Mark Richt: Samuel is UGA's No. 1 tailback

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By TIM TUCKER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Athens — For the first time this summer, Georgia coach Mark Richt declared a leader Friday night in the competition to replace Knowshon Moreno as the Bulldogs’ starting tailback.

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Brant Sanderlin, bsanderlin@ajc.com Richard Samuel (22) opened preseason practice as No. 2 at tailback behind Caleb King.

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Sophomore Richard Samuel is “a solid No. 1,” Richt said. “I would definitely say that right now.”

Samuel, a hard-running 6-foot-2, 218-pounder from Cartersville, entered preseason practice in competition with four other tailbacks, but he has gradually separated himself from the field. Since Caleb King was sidelined with a hamstring injury last week, Samuel had been sharing first-team reps with Carlton Thomas.

Richt again praised Thomas on Friday night and again said he’s eager to see King healthy and back in action, but the coach made it clear Samuel has run with the opportunity presented to him.

“He seems to be in control of what he’s supposed to do,” Richt said. “He’s giving people confidence right now.”

Count linebacker Rennie Curran among those impressed by what Samuel has done on the practice field.

“He’s running that ball hard,” Curran said Friday. “I remember tackling him one time, and I got a headache. ... He’s definitely the type of back that we need in terms of running that ball in the SEC and playing that hard-nosed football.”

Samuel and King were Moreno’s little-used backups last season. Samuel had 26 carries for 133 yards, then missed spring practice while rehabbing from wrist surgery.

King came out of the spring listed as No. 1 on the depth chart, but coaches made it clear then that the starting job would not be decided until the summer. And while things still could change before the Sept. 5 opener at Oklahoma State, Richt had considerable praise for Samuel on Friday.

“He’s playing with a lot of energy,” Richt said. “He seems to be a very good stamina guy. Even in these hot practices, he keeps going, and he goes hard. I hope he’s a guy that as the game goes on, he’ll get stronger. ... He definitely wants to block physically. He wants to get the job done. He’s confident he knows how to get the job done.”

It remains to be seen, Richt indicated, whether Georgia will operate this season with one principal tailback or with more of a tailback-by-committee approach.

“I think we’ll only be able to know that once we start playing,” he said.

Richt on furloughs

“If the university needs to do it, then we need to cooperate.”

That was Richt’s reaction Friday to the furloughs that will require coaches, like other UGA employees, to take six unpaid days off this school year.

UGA President Michael Adams announced the six furlough dates on Thursday, including two that fall during football season: Oct. 30, the day before the Florida game, and Nov. 25, three days before the Georgia Tech game. However, Adams said employees with an essential need to work on those days can take another furlough day within the same month.

Asked how difficult it would be to get his assistants to take a day off during the season, Richt said: “I don’t know if we’ve ever had a day off in the middle of the season. So I doubt that we’ll just be able to stay home and relax. I don’t think that’ll happen.”

Richt said he’ll know more about the situation after an Athletic Association staff meeting next week.