Mark Richt's 15th season as Georgia football coach is starting to shape up like his first.
At least as far as the quarterbacks go.
Richt has yet to name a starter for the Bulldogs' Sept. 5 season opener against Louisiana-Monroe at Sanford Stadium, with redshirt junior Faton Bauta, redshirt sophomore Brice Ramsey and Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert continuing to rotate among the first, second and third teams. There's still no timetable in naming Hutson Mason's successor, who may not be known until after the opener.
"There is a chance we have a couple of guys taking reps in game one," Richt said in a news conference following Wednesday's full-pads practice. "I'm not sure. We're getting closer."
The last time the Bulldogs were undecided at quarterback entering an opener was 2001, when David Greene and Cory Phillips vied throughout preseason camp.
Greene started the 45-17 win over Arkansas State and played the first three possessions, sandwiching a pair of touchdown drives around a Musa Smith fumble. Phillips entered late in the first quarter and played two possessions, but the Bulldogs failed to score during either one.
When Greene returned and built a 38-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the competition was over. Greene went on to guide Georgia to a 42-10 record over four seasons, which included the 2002 SEC championship.
The decision process could take another step Friday, when the Bulldogs are scheduled to conduct their first scrimmage.
"We want to give them as equal of an opportunity as possible," Richt said. "They will get shots with the (first team) and the (second team), and all three may get shots with the (third team) as well, so we can try to be as fair as we can but also as thorough as we can."
Ramsey appeared in eight games last season, completing 24 of 39 passes for 333 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, and replaced an injured Mason in the Belk Bowl. Bauta has played in three games each of the past two seasons, while Lambert started nine games for the Cavaliers last year but lost his grasp on the starting job this spring.
Though there have been reports of all three struggling in the portions of practice open to the media, Richt likes what he has seen so far.
"I'm in almost every single quarterback meeting, and these guys are very diligent in learning what to do," he said. "I'm really impressed with their ability to learn. This summer was a great summer because there were a lot of things they did on their own that helped them become more prepared for this camp.
"I'm proud of all of them really."
Odds and ends
Junior linebacker Leonard Floyd practiced Wednesday after missing some time. The Athens Banner-Herald reported Floyd underwent an MRI this week for his surgically repaired shoulder and that no damage was found. Richt did not want to be specific about Tim Kimbrough's injury, but he said the junior inside linebacker would be returning "relatively soon." Friday's scrimmage will pit first-teamers against first-teamers. Richt said there is definitely more depth on special teams compared to a year ago. Richt: "It's been a good camp to this point. I appreciate the effort of the players."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.