A rash of left-hand injuries has resulted in a momentary position change for Josh Harvey-Clemons.
Freshman outside linebacker Leonard Floyd underwent surgery Tuesday for a fractured left hand. Floyd became the third outside linebacker in two days to have surgery on his left hand. Freshman Davin Bellamy and sophomore James DeLoach each had surgery Monday on their left thumbs, Bellamy for a fracture and DeLoach for a ligament sprain.
“I really didn’t know it was all left hands until you said it,” coach Mark Richt said after the second of the two practices by the Bulldogs on Tuesday. “I have no idea (why). It’s hand-to-hand combat, and you can strengthen about everything in the world — and you can strengthen grip a bit — but I don’t know that you can strengthen your thumb for getting bent back or your hand getting cracked.”
Georgia lost a fourth outside linebacker — senior Chase Vasser — to an ankle sprain Tuesday. DeLoach and Vasser are running No. 1 and No. 2 at Georgia’s strongside outside linebacker position known as “Sam.” So the Bulldogs moved Harvey-Clemons out of the secondary and had him working with the outside linebackers for Tuesday’s late-afternoon practice.
Harvey-Clemons, a sophomore, currently is listed as the starter at strong safety on Georgia’s depth chart. But he cross-trains at something Georgia calls the “star position,” which is a hybrid outside linebacker/defensive back.
“It’s really more of a quick-fix right now with our injury situation,” Richt said. “Part of it is just the Sam linebacker position is depleted enough to where we had to figure out how we were going to line up. The reason Josh is a natural for that (Sam) position is the nickel or star position, they’re very much alike in assignment. … So we needed him to get a little work at that.”
The trouble is, Harvey-Clemons won’t be available to play either position in the season opener. Georgia has announced that he will be suspended for the first game after violating the team’s marijuana-use policy in the spring.
But any setbacks that are occurring at outside linebacker appear to be temporary. Richt predicted that all of the injured players at that position would be back “the first of next week.” However, DeLoach, Floyd and Bellamy will have to play in a “club” cast.
Floyd, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound freshman, had created more buzz than any other freshman in camp because of his athletic ability. His only drawback has been a lack of knowledge of Georgia’s defensive concepts.
“Everything we’re doing at practice, we’re walking through prior to that,” Richt said. “So they’ll be able to do that. At least from a mental point” of view they shouldn’t get too far behind.”
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