ATHENS — Georgia coach Mark Richt laughed Tuesday when he heard some media members were referring to Saturday’s game against Ole Miss as the “Hot Seat Bowl.”
“I knew that would happen,” Richt said, chuckling as he shook his head. “That was pretty easy to predict. You’d think they could have thought of something better than that. I think a couple of kindergartners could have figured out that one.”
But Richt wasn’t laughing when the subject turned to his colleague, Houston Nutt. What Richt has endured is nothing compared to the slings and arrows being aimed at the Rebels’ head coach this week.
In the wake of Saturday’s 30-7 loss to Vanderbilt, Nutt was subjected to a Sunday morning meeting with athletic director Pete Boone. Boone followed that by appearing before Nutt at his weekly news conference to discuss the state of the football program. Advertisements calling for his ouster were placed in five Mississippi newspapers as well as the Memphis Commercial Appeal. And nearly every question Nutt has fielded since Saturday has to do with his job security.
“I hate that for anybody,” Richt said. “... I don’t think anybody enjoys another guy going through something like that. We all know that we are pretty darn good coaches, and there’s 12 of us in the league and somebody is going to have a good year and somebody is going to have a bad year.”
Nutt, 53, left Arkansas to take over at Ole Miss four years ago. He won nine games each of his first two seasons, but is 5-10 since. But it was the meek manner in which the Rebels lost at Vanderbilt that so incensed the Ole Miss masses.
Rambo hurt
Starting free safety Bacarri Rambo had to leave practice with an injury Tuesday and came back wearing a green, non-contact jersey. Rambo, who was knocked unconscious on a game-saving hit against Auburn in 2009, was having his head area examined by a trainer. Assistant coach Scott Lakatos didn’t know what the nature or extent of the injury was, but expects Rambo to play Saturday. Also, three-way threat Brandon Boykin left the practice briefly to have his right ankle wrapped, but he returned.
Meanwhile, split end Marlon Brown is “questionable to doubtful” to play Saturday because of a sprained right ankle that sidelined his last weekend. As a result, Malcolm Mitchell is slated to get his third start of the season. Richt was hopeful that offensive lineman Kenarious Gates (ankle) will be back to face the Rebels. He was able to practice with the second-string line Tuesday.
Tyson not injured
Why DeAngelo Tyson missed Saturday’s game is unclear, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t for an injury. At least that’s what Tyson said Tuesday.
“I didn’t have an injury,” said Tyson, who Richt said missed the game with a back injury. “I was just told I wasn’t able to play because of what was going. But I’m doing whatever I need to get back on the field.”
Asked if it was a disciplinary situation, Tyson said it wasn’t. Asked if he would be good to go Saturday, he said he would.
White honored
Tight end Aron White knew he was coming to Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall to have lunch with a bunch of children who were being rewarded for doing the right things. But he didn’t know the kids were there to honor him for his good deeds.
White, a fifth-year senior, was named one of 11 FBS (formerly Division I-A) players nationwide named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team on Tuesday. He already received an undergraduate degree and has a lengthy resume of community-service contributions, including volunteering at Camp Sunshine, Kudzu, the Boys and Girls Club and Habit for Humanity; visiting patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and St. Mary’s hospitals and classes at local elementary schools; and leading an Martin Luther King Jr. Day service.
