Boykin's voice saves Bulldogs' legs

By Andy Johnston

For the AJC

ATHENS – Brandon Boykin used his voice to save his teammates from extra sprints at Georgia’s final practice before the Bulldogs reconvene in Shreveport, La., on Christmas Eve.

Coach Mark Richt said he was going to make the Bulldogs run 10 “half-gassers” at the end of Tuesday’s practice unless somebody could sing a “verse or two” of a Christmas carol in front of the team.

Boykin, a sophomore cornerback, volunteered, taking over for former offensive lineman Chester Adams, who Richt said used to sing “The Christmas Song.”

“Boykin jumped up and sang something about mistletoe,” Richt said. “I wasn’t quite sure what the song was, but he sang it well. He cut those gassers in half. He saved them over 500 yards of running, so I’m sure they loved that.”

The Bulldogs have a team meeting scheduled for Dec. 24 and will practice at Independence Stadium on Christmas and Dec. 26 before holding a walk-through on Dec. 27 to finish preparations for Texas A&M and Monday’s Independence Bowl.

New look at Butts-Mehre

Construction on the $39.5-million renovation to the Butts-Mehre Building, which houses the football program’s weight room, locker room, meeting rooms and offices, will force the players to begin working out in a reclaimed weight room at Stegeman Coliseum that the team has dubbed "The Dungeon."

Position meetings will be held in trailers that have been placed on a former practice field adjacent to Butts-Mehre.

“The locker room will still be the same for the guys,” Richt said. “The offices will be the same for the coaches, but the meeting rooms will change pretty drastically. We’re in the middle of a construction phase.”

Other changes will include a 12,000-square foot weight room, an 8,500-square foot training room, new football offices and a multipurpose room with a turf floor. The renovation could be completed as early as January 2011.

Bowden’s last game

Richt said he hadn’t considered attending the Gator Bowl for Bobby Bowden’s last game because he’s “so used to playing on [Jan. 1] that you don’t think about doing something like that.”

Florida State plays West Virginia at 1 p.m. New Year’s Day in Bowden’s final game as coach of the Seminoles. Richt was an assistant under Bowden at Florida State from 1990-2000.

“I’ll watch it [on TV],” Richt said. “I don’t know if I’ll be there to watch it.”

Coaching update

Richt said he likely will hire a defensive coordinator “after the bowl games.”

“We’ll get it done,” he said. “We’ll get a good man.”

No players ineligible

Just as Richt expected, all the Bulldogs are academically eligible for the Independence Bowl and he expects no academic issues going into the spring. Richt said he thinks there were 43 players with a grade point average of 3.0 or better and the team GPA will be at least 2.7.