ATHENS — The Bulldogs found out Wednesday they would be without two defensive starters for the Florida game. They also added two more with the returns this week of Alec Ogletree and Cornelius Washington.
For defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and his staff, mixing and matching the lineup is old hat at this point. Thanks to injuries and suspensions, Georgia has utilized seven different starting lineups in seven games this season.
And it will be 8-for-8 against Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 29.
“I’ve always said you rank your players and figure out your best combination for that week,” Grantham said. “That’s what we’ve done every week. Guys have been in and out. We really haven’t played a game yet with what we started out with as our first 11. That’s OK, too, because guys have worked hard and built a lot of mental toughness on our defense.”
Despite losing Ogletree and fellow inside linebacker starter Christian Robinson for multiple games because of injuries in the season’s first two weeks, Georgia made it to the eighth week of the season ranked No. 8 nationally in total defense.
Now they’ll have to adjust again as nose guard Kwame Geathers and strong safety Shawn Williams — who have started 10 games between them this season — have been ordered by the SEC to sit out the first half versus the Gators because of unsportsmanlike infractions in the Vanderbilt game.
“I just told them whoever is going to play in their place needs to play hard enough to where when these guys get in during the second half we’re still in contention in the game,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “Somebody’s going to have to step up.”
Grantham and Richt expect junior John Jenkins, who has started the past two games and alternates regularly with Geathers at nose guard, to simply get more snaps in the first half. As for Williams’ strong safety position, there’s a good chance that cornerback Sanders Commings will move there. Branden Smith and/or Damian Swann could fill in at the corner, where they already get a lot of snaps.
Grantham on SEC ruling
Grantham said he wasn’t sure what might happen as the SEC mulled his fate for Saturday’s postgame confrontation with Vanderbilt coach James Franklin. But he was clearly happy Wednesday to have it behind him.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure about anything,” Grantham said. “I’ve pretty much said what I’m going to say and moved forward. We’ve got an opportunity to get better this week. That’s what you use the open week for, to get better. We obviously have a big game next week, so we’re preparing for that. I’ve moved on and we’re moving forward.”
Grantham did, however, express regret for his actions and said that his outburst is not a reflection of Georgia’s defense.
“I tell our guys you want to play hard from the snap of the ball to the end of the play,” he said. “After that, get back in the huddle. During that time you play hard, you play fast and you play physical. We’ve done that and had very few penalties on defense all year.”
Stafford defends Richt
Former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, a No. 1 NFL draft pick and now the star of the Detroit Lions, was asked about the pressure on Richt during a teleconference call with reporters Wednesday. Stafford’s Lions play the Falcons on Sunday.
“I’ve always been a huge Mark Richt fan,” Stafford said. “He’s one of the huge reasons I went to Georgia from Texas. I think he’s great for that program, he’s great for the community, he’s great for the kids in that program.
“They’ve really started stepping up and playing better these last couple of weeks. They lost to two really good football teams the first two weeks. They are a young team in many spots, still learning the defense and acclimate to some new players they are mixing in. I have total confidence that he will get the job done, for sure.”
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