Saturday was another day that Georgia could have benefited from an indoor practice facility.
The Bulldogs returned to Woodruff Practice Fields for the first time since their 41-34 win over Georgia Tech to end the regular season. They were greeted with a hard rain and cold temperatures as they worked out in full pads for about 90 minutes.
“I’m glad we didn’t play today, partly because of the weather and the other part is we’d have probably gotten beat pretty bad,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt, still dripping wet afterward. “But I guess that’s to be expected because we haven’t done anything for a while. So it was good to get it started and get it in.”
Saturday’s workout was the first of 12 practices the Bulldogs will conduct in advance of the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl game against Nebraska. They usually get in about 15 practices before a New Year’s Day bowl. But, because of the way the calendar fell and Georgia’s emphasis on recruiting, Richt decided to cut back this year.
“We thought it was more important to have the coaches on the road recruiting a couple of more days,” Richt said. “And I thought it’d be nice to give the guys a little bit of a break. … Obviously, we’re rusty and we’ve got to run and get back into game shape, but we’ll be OK.”
The Bulldogs will practice again Monday and every day next week before Christmas break on Dec. 21. They’ll reconvene in Jacksonville on Dec. 26.
Injury update: Sophomore tight end Jay Rome will be unable to play in the bowl game due to an ankle injury that sidelined him for the final three games and hampered him all season.
“I don’t even remember how much he missed, but he missed a lot,” Richt said. “It’s a shame. At least it’s not his senior year.”
The 6-foot-6, 255-pound Rome was expected to be a major contributor this season. But he ended up missing a total of four games and was limited in several others. He finished with nine catches for 99 yards and no touchdowns.
Defensive end Garrison Smith ran Saturday but was unable to practice because of an ankle injury that knocked him out of the Georgia Tech game.
Gala time: The Bulldogs held their annual end-of-the-year Senior Gala — a black-tie affair for coaches, players and their parents — at The Classic Center in downtown Athens on Saturday.
“I know everybody’s looking forward to that,” Richt said Saturday afternoon. “Everybody will be dressed up in their tuxedos. I mean, our Senior Awards Gala has got to be the best in America, the best of its kind. So I’m looking forward to it.
No casualties expected: Exams concluded on Thursday and final grades won't be posted until Monday, but Richt is not expecting any academic casualties for this year's bowl.
“I have no cause for alarm right now,” he said.
The Bulldogs lost noseguard John Jenkins to academics before last year’s bowl.
Another 'Mr. Football:' For the second straight year, South Carolina's "Mr. Football" will be wearing a Georgia jersey in college. Quarterback Jacob Park of Goose Creek, who has already signed a financial aid agreement with the Bulldogs, earned that distinction after leading Stratford High to the state championship.
Park follows Tramel Terry, also Mr. Football in South Carolina and also from Goose Creek, to UGA. Terry tore his ACL in a high school all-star game following the 2012 season and was redshirted this past season.
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