Aaron Murray can’t remember every touchdown pass he has thrown at Georgia. That may seem odd until one realizes how many he has thrown.
Murray’s next one — likely to come Saturday against North Texas — will be the 100th of his career with the Bulldogs.
“It’s definitely been a successful three years and two games so far,” said the fifth-year senior. “But hopefully there will be a lot more to come.”
If there are, Murray could pass Florida’s Danny Wuerffel and become the SEC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (114). Also, he needs 13 touchdowns passing or running to run down Wuerffel for second place in career touchdown responsibility (122) and 364 yards of offense to slip past former Georgia quarterback David Greene into second place in the league in that category.
All told, Murray is the SEC’s active leader in total yards (10,907), completions (733), touchdown responsibility (109), touchdown passes (99) and passing yards (10,723). The list of statistical data Murray has racked up is hard to fathom.
“The most I had in one year was 19,” said Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who threw 38 touchdown passes when he played quarterback for the Bulldogs from 1994-97. “I haven’t researched it, but I know he’s been very, very productive for us. The thing I like is he has improved every year.
“Stats and number aren’t everything, but every year he’s gotten better statistically and in wins and losses. But the most important thing he’s worried about is winning ballgames.”
Murray’s first touchdown pass — which he remembers — was a 3-yarder to Kris Durham on a back-shoulder fade against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 4, 2010. His most recent one was an 85-yarder to Justin Scott-Wesley on a go-pattern down the left sideline against South Carolina on Sept. 7.
The one Murray characterized as his favorite was a game-winner to Orson Charles against Georgia Tech in his freshman season.
“It was a big game,” he said. “We had to win it to make it to a bowl game. I remember rolling to the left, and he ran a little in-route and broke it back out. That was pretty sweet.”
Mason ready when needed: As always when Georgia prepares to play a non-BCS opponent, Bobo was asked if there are plans to get backup quarterback Hutson Mason in the game. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior has not played this season and has appeared in only eight games in his career, all in mop-up duty.
“The plan is to win the ballgame; that’s all,” Bobo said tersely. “I’m not going to talk about a plan for anything. The plan is to get ready to play like we do every week and win the game.”
Said Murray of Mason: “He’s more than ready. He shows it every day in practice, making plays, making great throws. He more than capable at any time to come in there and do his thing.”
Bostick now in plans: When freshman safety Paris Bostick had to undergo toe surgery this summer, it generally was thought that he was headed for a redshirt season. But not only have the Bulldogs decided to activate him, they're also moving him to inside linebacker.
“We’re hoping to let him put the pads on and at least go through all of our warm-ups and pre-practice stretches,” coach Mark Richt said. “We’re not exactly sure (how much work he’ll get). It will be very limited what he does, but we’ll probably let him do a little bit of fundamental drills with coach (Kirk) Olivadotti at the linebacker position. We just have to see how he looks and if we can try to get him going this year or not.”
Asked what prompted the position change, Richt said, “He just got big, kind of like (Alec) Ogletree.”
That worked out pretty well. Ogletree, who arrived at Georgia as a safety, was a first-round draft pick of the Rams in April.
Jenkins frustrated: Outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins used to tease Jarvis Jones that he was going to break his single-season sack record (14.5) as soon as Jones left. But two games into his sophomore season, Jenkins has yet to record one. And he has heard from Jones about it.
“He actually sent me a text recently saying I need to get my (expletive) together,” Jenkins said. “I laughed at that. I liked it. He’s doing great things in the NFL, and I told him hopefully I’ll get there one day to show him up. I really take it in stride. … I am trying some new things.”
Etc.: Captains for Saturday's game as selected by Georgia's coaches are Murray and Todd Gurley on offense, Amarlo Herrera on defense and Blake Sailors on special teams. … Receiver Jonathan Rumph (hamstring) is back on the injury report. The Bulldogs lead the SEC in one statistical category — onside kicks. They're 1-for-2.
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