Gurley shines in Georgia's second scrimmage

photo Georgia Bulldogs UGA logo

Junior tailback Todd Gurley rushed 10 times for 67 yards for a Georgia offense that showed improvement during Saturday morning's scrimmage in Sanford Stadium.

The scrimmage was the second for the Bulldogs this spring and the 10th practice overall.

"There were some pretty good holes out there," Gurley told reporters afterward. "It was a better day for the offense. There was a lot more energy. Last week we were pretty dead.

"Today we came out and picked it up a whole lot."

Fifth-year senior quarterback Hutson Mason had his second straight solid outing, completing 12 of 16 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown to Quayvon Hicks. The backups had their share of struggles again, according to statistics kept in the closed scrimmage, with Faton Bauta, Brice Ramsey and Jacob Park combining to go 11-for-29 for 121 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Ramsey, a redshirt freshman, had the best day of the backups by going 9-of-21 for 114 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

Georgia coach Mark Richt said Gurley had a slow start to the spring, even describing it as "ho-hum." He said Gurley has been impressive this past week.

"I don't think there is much doubt he's going to have to have some kind of [NFL] decision to make when it's all over this year," Richt said in a news conference. "He'll be draft-eligible. If he plays as good as he can play and stays healthy, he'll have to figure it out. He knows that, but he wants to focus on this season and being the best he can and enjoying college and enjoying being a kid.

"He likes being a normal guy. He wants to be as much as he can, but it's hard to be. You go out in the public and people want your autograph. People want to take a picture with you, all that kind of stuff. He knows it's really time to focus on being great in every detail of his life, and I think he's taking on that challenge."

Sophomore Brendan Douglas rushed 13 times for 40 yards, while redshirt freshman A.J. Turman had four carries for 22. Leading the receivers were senior Jonathon Rumph, who had six catches for 62 yards and a touchdown, senior Chris Conley, who had four catches for 64 yards, and sophomore Reggie Davis, who had three receptions for 64 yards and a score.

Sophomore safety Tray Matthews and senior inside linebacker Ramik Wilson led the defenders with nine and seven tackles, respectively, while junior kicker Marshall Morgan went 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts, including two makes from 47 yards and one from 59.

"That may have been the most impressive thing of the day," Richt said.

Sitting out the practice were senior receiver Michael Bennett (ankle), redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Davis (knee) and senior offensive lineman Watts Dantzler (concussion). Richt is hopeful Dantzler can return by the end of spring.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

Upcoming Events