Georgia tight end Arthur Lynch and teammate Hunter Long headed west on a road trip after they wrapped up final exams early last week. Their destination: LSU.
Specifically, they headed to Baton Rouge, La., to visit former teammate Zach Mettenberger. LSU’s starting quarterback, Mettenberger suffered a torn ACL in his final home game, much the same way as Georgia’s Aaron Murray did a week earlier.
“I knew he hurt his knee and I just felt bad for him,” said Lynch, who roomed with both Murray and Mettenberger their freshman year at UGA. “I knew he was kind of down in the dumps and I told him when he committed there, ‘I’ll come visit you.’ I got done with finals early and we had the week off. So I told him, ‘I’m coming.’ It was awesome to see him and meet his friends.”
Lynch and Long hung out for a long while, arriving last Tuesday night and returning to Athens on Friday.
“It’s so funny to see another big-time program like that,” Lynch said. “They were like, ‘I can’t believe you get this at Georgia.’ And we were like, ‘I can’t believe you guys have that.’ We couldn’t believe their indoor practice facility. They couldn’t believe we get catered by Carrabba’s. That was the coolest thing, being around the same kinds of kids in the same situations but from different perspectives. Great guys, too.”
Lynch said they did get around to talking about their Sept. 28 game. The Bulldogs came from behind to defeat the then-No. 6-ranked Tigers 44-41.
“There was no animosity or anything like that,” Lynch said.
Lynch said it was tough to see the college careers of two of his best buddies end as they did within six days of each other.
“It’s almost like a horror film, or a really good film that has a horrific ending,” Lynch said. “But they’re both strong kids and I think they’ll both still have success in the NFL. They’re both handling it extremely well.”
"Star Wars" tribute: Speaking of movies, junior receiver Chris Conley has attracted a lot of attention lately for his passion for all things "Star Wars." The Bulldogs' leading pass-catcher has been a fan of the multi-movie franchise since he was 5 years old and is in the process of gathering actors and equipment to shoot his own video tribute on campus.
“We’re still in the process of getting ready to shoot,” said Conley, a communications major. “We’ve gotten some traction, we’ve got things moving forward. … We’ve got a camera crew, we’ve got people who are going to edit, we’re still adding two more actors and we’ll have extras, people who just want to be involved. Hopefully we’ll be able to shoot in January and then we’ll have about a month and a half to edit and get things ready before we release it.”
Among those vying for a role is star tailback Todd Gurley. He said he wants to have a light-sabre duel with Darth Vader.
“I told him he couldn’t do that because no one is going to kill Darth Vader,” Conley said, smiling. “We’ll find a place to get Todd in there and let him get his acting career launched.”
He said it: "I don't care who we're playing. I'm just glad to be playing. We're playing on national TV on ESPN and that's what I came here for. So I'm pumped." — Junior quarterback Hutson Mason on playing Nebraska in a bowl for the second straight year.
Etc.: The Bulldogs practiced for two hours in full pads on Monday. … Senior defensive end Garrison Smith (ankle) practiced without limitations. … Freshman receiver Tramel Terry, who is being redshirted this season, worked out with defensive backs on Monday.
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