Georgia sophomore Brendan Langley started the first four
games at cornerback last season but now is working at
receiver.Wide-eyed true freshmen aren't the only ones having to adjust as Georgia enters its second week of preseason football camp today.
There is much to learn for sophomore receiver Brendan Langley and redshirt freshman safety Tramel Terry, who were at different positions this time last year. Langley, a 6-foot-1, 181-pounder from Marietta, was a starting cornerback for the first four games last season but moved to receiver in May after spending most of spring at safety under new Bulldogs defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.
Head coach Mark Richt is urging Langley to soak in as much as possible from receivers coach Tony Ball.
"He's got to know that it's a process," Richt said at a news conference this week. "You can't just all of a sudden pop up and know everything and know exactly how to do it and to perfect it. It can't happen that fast, so I am encouraging him that he's going to be a really good receiver one day and maybe sooner than later, but you've got to be willing to pay the price to get there."
Langley wound up playing in nine games last season. He made 12 tackles, with seven coming in the opening loss at Clemson.
While Langley was breaking into the starting secondary this time last year, Terry was attempting to become healthy enough to earn playing time at receiver. The 6-foot, 184-pounder from Goose Creek, S.C., tore his ACL in December 2012 and enrolled early a month later.
Terry, the No. 9 receiver nationally in the 2013 class according to ESPN, wound up redshirting last season and was moved to safety in December.
"He's kind of like where Langley is," Richt said. "It's the same conversation. You're coming along and you're getting better, but you've got to be patient. You've got to understand that it doesn't happen overnight, and I think he's beginning to move a lot better than he did a year ago coming off that ACL.
"Usually it's a year after the ACL when you really get a lot of confidence. I remember when we had Boss Bailey. I didn't know what he was the year before, but he was practicing and just doing OK because he had the ACL. Then in my second year here, which was his senior year, he was very, very confident."
Picture Day set
Georgia's annual Picture Day for fans will take place Saturday, Aug. 16, with gates to the Reed Plaza area of Sanford Stadium opening at 2 p.m.
Richt and the football players will be available for autographs from 4 to 6 for those with special ticket coupons. Those tickets will be distributed out of the east end ticket windows on East Campus Road to the first 150 fans at 10 a.m., and those ticket holders must be in line by 4:30 to see Coach Richt.
Special tickets also are required for access to Georgia's mascot, Uga IX. Ticket holders to see Uga IX must be in line by 2:30.
Odds and ends
The Bulldogs conducted their eighth practice of preseason camp Thursday, working out for two hours in full pads. ... Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd and cornerback Shattle Fenteng, a junior college transfer, were able to practice, but inside linebacker Ramik Wilson remains sidelined.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.