ATHENS — Georgia fans got the first taste of where the football program stands at the end of spring practice, heading into the 2009 season, with the annual G-Day game Saturday in front of 42,458 fans at Sanford Stadium. Like usual, the storyline for the spring focused on which players are the best option to fill starting positions for departed seniors from the previous season.

The game comes at the end of the 15 practice sessions during the spring. Georgia is finished with practice until it gears up in August leading up to the start of the season. More importantly to Georgia’s overall morale, the Bulldogs didn’t sustain any more injuries during G-Day, already short about 25 players sidelined with injuries during the spring.

“It was a good spring for us fundamentals wise,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “I believe we accomplished as much as we could under the circumstances.”

The only touchdown of the game came on a 20-yard run from redshirt freshman tailback Carlton Thomas on the final play, leading the red team – comprised of the first team offense and second team defense—to a 13-3 victory.

This year’s game was centered around the running back and quarterback position, with 2008 starters Knowshon Moreno at running back and Matthew Stafford at quarterback, both waiting to get selected later this month in the NFL draft.

The battle for the starting quarterback is solidified with redshirt senior Joe Cox as the No. 1 singal caller heading into summer. His biggest play in the game was on the first play when he completed a 35-yard pass to sophomore A.J. Green thanks to a nifty flea flicker from running back Caleb King. That was the only catch on the day for the Bulldogs leading receiver.

Cox finished the game 9-of-16 passing for 105 yards. His backup Logan Gray was 9-for-13 for 91 yards. Georgia fans also got their first look at 2009 quarterback signees Aaron Murray (3-for-5, 62 yards) and Zach Mettenberger.

The main thing that hindered the passing numbers was an excess of dropped passes, including two for touchdowns in the first half.

“Our quarterbacks looked sharp today and did a good job of putting the ball on the money,” Richt said. “We just had too many dropped balls.”

The best throw was from Murray in the third quarter when he found an open Marquise Brown streaking across the middle for a 43-yard completion, which was jarred loose and recovered by linebacker Devin Hollander, a North Hall High grad. Cox had a 22 yard throw to Brown (three catches, 62 yards), the game’s leading receiver, in the fourth quarter.

The starting job at running back is still up for grabs and could very well turn in to a running back-by-committee situation in the fall, Richt said. King and Thomas are the two frontrunners for the most carries, with tailbacks Richard Samuel and Dontavius Jackson both sidelined for the spring with injuries.

Thomas’ best runs came in the fourth quarter when he bounced outside for a 15-yard gain in the final seconds, and then on the next play the 5-foot-7 tailback bounced outside again, for the touchdown on the final play. Thomas (8 carries, 60 yards) says he thinks it’s going to take more than one running back for the Bulldogs to succeed in the SEC.

“Me and Caleb know we have big shoes to fill with Knowshon gone now, so we’re going to put that weight on our shoulders to get the job done,” Thomas said.

Georgia junior tight end Derek Rich, a North Hall High grad, led all receivers in the first half with two catches for 44 yards, one catch from both Gray and Cox. Rich was No. 3 on the depth chart at tight end for Georgia during the spring.

“Derek has really good hands, runs good routes and most of the time comes down with the ball,” Cox said.

Aron White led all Georgia tight ends in the spring game with three catches for 50 yards, the longest of which was a 22-yard strike from Cox in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs have two 2009 signees at tight end — Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch — that will join the program over the summer.
Georgia’s thinnest position in the spring was defensive end with only two healthy bodies: Justin Houston and converted offensive lineman Kiante Tripp. Houston led the defense in the spring game with three sacks and four tackles. Richt says Houston’s ability to stay healthy and not miss any practice time during the 2008 season and this spring will hopefully have a positive influence on having a breakout season in 2009.

“Justin is a big, strong, athletic guy with big hands,” Richt said. “Hopefully it’s all starting to come together for him and he’ll have a breakout season.”

Richt also noted that Christian Robinson (five tackles) and tackle DeAngelo Tyson (three tackles) did a nice job on the defensive end.

Blair Walsh (51 yards), Jamie Lindley (24 yards) and Andrew Jensen (48 yards) each converted on field goal attempts, ensuring a perfect 3-for-3 day for Georgia.