ATHENS — At this point, everybody has seen enough of freshman tailback Isaiah Crowell to know he’s a real deal. He enters the Mississippi State game as the SEC’s fourth-leading rusher at 103 yards per game and is coming off a 30-carry, 147-yard performance at Ole Miss.
What Crowell has not done, however, is rip off a long run. It was his specialty at Carver-Columbus High, where he had a dozen touchdown runs of more than 50 yards his senior season alone.
Crowell has noticed, too, and he’s itching to find some daylight.
“I’ve been trying,” he said. “I’ve been trying to use my speed to get outside and cut back and just find an opening. It hasn’t been there yet.”
Through four games, Crowell’s longest run from scrimmage has been 29 yards against Ole Miss. His longest scoring run was 27 yards against Coastal Carolina, and he had a 17-yard touchdown off a screen pass against South Carolina.
Crowell believes he can go the distance if the opportunity arises.
“I think when I get in the clear I’ll be able to get it to the house,” Crowell said.
Georgia coach Mark Richt agrees. He was in attendance last fall when Crowell broke loose for a 90-yard touchdown run against eventual state champion Buford. Crowell’s “home run ability” was the main reason so many schools wanted to sign him. Richt thinks it’s just a matter of time before he pulls off such a run for the Bulldogs.
“I think he will,” Richt said. “I don’t think there’s been a run where he should’ve gotten much more than he did once he got out in space. I think it’s going to happen in time. There’s going to be some long runs in his career.”
Malcome back
Just 24 hours after asking for a transfer, redshirt freshman tailback Ken Malcome asked for and was granted a reinstatement by Richt.
Malcome’s change of heart was not unexpected. Richt seemed to be imploring Malcome to return after announcing his decision to transfer.
“You hear it a lot,” Richt said. “‘I’m thinking about going.’ And then they stay; and then they compete; and then they get bigger, stronger; and then they get more seniority. ... All the sudden, there they are playing. And they’re so thankful they stayed around and saw it through.”
Coaches said Malcome missed practices Tuesday and Wednesday because of a “stomach bug.” He has had one carry for zero yards to this point and did not make the travel roster for Ole Miss last weekend. He’s currently fifth on the Bulldogs’ depth chart.
Butler for ‘Academic Heisman’
Georgia senior punter Drew Butler was among three SEC players and 47 nationwide to be nominated for the National Football Foundation’s Campbell Award, known as the “Academic Heisman.”
Butler, an All-American who won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter, has graduated with a degree in telecommunications and is enrolled in UGA’s sports-management graduate program. He has a 3.62 GPA.
Etc.
Jack Bauerle, who has led Georgia’s women’s swimming-and-diving program to four national championships and has served as a head coach at the Olympics, has been chosen as the recipient of the Bill Hartman Award. Bauerle will be recognized at the Georgia-Mississippi State football game Saturday. The Hartman Award is the highest honor a former UGA student-athlete can receive from the school. ... Freshman defensive back Nick Marshall confirmed this week he intends to join the basketball team in January. He was a four-star prospect as a shooting guard at Wilcox County High.
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