ATHENS — Georgia was below the NCAA’s maximum allotment of 85 scholarship players as the Bulldogs reported for preseason football practice.
On Tuesday, 105 players checked in for the Bulldogs’ team dinner and meeting at UGA’s Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall football complex. Of those, 78 are on scholarship.
The Bulldogs have endured an unusual amount of attrition since last season. At least 15 players who otherwise would have eligibility this season have either left the program, are out with injuries or were unable to attain NCAA eligibility.
“Some guys have chosen to move on and a couple got a little help,” coach Mark Richt said.
Twenty-four of Georgia’s 26 signees from February reported Tuesday. Among them was Devin Bowman, a defensive back from Rossville who found out only Monday that he had met all criteria for freshman eligibility.
Linebacker Kent Turene of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., was not as fortunate. His transcript remains under review at the NCAA Eligibility Center. However, he said Tuesday that UGA has advised him he should have some sort of resolution by Friday.
“I’m a little bummed out,” Turene said of not yet being in Athens. “But I saw where Devin Bowman got his situation handled, so hopefully I’ll be able to, too.”
Defensive tackle Chris Mayes of Griffin will attend Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Davis to graduate
Former Georgia star safety Thomas Davis is being excused from his NFL training camp with the Carolina Panthers in order to return to UGA to walk in graduation ceremonies Saturday.
“I have a whole lot of my family coming up,” said Davis, who just signed a five-year contract extension as a linebacker for the Carolina Panthers. “Everybody’s excited. I’m the first one in my immediate family to actually graduate from college. So it’s a huge honor.”
Davis is one of four UGA athletes walking on Saturday. Joining him are current wide receiver Israel Troupe, linebacker Darryl Gamble (2007-10) and senior basketball player Gerald Robinson.
Defensive observations
Davis, who will go down as one of the hardest hitters in UGA history, had some interesting observations about his alma mater.
“When we played defense, we had guys like Greg Blue and Odell Thurman and David Pollack, guys who would really come up and lay their number on you,” he said. “You would feel it even after the game was over. Even when they went into the next week those guys still had on their mind that hit you laid on them. I don’t think we had anybody on that defense that was doing that, that was presenting that intimidation factor.”
Davis said he’s confident this year will be different: “I think we just have to get back to playing Georgia football. We have to be more physical and more aggressive in our approach, and I think that will make all the difference. I think we have great talent at Georgia. ... I know Coach Richt is a great coach. and he’s going to light a fire under those guys. I definitely expect some big things out of Georgia this year.”
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