Bulldogs drenched during Monday’s action

ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia football team avoided the afternoon thunderstorms at the Woodruff Practice Fields but still returned to the locker room Monday in need of dry clothes.

After a 10-minute walk through indoors, Bulldog head coach Mark Richt surprised the team with news of a surprise trip to the Ramsey Center and the Gabrielsen Natatorium.

“We had jumpers not really divers going off the high dive today,” Richt said of the annual tradition of going to the pool and making newcomers take a leap off the 10-meter platform. “It was fun, they did a good job. There’s a certain time during camp when just you need one of those days, and a lot of times it has to do with the weather. We had a little bit of a warning that there might be some weather coming in and instead of sitting around waiting all day to practice, we decided to come on and do it. Also, It was a perfect time, it was practice eight or nine in a string of practices without a day off. Today we got a day off and, we’ll have four more practices before school starts.”

A pair of Bulldog veterans said they enjoyed the pool day in lieu of practice.

“It’s kind of a camp tradition,” junior tailback Brendan Douglas said. “I’ve been doing it since my freshman year, so this is my third time. It’s a good time just to have a little fun during camp. Camp can get kind of long and tiring, and it’s good to have a little day off and a day to rest your body and have some fun.”

“It’s great that you have a physical break,” sophomore tight end Jeb Blazevich added. “We still had the middle install today, but it’s just great when you have a nice physical break to show that the coaches do care about you. They want you to have fun; they understand that. But again we still got in some good work today.”

Georgia will return to practice Tuesday with a planned session in full pads.

The annual Fans’ Picture Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, in the Reed Plaza area of Sanford Stadium and will feature Georgia head coach Mark Richt, football players, cheerleaders, other UGA athletic teams, as well as “Que,” grandson of mascot UGA IX and a candidate to become UGA X.

Special ticket coupons are required for access to the location for Coach Richt and “Que.” Those tickets will be distributed to the first 150 fans at 10 a.m. from the East End ticket windows on East Campus Road.

Gates 2 and 4 will open at 2 p.m. and the Georgia cheerleaders, Dance Dawgs and Hairy Dawg will be available from 2-6 p.m. Que and other University of Georgia sports teams will be available from 2-4 p.m. Ticket holders to see Que must be in line by 2:30 p.m. Georgia football players will be on hand for autographs from 4-6 p.m. Richt will also be available from 4-6 p.m. for those with ticket coupons. Ticket holders to see Richt must be in line by 4:30 p.m.

Fall semester classes at UGA will begin Aug. 17. Georgia, ranked No. 9 in the Amway Coaches Preseason Poll, opens the season against Louisiana Monroe Sept. 5 at noon ET and televised on the SEC Network.