Georgia Bulldogs UGA logoATHENS, Ga. - Georgia's first two touchdowns in Saturday's 55-9 crushing of Charleston Southern were recorded by receiver Chris Conley and tailback Nick Chubb, two prominent components of this year's offense.
The third was tallied by Justin Scott-Wesley, who made his first catch since tearing his ACL in last year's win at Tennessee.
"It felt good to be able to come in there and contribute to the team," said Scott-Wesley, whose 19-yard scoring reception at the 5:18 mark of the first quarter made it 21-0. "It's been a long process. There have been a lot of highs and lows, and I've just tried to stay somewhere in the middle."
The 5-foot-11, 206-pound redshirt junior from Camilla, Ga., also had a 14-yard reception, so he's got two catches for 33 yards on his still-young season. Scott-Wesley missed the first five games and had played in three games before Saturday.
"You've got to be ready, and you can't make excuses," he said. "At the end of the day, people just come to see you play ball. They don't care about how you feel. They just want results."
Georgia isn't short on receivers looking to make up for lost time, with Malcolm Mitchell and Jonathon Rumph also having begun this season on the shelf.
"We lift each other up," Rumph said, "and it was great to see him get back out there and make some plays."
Staying stingy
Georgia defenders were stout in last week's win over Auburn and did not relent much Saturday, yielding 13 first downs and 211 yards to the Buccaneers. Charleston Southern had just two first downs and 25 yards when the Bulldogs took a 38-0 lead with 4:11 remaining in the second quarter.
"For the most part, everybody came out fired up and ready to get the job done," senior defensive end Ray Drew said.
Charleston Southern had 45 carries for 190 yards and ran plenty of option, giving the Bulldogs a taste of what to expect with this week's arrival of Georgia Tech.
"This absolutely helped, and so did last week against Auburn," senior cornerback Damian Swann said. "We've had to face a lot of perimeter running. There wasn't as much pitching involved with Auburn, but this week we got to see the pitch full speed.
"Next week is going to be a lot faster, and it's going to be better because of the rivalry."
Ramsey's busy day
Backup quarterback Brice Ramsey had the busiest afternoon of his Georgia career, completing 8 of 12 passes for 92 yards. The 6-3, 216-pound redshirt freshman had a 12-yard touchdown pass to Rumph early in the third quarter but was intercepted early in the fourth.
"That ball was thrown a little bit behind, and the timing just wasn't there," coach Mark Richt said. "You get guys who don't work a whole lot with each other, and I think the route could have been a little more crisp and the throw obviously could have been in a better spot, but I think Brice is coming right along."
Odds and ends
Junior kicker Marshall Morgan made a 53-yard field goal late in the first quarter to put the Bulldogs up 24-0, which was his longest kick since a 56-yarder last year at Tennessee. ... Conley had two touchdown receptions and now has 19 for his career, which is tied for fifth in program history. ... Freshman cornerback Malkom Parrish earned his first career start. ... Freshman safety Dominick Sanders suffered a bruised shin early in the game, but Richt said X-rays were negative. ... Georgia has scored 90 points off turnovers this season while allowing 12.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.