Georgia Receiver Marlon BrownATHENS, Ga. - Georgia senior receiver Marlon Brown enters Saturday's game against Tennessee with three career 100-yard games, with two having come against Vanderbilt.
"I try to gain 100 yards in every game," Brown said, "but there is something about Vandy."
It's his last chance to do something against the Volunteers.
The 6-foot-5, 216-pound former Parade All-American from Memphis signed with the Bulldogs over Tennessee in February 2009, but he has hardly been a nemesis to the Vols since. Brown's career stats against the Vols consist of three catches for 21 yards, with two of those receptions occurring long after Tennessee's 45-19 trouncing of Georgia in '09 had been decided inside Neyland Stadium.
Brown sat out Georgia's 41-14 win two years ago with a shoulder injury, and he was coming off sprained ligaments in his ankle last year when the Bulldogs prevailed 20-12 in Knoxville.
"He's got a big game coming up," sophomore receiver Michael Bennett said. "I know he got booed his freshman year at Tennessee, and that kind of pissed him off. That pissed everyone off, really, so I'm really excited to see what he can do in this game.
"He's having a really great year so far, a breakout year, and I hope he continues against a team that really hates him. It would be great for him to have a great game."
With 16 receptions for 264 yards and three touchdowns this year, Brown is on pace to shatter the numbers from his first three seasons combined. His 16 catches are a single-season best, and he entered this year with 382 career yards and four career scores.
His 121 yards last season at Vanderbilt remains his single-game high, though he is trying to replace it after amassing 106 yards earlier this month at Missouri and 114 last week against the Commodores.
"He's a big receiver who has speed and great hands," quarterback Aaron Murray said. "He is everything you want in a receiver. At that size, he is just so hard to defend, and he gives me a great target to hit. He looked special all offseason, and he's showing it right now."
Brown's two catches for 15 yards against Tennessee in '09 were the only receptions of his freshman season, and he said heard the term "bust" from Vols fans whenever he went back home. His next two years did not do a lot to change that perception in Memphis, but he said such talk "went in one ear and out the other."
The critics have been silenced this season, and defeating Tennessee would make Brown's final go-around even more special.
"As you can see, he always goes off against Vandy," fellow senior receiver Tavarres King said. "I think he enjoys playing Tennessee schools, and I think this game will be big for him and that he will have a lot of fun."
Said Brown: "I can't wait."
Odds and ends
Coach Mark Richt said after Wednesday's two-hour practice that former walk-on receiver Rhett McGowan could be used to return punts deep in Georgia territory. ... Richt on freshman kicker Marshall Morgan having three extra points hit the upright: "He must have played pinball as a kid." ... Vanderbilt coach James Franklin on the Bulldogs: "I've been doing this for almost 20 years now, and I thought that was as impressive of an offense as I've seen in terms of a veteran quarterback, physical offensive line, physical running backs and speed on the perimeter as well as size."