Another Butler kicking for Dogs

ATHENS, Ga. -- A 60-yard field goal to lift Georgia past Clemson in 1984. A Super Bowl title the following season with the Chicago Bears. The first kicker inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Kevin Butler accomplished a great deal throughout his playing career, and his son is ready to take flight, too.

Georgia redshirt sophomore Drew Butler got his first taste of college action last season, punting three times for 107 yards, including a 40-yarder in the Capital One Bowl win over Michigan State. He was used sparingly in pooch situations as the backup to Brian Mimbs but entered preseason camp earlier this week handling all the punting responsibilities.

"It kind of feels like it's my time, so it's a good feeling," Butler said. "I'm ready to seize this opportunity. I guess it is mine to lose."

The 6-foot-2, 203-pounder from Duluth, Ga., is battling walk-ons Trent Dittmer and Jordan Stowe but is the clear favorite. Yet being the starting punter isn't enough at Georgia, where predecessors Mimbs and Gordon Ely-Kelso earned All-SEC recognition.

Assistant coach John Lilly, who oversees punters, believes Butler has work to do before getting to that stature.

"One day it's operation time," Lilly said. "The next day it's hang time or distance or whatever, but it's all about consistency. We know that he can punt at a high level. It's just a matter of being consistent and being able to do it time after time."

Butler believes he is bigger, stronger and more consistent than he was last season, and he feels more knowledgeable about the speed of the game after viewing Mimbs and experiencing three punts himself. He will be challenged immediately Sept. 5 at Oklahoma State, which should provide a rabid environment.

His father knows something about such locales.

"He's been in a lot of those situations, and he tells me how he handled them and how I should go about handling them, and that helps a lot," Butler said. "It's going to be exciting. I remember last year my first kick was at South Carolina, and that was a rocking environment.

"It's going to be crazier at Oklahoma State, but it's going to be a lot of fun."

At the receiving end of Butler's punts will be Cowboys junior Dez Bryant, the Big 12 special teams player of the year last season and the runner-up to Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree for the Biletnikoff Award. The 6-2, 215-pound Bryant had 17 returns for 305 yards last year, and his average of 17.94 yards a return ranked third nationally.

Bryant had a 71-yard touchdown return against Houston and a 78-yard scoring return against Texas A&M.

"We faced seven of the top 16 guys last year," Lilly said. "We've got 11 guys on the field, so it certainly goes beyond just the punter, but what he does is going to be key. We're not going to run from anybody. I can say that."

Geathers cleared

Georgia rounded out its 105-player camp roster Thursday after learning Kwame Geathers had been approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound defensive tackle from Georgetown, S.C., was expected to arrive on campus Thursday night.

"He'll have to go through the five days of acclimation, so he'll be about four days behind," head coach Mark Richt said. "I think he's been working out. He is from a family with a lot of professional football players. They know what they need to do."

Odds and ends

Starting strong safety Reshad Jones will be out a few days with a tweaked hamstring and is being replaced by fellow junior Quintin Banks. ... Chris Davis has taken over the starting spot at left guard, supplanting Vince Vance. ... Strongside linebacker Darryl Gamble continues to make plays, recovering another fumble Thursday.