Season opener on the horizon for the Bulldogs

ATHENS, GA – The 12th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs moved a day closer to their season opener following a two-hour workout Wednesday.

Georgia coach Mark Richt said he is excited that game day is on the horizon.

“Everybody is ready to play a game,” Richt said. “It will be nice to have a day off Friday and then get the team ready to go on Saturday.”

Before the post-practice media session began, Richt told the assembled scribes that his number one response to questions Wednesday likely would be “I know, but I’m not going to tell you.”

The first two questions garnered that response when quizzed about who would start in the secondary Saturday, and what was the plan for the backup quarterback. When a follow-up question was posed about the secondary, Richt said the Bulldogs are young at that position.

“We’ll be playing some guys in the defensive backfield that have never played in a college football game or have played in this system,” Richt said. “If they make a mistake, it’s usually a large one. If it’s up front, you can cover it up a bit.”

Talk turned to special teams, and Richt was reminded that 30 years ago against Clemson in Athens, then Bulldog All-American kicker Kevin Butler set a school record with a 60-yard game-winning field goal to upset the second-ranked Tigers 26-24. Richt was asked if current placekicker junior Marshall Morgan has that kind of range.

“Marshall nailed a 60-yarder the other day in practice, so if there’s a little breeze behind him, he has that capability,” Richt said.

Morgan, who earned first team All-SEC honors a year ago, owns a career-long of 56 yards. He tallied 113 points in only 11 games last year, hitting an SEC-best 22 of 24 field goals.

Georgia, ranked No. 12 in the Amway Coaches Poll, will open the season against No. 16 Clemson Saturday at 5:36 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN. The Bulldogs are 10-3 in season openers under Richt. Last year, the teams met in Clemson to start the 2013 campaign, and the Tigers edged the Bulldogs 38-35.