ATHENS — It’s not uncommon for a college coach to award one or two “battlefield scholarships” to deserving walk-ons during preseason camp. But Georgia coach Mark Richt now has the unique distinction of having delivered that news to eight players at once after the Bulldogs’ team meeting Thursday night.
“I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it,” Richt said with a laugh Friday. “I just started the meeting by calling each one out and having them stand up in front of the team. I had them line up shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the group. And then I said something to the effect of, ‘You guys have all earned scholarships for the 2011 season.’ And the place went nuts.
“They were excited, and their teammates jumped out of their seats and started dancing and I was just really, really pleased. It was a big deal to the whole team.”
Richt was able to be so generous because the Bulldogs have incurred so much attrition since last season. For various reasons the Bulldogs lost 14 players who would have otherwise been eligible in 2011 and were down to 77 players on football scholarship. NCAA rules allow 85.
Thursday’s recipients were junior guard John Bodin of Covington; junior wide receiver Taylor Bradberry of Winder; senior linebacker Matthew DeGenova of Kenner, La.; senior cornerback Eric Elliot of Kennesaw; sophomore tailback Brandon Harton of Reidsville; sophomore cornerback Blake Sailors of Athens; junior tailback Wes Van Dyk of Highland Park, Texas; and senior linebacker Jason Veal of Lilburn.
Turene to Fork Union
Thursday’s scholarship distribution effectively closed the door on Kent Turene, the one signee whose eligibility had remained in question to this point. The four-star linebacker from Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday he planned to attend Fork Union Military Academy, a prep school in Virginia, with the hopes of enrolling at Georgia in January.
Turene said his transcript has been held up at the NCAA Eligibility Center since June because of questions over some courses he needed to fulfill his core-curriculum requirement for freshman eligibility. He plans to re-take those courses at Fork Union.
Practice update
The Bulldogs practiced for two hours in full pads Friday. The workout concluded with a spirited 11-on-11 scrimmage that culminated with the No. 1 offense facing the No. 1 defense. Freshman receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who caught the winning touchdown pass at the end to win the day for the offense, once again was the star of the day.
“Malcolm made some big plays at crunch time,” Richt said. “Going by today at least, he’s had a really good camp.”
Cornerback Brandon Boykin and outside linebacker Cornelius Washington, projected starters, each was cleared after hamstring injuries and participated fully.
