Georgia senior fullback Shaun Chapas, who was voted by teammates earlier this month as the overall captain, will not be available for the Liberty Bowl due to needed ankle surgery.
Chapas has been a three-year starter, amassing 155 rushing yards, 221 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in his career. He longest career run of 22 yards occurred last December in the Independence Bowl win over Texas A&M.
"He has been a great leader for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said.
As the saying goes, with every injury comes an opportunity for someone else, and moving up the depth chart are senior Fred Munzenmaier and freshman Alexander Ogletree. Getting some work at fullback is junior Bruce Figgins, the third-string tight end behind Orson Charles and Aron White.
Figgins was asked by reporters after Sunday's practice when he last got the ball on a running play, and he responded, "High school, maybe. We were probably up 30-something points in the fourth quarter, and the coach gave me a carry after I begged at halftime."
The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder from Columbus is splitting time between the two positions.
"He's had a little experience at this," Richt said. "If you have a tight end that can also do some of the fullback-type things, it's a little bit tougher for the defense to really know what personnel grouping you might be in."
Change of pace
Richt surprises his players before each season by taking them swimming, and he surprised them Sunday by scrimmaging in full pads for 40 minutes and then playing Ultimate Frisbee the remainder of practice. The Bulldogs substituted with footballs, and Richt named junior outside linebacker Justin Houston as the MVP.
"We had fun," Houston said. "It was good bonding time, and any time you can get everybody together and have some fun, it's good."
The Bulldogs will practice today and Tuesday before breaking for Christmas, and they will reconvene in Memphis next Sunday.