UGA back at practice, locks focus on Ga. Tech

ATHENS — After healing during its bye week, the Georgia football team returned to the practice fields Monday with a two-hour workout in full pads.

The Bulldogs were idle last week after 11 straight games. But on Saturday, Georgia will host instate rival Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs are 5-6 overall, while the Yellow Jackets are 6-5. The game will kick off at 7:45 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.

“I thought (Monday) was (a) great (day of practice),” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “We challenged them before practice and told them this would be our last day of tackling if we got the job done.

“We’ll keep tackling the scout team this week, but the 1s vs. 1s and the 2s vs. 2s got the job done.”

Richt was asked about the health status of quarterback Aaron Murray, who participated in Monday’s drills. Murray suffered a bruised knee and bruised sternum in the Bulldogs’ game with Auburn.

“He practiced and he did a pretty good job,” Richt said. “There’s a difference between practice and playing, so we’ll have to see if he continues to improve.”

Richt announced the captains for Saturday’s game will be Demarcus Dobbs, Akeem Dent, Shaun Chapas and Chad Gloer. Other members of the Bulldogs’ senior class will wear the captain “C” logo as well.

Also Monday, it was announced that punter Drew Butler is a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, which is given to the nation’s top punter. The 2009 winner, Butler is third in the Southeastern Conference and 15th in the nation with a 45.0 average on 43 punts. The winner of the award will be announced live on ESPN during the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards show on Dec. 9.