Thomas, Samuel shine in Dogs scrimmage

Carlton Thomas and Richard Samuel combined for 145 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries as Georgia went through a 90-minute scrimmage Saturday night at Sanford Stadium.

Samuel, who had 108 yards and two touchdowns on five carries in Wednesday's initial scrimmage, followed that with 13 rushes for 55 yards and a score. Thomas, a 5-foot-7 redshirt freshman, had 90 yards on six carries.

Caleb King, who began preseason camp as the No. 1 tailback, sat out with a sore hamstring.

"All of them are a little different, and they're all going to play," starting quarterback Joe Cox said. "Richard, Caleb and Carlton are all really good, and Richard and Carlton looked good tonight."

Said Bulldogs coach Mark Richt: "Richard didn't have as much space as he had Wednesday and had to gain every yard he got. Carlton had more space, but they both looked impressive."

Cox only competed in the second half of the scrimmage, completing 3 of 6 passes for 35 yards. Freshman Aaron Murray completed 5 of 9 for a team-high 95 yards, while sophomore Logan Gray completed 6 of 8 for 91.

Richt said he wanted the younger guys get more reps in this scrimmage and said Gray remains the backup.

"He's had a really good camp and has done nothing to lose ground," Richt said. "Our young guys are progressing."

A pair of freshmen led the way receiving, as receiver Rantavious Wooten had two catches for 59 yards and tight end Orson Charles had 2 for 49.

Defensively, redshirt freshman safety Makiri Pugh had seven tackles, senior defensive end Roderick Battle had 2.5 sacks, and junior cornerback Vance Cuff forced a fumble and had an interception. Battle has 5.5 sacks through two scrimmages.

"Our No. 1 defense came pretty close to mauling our No. 2 offensive line," Richt said.

The Bulldogs will have today off and will take Monday off as well for the first day of classes.