It looks as if Georgia will be without another one of its playmakers on offense Saturday.
Arthur Lynch, a senior tight end and the Bulldogs’ third-leading receiver, likely will have to miss the game against Appalachian State, coach Mark Richt said Wednesday. Lynch suffered bruised ribs when he was tackled by Florida safety Cody Riggs after a 31-yard catch Saturday.
“Artie’s questionable at best at this point,” Richt said on the SEC coaches’ teleconference call Wednesday. “We’ll just see how the rest of the week goes. Right now I’d say it’s not likely. That’d be the best way to describe it right now.”
Lynch hasn’t practiced all week. If he can’t go, sophomore Jay Rome will start, and junior walk-on Hugh Williams will serve as the backup.
“It would be those two,” Richt said. “I think Jay would do well and Hugh would do well. And then, of course, we have the ability to use other personnel groupings if we need to. But I think those guys can hold down the fort.”
It will be a good opportunity for Rome. The 6-foot-6, 254-pounder has played less than expected this season because of a left-ankle injury that kept him out of most of preseason camp and limited his play in games. He has six catches for 75 yards in seven games with no touchdowns to this point.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said the Bulldogs plan to redshirt Jordan Davis, a freshman.
While Lynch is recovering physically from the injury, he also is recovering emotionally from a fumble in the Florida game that flipped the momentum and initiated a 17-0 scoring run for the Gators.
The Bulldogs called a tight end screen for Lynch, and they executed it to perfection before Lynch dropped the ball on the 21-yard line. Thinking it was a forward pass, as the play was designed, Lynch did not fall on the loose ball. Officials ruled it a fumble that Florida recovered and returned to the 14. The Gators scored two plays later.
“I actually saw Artie on the way out as he walked underneath the stadium,” Bobo said. “All he could talk about was that drop. I said, ‘Hey, son, that’s over. We won that game with an eight-minute drive at the end. That’s something you can be proud of right there.’ He was kind of beating himself up about it, but that happens. You’ve got to move on.”
The saddest part is there was nothing but green grass and blockers ahead of Lynch. The play would have gone for a huge gain, if not a touchdown.
“It was a play we worked on a lot during the week, and we actually got it against the look we wanted,” Bobo said. “But we’ve got to execute. We’ve got to fall on the ball on something like that. But I’d rather it be a learning lesson after a victory rather than a loss. That’s the only positive I can see out of it.”
Georgia already will play without three wide receivers and a tailback Saturday. Junior wideout Chris Conley, the team’s leading receiver, remains sidelined with an ankle injury suffered against Vanderbilt. Fellow wideouts Malcolm Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley are out for the season with knee injuries, as is sophomore tailback Keith Marshall.
Matthews returning: Among the players expected to see action Saturday is freshman free safety Tray Matthews. Matthews has missed the past four games with a hamstring injury after starting the first four of the season. Fellow freshman Quincy Mauger has started the past four games at free safety in Matthews' absence.
“Quincy can play both,” defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “We kind of did that at the beginning of the year. Tray will always be the free if he’s in there. Between Corey (Moore), Quincy, Tray and Josh (Harvey-Clemons), we’ll roll those guys in there. Quincy can play either/or and Josh can always drop down and play the nickel. But Tray’s going to play this week and get some snaps. We just need to continue to work him and develop him.”
