ATHENS -- Dallas Lee is feeling healthy again, and that's a good thing for him and the Bulldogs.
Lee spent the better part of the past 18 months unsure what was wrong with him, other than he was having problem with his breathing. He's got that figured out just in time to work himself into Georgia's rotation on the offensive line.
"Dallas has had a great turnaround," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "He's the sixth guy right now. He's the putty man for any guard or center situation. And he's not done competing for a starting job either."
That's an encouraging development, considering he hadn't played in front of first-year line coach Will Friend until the first practice on Aug. 5.
"This is the first time I've ever been around him in six months," Friend said. "Two weeks ago was the first time I've gotten to work with him because I couldn't do anything with him in the summer. So that was good to get him. Dallas has played good at times. He's actually worked some with the ones. I have no problem whatsoever with Dallas being in the game."
Lee would be the first guy in at left or right guard or center, his coach said. That's a long way from where the 6-foot-4, 300-pound redshirt sophomore was last fall. Stricken by some sort of asthma-like condition, Lee was worried about his next breath rather than his next snap.
"It was real frustrating," said Lee, a Buford High School graduate. "They had me going to all kinds of doctors and nobody could figure it out. ... They still haven't really figured out what was wrong, but they finally got a medicine combination that works."
Friend said the rest of the offensive line has remained status quo. The starters have remained unchanged since the opening of camp, with Cordy Glenn at left tackle, Kenarious Gates at left guard, Ben Jones at center, Chris Burnette at right guard and Justin Anderson at right tackle.
"Those guys have done nothing to lose their positions," Friend said. "They've all performed pretty well, so we're pretty set there."
Marshall still eyes basketball
Freshman defensive back Nick Marshall, who missed four practices because of a concussion suffered returning a punt, is back to full speed in practice. He's now working as a backup at boundary corner and is a member of the kickoff and punt return teams.
The four-star basketball prospect also said he still intends to join the Bulldogs' basketball team in January, pending the approval of Richt and basketball coach Mark Fox. "We want to make sure he's taking care of business academically first," Richt said.
Nike uniforms unpopular
As of Monday night, 9,350 people voted on an AJC.com poll regarding Georgia's new Nike Pro Combat uniforms for the season opener, and 6,058 don't like the look.
Just 35 percent of the voters actually "hated" the all-red uniforms with silver helmets. Another 30 percent said they "didn't like them," but think it's up to the players.
Injury report
Junior wide receiver Marlon Brown missed practice Monday. Richt said the starting split end injured an ankle, but said head trainer Ron Courson didn't think it was anything serious. Freshman wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell remained sidelined with a pulled leg muscle.
Junior nose guard John Jenkins (hamstring) worked on the side, but did not participate in the three-hour, full-contact practice. Tailback Richard Samuel (strained quadriceps) got in some individual drill work. Outside linebacker Ray Drew (separated shoulder) practiced in a non-contact capacity.
Etc.
Richt was generally not pleased with his team's ability to "fight through" Monday's long practice. The Bulldogs have split into scout and varsity groupings and are in preparation for Boise State. ... UGA linebacker signee Kent Turene, who was unable to get clearance for freshman eligibility from the NCAA, confirmed that he has decided to attend school and play football at Jireh Prep in Matthews, N.C. He will enroll there later this week. ... Based on rankings alone, Georgia's first two games against No. 5 Boise State and No. 12 South Carolina are its toughest back-to-back opponents in history to open a season.
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