

Extensive tests revealed that Rambo suffered a concussion but no other injuries. He said headaches, which he experienced for two-plus weeks, have gone away. Just this week, more than four weeks after the incident, he was cleared for full contact.

Pleased with his practice field performance Wednesday and Thursday, Rambo expressed confidence he'll play in the Dec. 28 Independence Bowl against Texas A&M.

"At first, I was kind of scared of contact because I didn't know what was going to happen," he said. "But after these two days of practice I'm making contact and not having any problems with my head, so I [am] very comfortable getting back to the feeling of playing and the speed of the game."

Although he doesn't remember the Sanford Stadium crowd chanting his name as he was carted off the field, he does recall and appreciate the concern of Bulldog Nation the next day.

"That Sunday morning when I woke up, I looked at my phone and I had probably 150 [Facebook] friend requests, 50 [e-mail messages] in my in-box, 30 or 40 missed calls," he said. "Everybody was trying to see how I was doing. They were praying for me and stuff, and I was just thankful for all that."

Green's disappointment

Two late-season injuries -– first a bruised lung, then a separated shoulder –- derailed A.J. Green's season and undoubtedly cost him some postseason accolades.

"Missing some games, I didn't make the All-American team like I wanted to," Georgia's sophomore wide receiver said.

He played in only one of the Bulldogs' final four regular-season games –- and only until early in the second quarter of that one.

"It was painful just standing on the sidelines," Green said. "I never missed any games in high school. This was the first time ... watching my team play without me."

Green and Georgia's coaches expect him to play in the Independence Bowl. Green said he has regained full range of motion in the shoulder and will be 100 percent for the game.

Etc.

Defensive end Justin Houston, a redshirt sophomore who is eligible to enter the NFL draft, said "I haven't even thought about" the possibility of coming out early. ... Linebacker Rennie Curran and safety Reshad Jones, both juniors, have said they'll decide in January whether to enter the draft. ... Junior offensive tackle Clint Boling has said he'll return for his senior season and won't consider the draft.