Georgia's Brandon Boykin (2) takes the handoff and gets past Boise State defensive tackle Billy Winn (90) to run for an 80-yard touchdown in the first half of their NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011 at the Georgia Dome in AtlantaATHENS, Ga. - A third-string tailback at Georgia these days is a long way from playing time.
In last Saturday's 35-21 loss to Boise State, starting tailback Richard Samuel adjusted to his move from inside linebacker while backup Isaiah Crowell adjusted to his first college game. The two combined for 22 carries for 75 yards, but the most memorable run was by cornerback Brandon Boykin, who bolted around right end for an 80-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Boykin's score occurred on his first career carry, and fellow corner Branden Smith is another possibility with his 11-yard average on 23 career carries.
"We do want to continue to use them on offense with Richard and Isaiah, and those are probably going to get a majority of the carries," coach Mark Richt said Tuesday. "That's not to say a third back won't get an opportunity, but the guys who are competing for the No. 3 tailback job are also competing against how many reps a Boykin or Smith can take in a ballgame."
Among the reserve tailbacks, Carlton Thomas was suspended for the opener and Brandon Harton and Ken Malcome also didn't play.
"We would have liked to have used Boykin more, but he ended up with a couple of bags of IVs at the half," Richt said. "He was cramping up, and we didn't want to overdo it with him. We needed him on defense, and our No. 1 and No. 2 kick returners are him and Smith, and Smith's foot was a little bit of an issue."
Laying a little low
Bulldogs players are not social networking as much this week following some not-so-flattering feedback they have received since Saturday night.
"There is a lot of negativity going on in our program after the loss of a huge game, and everyone is really disappointed," backup tight end Aron White said. "I'm just trying to stay positive, so I just decided it would probably be best to not talk about football on Twitter."
Said quarterback Aaron Murray: "For every bad message, there were 30 or 40 good messages on Twitter. The fans are awesome. It's just the ones who are negative are always the loudest."
Spurrier's admiration
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Sunday that his team could learn a lot from watching Boise State. Tuesday, he elaborated on his admiration of the Broncos.
"They play fundamentally sound, make very few mistakes, hustle and give it their best shot," he said. "When they jog down the field, they look like Wofford or Furman."
About those unis
The gaudy Nike combat uniforms are history, but Murray liked them from the start and Tuesday offered one last defense.
"Ugly or not, you still get excited when you put a new jersey on," he said. "If you were 35 or 40 or above, you hated them, and if you were in the 20s or below you loved them. I guess we younger people like more flashy stuff and the older people like the more traditional silver britches."
Odds and ends
Sanders Commings started at safety last week and hopes the return of safety Bacarri Rambo from a suspension will enable him to play more cornerback against South Carolina star receiver Alshon Jeffery. ... Richt said he thought about moving Samuel back to inside linebacker following Alec Ogletree's broken foot but ultimately didn't think it would be wise.