Richard Samuel always wanted to be a University of Georgia football player on the move.
He just didn't realize so much moving would take place out of season.
The 6-foot-2, 238-pound redshirt junior from Cartersville moved to tailback this week after spending the past 15 months at inside linebacker. Samuel moved to defense before the 2010 spring practice after spending his first two seasons at tailback.
"Some guys come in and play one position the whole time while they're here," Samuel said Friday. "I'm transitioning and having to learn some things from scratch, or I'm having to pick up on some things that some others are already two or three years used to doing. It's tough to have to put in extra work to learn what to do and also put in more work on the field to show that I'm able to play the position and get the job done."
Six Bulldogs assistants have worked with Samuel - offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, former running backs coach and current receivers coach Tony Ball, current running backs coach Bryan McClendon, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, former inside linebackers coach Warren Belin and current inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti.
Samuel weighed 225 two years ago as a tailback but believes he can compete at his current 238, and he admitted his biggest challenge will be playing with more instincts and to stop thinking so much.
"We did invest some time with him in the spring," Grantham said. "He's a big, physical guy that will run and hit."
Samuel said a big reason he agreed to the switch was due to the opportunity at tailback, which has one scholarship player (5-7 junior Carlton Thomas) who had carries last season following the departures this year of Washaun Ealey and Caleb King.
Planning on Jones
Grantham said he will enter preseason camp with the thought that sophomore outside linebacker Jarvis Jones will suit up Sept. 3 against Boise State in Atlanta. Georgia has informed the NCAA that two Columbus Parks and Recreation Department officials used an unauthorized bank account to pay for flights to and from Los Angeles for Jones in 2009.
"I think the way you do it is it's no different than a guy being injured - in the sense that you don't know when a guy's going to be injured," Grantham said. "We're obviously going to prepare at every position as the guy that's the first-team guy is the player and if he goes down, who's the next guy?"
Theus Commits
Georgia got the biggest commitment for its 2012 signing class Friday night when offensive tackle John Theus of The Bolles School in Jacksonville made a nonbinding pledge to coaches. The 6-6, 292-pounder is rated the No. 2 tackle nationally by Rivals.com and the No. 7 prospect overall.