The offense didn’t win and the defense didn’t dominate, so nobody walked away thrilled Saturday afternoon following Georgia’s first football scrimmage of the spring.
“Defensively, I thought we started strong but didn’t finish,” Bulldogs defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said. “The offense at times started slow but picked it up at the end of the scrimmage. Both sides were sluggish. That’s a good way of looking at it.
“There was some good and some bad out there.”
Saturday marked the eighth of Georgia’s 15 spring practices. The Bulldogs will hold their annual G-Day game April 5 at 2 p.m. in Sanford Stadium.
According to statistics kept at the scrimmage, which was closed to the media, quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 9 of 19 passes and had three touchdowns. Kenneth Harris caught two of Stafford’s touchdown throws, and Mohamed Massaquoi had the other.
Stafford also was intercepted twice.
“It’s kind of weird when you feel like you get a drive going and then all of a sudden they cut it off at eight plays,” Stafford said. “It’s kind of hard to get a rhythm out there, but we played all right.”
Most of Knowshon Moreno’s action came on punt returns, where he rotated with receiver Tony Wilson and cornerback Asher Allen. Caleb King led the rushers with 12 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Starting linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Rennie Curran missed most or all of the scrimmage, so backup inside linebacker Daryl Gamble used the opportunity to make six tackles and two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. Gamble made one of Georgia’s biggest plays last season when he forced a fumble late against Vanderbilt.
“He showed up throughout the whole scrimmage,” Martinez said. “That was very encouraging.”
Clint Boling, a 10-game starter at right guard last season, and Darius Dewberry, a five-game starter at strongside linebacker, did not participate Saturday and will not practice the rest of the spring. Boling has mononucleosis, and Dewberry is expected to undergo surgery this week for a lingering groin injury.
David Paschall is a sports writer for the Times Free Press. He started at the Chattanooga Free Press in 1990 and was part of the Times Free Press when the paper started in 1999. David covers University of Georgia football, as well as SEC football recruiting, SEC basketball, Chattanooga Lookouts baseball and other sports stories. He is a Chattanooga native and graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received numerous honors for ...
