In the end, the call is not going to change the way Corey Moore plays.
That’s what the junior defensive back said Monday night, two days after becoming the third Georgia player this season to be flagged for targeting and the second one to be ejected as a result.
Moore drew the foul with 6:05 remaining in the second quarter when he dove into Appalachian State’s Tony Washington as he jumped for high pass on the sideline. Since the penalty occurred in the first half of the game, Moore will not have to miss any time against Auburn. Had it happened in the second half, he would have had to sit out the first half.
“That one call is not going to change the way I play,” said Moore, talking about the penalty for the first time after Georgia’s Monday evening practice. “Calls are calls and players are going to be players, like me. I’m just going to keep playing. I’m going to try not to get a targeting call, but I’m not just going to quit playing. It’s not going to affect the way I play.”
Moore said the targeting rule never entered his mind as he sprinted from a spot in deep coverage near the right hash to defend the short sideline pass.
“What was on my mind was to try to make the play on the offensive player,” Moore said. “I didn’t want him to catch the ball. When you’re coming down from the third level like that trying to make a play and he’s in the air, all your momentum is going towards him and his body happened to drop. That was the situation. I was just trying to make a play.”
But Moore left his feet well before reaching the player and when gravity brought Washington down from his jump, Moore caught him shoulder first in the shoulder and neck area.
The hardest part, Moore said, was having to leave a game in which he felt he was playing well.
“It is what it is,” said the 6-foot-2, 214-pound junior from Griffin. “I just go with the flow. I knew I was just playing ball so I didn’t feel ashamed about the call, not on my behalf.”
Conley, Lynch back on field: Wide receiver Chris Conley and tight end Arthur Lynch returned to the practice field on Monday. But it appears the Bulldogs will be without tight end Jay Rome, sidelined with a right foot injury late in Saturday's win over Appalachian State.
“The only guy who looks like he won’t play will be Jay,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “Everybody else has got a chance. As far as whether they play or they won’t I don’t know. We’re not counting them out. But I think we can count out Jay for this one.”
Lynch practiced Monday while Conley ran and was put through the paces by trainers on the side, according to teammates. The Bulldogs’ practice was closed.
Conley, the Bulldogs’ leading receiver with 418 yards and four touchdowns, has been out with an ankle injury since the last play of the Oct. 19 Vanderbilt game. Lynch, the primary starter at tight end, sat out against Appalachian State after suffering bruised ribs in the win Nov. 2 over Florida.
So that’s two more weapons for Georgia’s offense, which has had to play games with as many as six front-line play-makers out this season. And along with the recent return of Michael Bennett, who’s had 10 catches in the last two games, and the recent emergence of Rantavious Wooten and Jonathon Rumph, who had 104 and 98 yards, respectively, the Bulldogs are getting closer to full strength.
“We’re getting back in the swing of things,” Rumph said. “We’ve got great backup players here, and when the other guys come back it’s just going to kick it up a notch for the whole offense.”
This & that: Georgia's Nov. 23 home game against Kentucky was set for a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be televised either by ESPN or ESPN2… . Linebacker Reggie Carter (knee), safety Marc Deas (thigh) and defensive lineman Toby Johnson (ankle) were limited in Monday's practice… . Senior quarterback Aaron Murray was named one of 12 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy, an award that honors the college football player who best combines exemplary community service with outstanding academic and athletic achievement.
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