Rambo getting in on action

ATHENS, Ga. -- It's not uncommon for someone to forget the name of someone they've just met.

Unless they've just been introduced to Georgia backup strong safety Bacarri Rambo, who describes a typical encounter as follows:

"Every time I meet somebody new, they say, 'What's your name?' And I say, 'Bacarri Rambo.' And they say, 'Whoa, nice name!' I'm like, 'Yeah.' They'll say, 'Is your last name like the movie?' And I'll say, 'Yeah.' I love my name."

Rambo's name was blared over the Sanford Stadium loudspeakers with 1:43 remaining in the first half of last Saturday's 20-17 win over Arizona State. The 6-foot, 210-pound redshirt freshman from Donalsonville, Ga., intercepted Sun Devils quarterback Danny Sullivan at the Bulldogs 25-yard line to preserve a 14-3 lead.

That was the third gained turnover this season for Georgia, following Brandon Boykin's pickoff against South Carolina and Rennie Curran's fumble recovery at Arkansas. Only five teams among the 120 in the Bowl Subdivision have fewer takeaways.

Rambo played 31 snaps against ASU, topping his previous high of 20 in the opening loss at Oklahoma State.

"I think I've started growing up and maturing some," he said. "I've started watching film in my room a lot and studying the plays and really focusing. I just figured it's time to stop acting like a kid and grow up, because this isn't high school any more."

Bulldogs defensive coordinator Willie Martinez believes Rambo will have substantial playing time again this week against LSU because he's earned it. When asked about Rambo's unique name, Martinez said, "It's a great name, and we call him by his last name more than anything else, but he's a great kid."

Rambo said his mother asked his sister to name him and that she chose Bacarri (Buh-CAR-ee), which often gets altered by teammates.

"We like to call him 'Bacardi' just to mess with him," starting free safety Bryan Evans said. "He doesn't really like that too much, so when we do it we just try to have fun with it."

Rambo admits he's never seen any of the action movies starring Sylvester Stallone, who in 1982 played Vietnam veteran John Rambo in "First Blood." Stallone starred in "Rambo II" in 1985 and "Rambo III" in 1988 and made another movie, "Rambo," last year.

"My dad has watched some of them and tells me about them, but I haven't gotten around to watching any," he said.

Georgia's 2008 signing class also included Makiri (Muh-KEER-ee) Pugh, another defensive back who got in for one play at Arkansas. Pugh said his parents got his name from a book and that it means "skillful, quick and clever."

Pugh has been bouncing from cornerback to safety in search of playing time, but there could be a future starting secondary for the Bulldogs that includes a Bacarri and Makiri.

"I think announcers will have some trouble with those names and may get them mixed up," Evans said. "They may just combine them together."

Odds and ends

Freshman cornerback Jordan Love recently underwent surgery on his right foot for a pre-existing condition. ... Martinez on the Tigers: "They're one of those teams that when they get off the bus, you notice them, and you always have."