Leonard Floyd practiced without limitations on Tuesday and is expected to play as much as Georgia wants to play him Saturday against Auburn.
The sophomore outside linebacker did not play much at all this past Saturday because of an apparent minor shoulder injury. Freshman Lorenzo Carter started and got the majority of the playing time in Floyd’s stead. All Carter did was record nine tackles, 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss and was named SEC defensive player of the week.
“Lorenzo did play well,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “I think Floyd will play. … I think we need to substitute as much as we can in every position we feel comfortable.”
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Floyd had started 16 games in a row before Saturday. He’s fourth on the team in tackles (43) and leads the team in sacks (5). He played very poorly in the loss to Florida, however.
Carter, a former 5-star prospect from Norcross, has played in all nine games but this past Saturday was his first start. The 6-6, 237-pounder has 23 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
The two players are bracketed as either/or at Sam linebacker on the Bulldogs’ defensive depth chart this week.
“If you got a big drop-off between 1 and 2, you don’t want to sub a lot,” Richt said. “But if you have two guys that are playing good, play them both. Let them help each other out. It’s going to be — it’s been — a long season. It’s going to be a very physical game. Obviously, both teams like to run the ball. You know, let’s sub as much as we can to keep everybody as fresh as possible.”
