Will this be A.J. Green's last game in Sanford Stadium?

ATHENS -- In a team meeting Tuesday, Georgia's seniors -- the folks who will play their final game in Sanford Stadium on Saturday -- were asked to stand.

A.J. Green stayed seated, being a junior and all, and his teammates took note.

"They were, like, ‘A.J., why are you not standing up? This is your last game!'" Green said later with a laugh.

Lots of people, from teammates to pro scouts, assume Georgia's star wide receiver will enter the 2011 NFL draft, which would make Saturday night's game against Georgia Tech his last between the hedges.

The widespread assumption is based on how high Green figures to be selected -- draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. ranks him the No. 2 overall prospect -- and how rarely players defer such opportunity.

All that's lacking is confirmation from Green, who steadfastly claims to have not made a stay-or-go choice.

"There is a possibility it could be my last game," he said Tuesday night, "but I'm not really thinking about that yet. I've got a couple more weeks and whatever to make that big decision."

If this is to be his Sanford Stadium finale, the time went fast.

Green arrived in Athens in the summer of 2008, a Parade All-American who was ranked the nation's No. 2 wide-receiver prospect as a senior at Summerville (S.C.) High. After playing in all 13 games as a UGA freshman, injuries sidelined him for three-plus games in his sophomore season and an NCAA suspension -- for accepting $1,000 for his Independence Bowl jersey -- benched him for the first four games this season.

Still, he enters the final regular-season game of his junior season with the second most career touchdown catches (23) in UGA history, trailing only Terrence Edwards' 30 in 1999-2002, and the third most career receiving yards (2,445), trailing Edwards (3,093) and Fred Gibson (2,884 in 2001-04).

Although Georgia has a disappointing 23-14 (13-11 SEC) record during Green's tenure, his stirring, leaping catches surely have been a highlight of the downturn.

In the Bulldogs' most recent game, a Nov. 13 loss at Auburn, Green had the most catches (nine) for the most yards (164) in his Georgia career. It was his seventh 100-yard receiving game, his third this season. Now he prepares to face rival Georgia Tech -- a game he missed last season because of a shoulder injury.

If Georgia wins Saturday, the Bulldogs will go to a bowl, adding another game -- another month -- to Green's college career.

But by sometime in January, he'll have to make the stay-or-go pronouncement.

"You know, I would love to come back," Green said last week. "But there are so many things you have to deal with if you come back, getting hurt and stuff like that. You've got to put all that in perspective, and you've just got to do what's best for you."

The risk of injury probably is the second biggest factor -- behind money -- that drives players to the pros early.

Green does appear to have items on the other side of the stay-or-go ledger, too. For one, he said his mother wants him to get his college degree. For another, there's the NFL's unsettled labor situation, which could lead to a lockout next season.

"I'm going to have to talk to a lot of people and see what is going to happen about that," Green said. "That's really going to play a big part in my decision. If they're talking about a lockout, there's no point in me leaving ... [if] they're not going to play for a whole season or a half-season or whatever it is."

Problem is, there likely won't be clarity on the NFL labor front when Green has to make his decision.

If he goes, he'll become the third Georgia underclassmen in three years to be drafted high in the first round. Quarterback Matthew Stafford went No. 1 and tailback Knowshon Moreno No. 12 in the 2009 draft.

And if Green goes, it will not be without regrets.

"I really wanted to play a full season coming into my junior year," he said. "I put in a lot of hard work to have a great junior year. I'm still having a good junior year, but I had to sit out four games. That's really going to play another factor coming up, feeling like I still have something to prove. ... I feel like I really hurt the team by missing those four games."

Green said he doesn't expect Saturday's game be an emotional or nostalgic occasion for him. He plans to leave those feelings to the team's seniors, the ones who stood up in the meeting Tuesday, the ones who have no say about whether this will be their last game in Sanford Stadium.

"I think it's going to be pretty emotional for them, especially having the season we've had," Green said. "I believe if we come out with this win it'll make everything better."

Green's UGA career

Year  G/GS   Rec.   Yds.  TD

2008   13/11  56   963   8