ATHENS—Georgia wide receiver Kris Durham will miss the 2009 season due to a shoulder injury and will redshirt during the upcoming campaign, head coach Mark Richt announced in his post-practice media session on Wednesday.
“Kris will have surgery in May and will redshirt and not play this season,” Richt said. “It’s a decision we all think is in his best interest. He wants to make sure his senior year is a good, strong, healthy one. It’s really a sixth-month recovery time before you can go and train at full speed. That would be a tight window to be ready. If he didn’t have the option to redshirt and have a fifth year, the decision might be different.”
Durham, a 6-5, native of Calhoun, Ga., has torn the labrum in his left shoulder. He has recorded 32 receptions in 36 games played in his first three seasons with the Bulldogs. Durham started four of 10 games played as a junior, posting 13 catches for 199 yards including a 61-yard touchdown catch against Georgia Southern. Durham, who was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III first team in 2008, missed three games last season due to ankle and hand injuries.
Richt made the announcement following the next to last practice of Georgia’s spring drills.
“That was practice No. 13, and I’ll tell you what, it went by fast,” Richt said. “It was a very productive one. We had very good tempo. We had pretty weather, and that tends to help. I really like what I saw.”
The Bulldogs will make final preparations for Saturday’s G-Day on Sanford Stadium with a light workout on Friday.
“We’ll be in shorts on Friday and have a short practice,” Richt said. “We’ll probably have some pass skell and then break up into teams.
“On Saturday, it will be the No. 1 offensive players with the No. 2 defense,” Richt said. “That will be the Red team. The No. 1 defense will be with the No. 2 offense. They’re the Black team. When we’re playing, it will pretty much be the No. 1s versus the No. 1s and the No. 2s versus the No. 2s. It’s good to finish the spring with offensive and defensive players on a ‘team’ together. And the coaches will be split up also.”
Some players will see action for both squads. The Bulldogs’ depth has been pushed due to a large number of players sitting out the spring with injuries, a situation Richt believes will improve dramatically prior to the fall.
“We’re trying to get as much continuity as possible, but it’s really hard to do so once you get past the No. 1 units,” Richt said.
“When we get back together as a team, we’ll have 40-50 more healthy bodies with the players not out there this spring and the freshmen coming in.”
The G-Day festivities will begin at 10:15 when approximately 80 Georgia football letterwinners from six different decades, including at least 14 former All-SEC performers, will take part in a flag football game.
The current Bulldogs will then take center stage for the 1:00 p.m. G-Day contest that will be televised nationally on ESPN. There will be no admission charged to attend G-Day and Sanford Stadium gates will open at 10:30 a.m. Gates utilized for the public will be the main gate under the Sanford Drive bridge as well as gates 2, 4, 6, 7 and 9.
“I think G-Day will be a nice, economical family event,” Richt said. “It’s going to be 73 degrees and should be a beautiful day ‘Between the Hedges.’ If anyone has a youth group, a scouting group or a youth sports team, this would be a nice time to grab them up and bring them on.”
In lieu of an admission fee, fans are encouraged to bring food donations to benefit the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. Among the items most needed are soups, peanut butter, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, rice, pasta and pop-top canned goods.
“Kris will have surgery in May and will redshirt and not play this season,” Richt said. “It’s a decision we all think is in his best interest. He wants to make sure his senior year is a good, strong, healthy one. It’s really a sixth-month recovery time before you can go and train at full speed. That would be a tight window to be ready. If he didn’t have the option to redshirt and have a fifth year, the decision might be different.”
Durham, a 6-5, native of Calhoun, Ga., has torn the labrum in his left shoulder. He has recorded 32 receptions in 36 games played in his first three seasons with the Bulldogs. Durham started four of 10 games played as a junior, posting 13 catches for 199 yards including a 61-yard touchdown catch against Georgia Southern. Durham, who was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III first team in 2008, missed three games last season due to ankle and hand injuries.
Richt made the announcement following the next to last practice of Georgia’s spring drills.
“That was practice No. 13, and I’ll tell you what, it went by fast,” Richt said. “It was a very productive one. We had very good tempo. We had pretty weather, and that tends to help. I really like what I saw.”
The Bulldogs will make final preparations for Saturday’s G-Day on Sanford Stadium with a light workout on Friday.
“We’ll be in shorts on Friday and have a short practice,” Richt said. “We’ll probably have some pass skell and then break up into teams.
“On Saturday, it will be the No. 1 offensive players with the No. 2 defense,” Richt said. “That will be the Red team. The No. 1 defense will be with the No. 2 offense. They’re the Black team. When we’re playing, it will pretty much be the No. 1s versus the No. 1s and the No. 2s versus the No. 2s. It’s good to finish the spring with offensive and defensive players on a ‘team’ together. And the coaches will be split up also.”
Some players will see action for both squads. The Bulldogs’ depth has been pushed due to a large number of players sitting out the spring with injuries, a situation Richt believes will improve dramatically prior to the fall.
“We’re trying to get as much continuity as possible, but it’s really hard to do so once you get past the No. 1 units,” Richt said.
“When we get back together as a team, we’ll have 40-50 more healthy bodies with the players not out there this spring and the freshmen coming in.”
The G-Day festivities will begin at 10:15 when approximately 80 Georgia football letterwinners from six different decades, including at least 14 former All-SEC performers, will take part in a flag football game.
The current Bulldogs will then take center stage for the 1:00 p.m. G-Day contest that will be televised nationally on ESPN. There will be no admission charged to attend G-Day and Sanford Stadium gates will open at 10:30 a.m. Gates utilized for the public will be the main gate under the Sanford Drive bridge as well as gates 2, 4, 6, 7 and 9.
“I think G-Day will be a nice, economical family event,” Richt said. “It’s going to be 73 degrees and should be a beautiful day ‘Between the Hedges.’ If anyone has a youth group, a scouting group or a youth sports team, this would be a nice time to grab them up and bring them on.”
In lieu of an admission fee, fans are encouraged to bring food donations to benefit the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. Among the items most needed are soups, peanut butter, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, rice, pasta and pop-top canned goods.