Freshman defensive lineman Trenton Thompson is not going to accuse Georgia's football coaches of preferential treatment any time soon.
Thompson arrived in Athens this summer as the nation's No. 1 overall recruit, according to 247Sports.com. He was rated No. 2 overall by Scout.com, No. 3 by ESPN and No. 7 by Rivals.com, making him the highest-rated consensus signee in Mark Richt's 15 seasons as coach.
On the sun-scorched practice fields that have reached 100 degrees this month, the 6-foot-4, 307-pounder from Albany, Ga., hasn't felt like someone special going through workouts for position coach Tracy Rocker.
"Everything started over once I got to college," Thompson said this week by phone. "None of what I did in high school matters now. Coach Rocker coaches all of the D-linemen the same. It's all about competing and learning each day from your mistakes."
The Bulldogs practiced for just under two hours Thursday in shoulder pads and shorts and will scrimmage for the first time this afternoon inside Sanford Stadium.
"We've gotten a lot of work in, and now it's time to scrimmage and get an idea of what we've got," Richt said. "We'll look to see how far everybody has come. Also, we'll see who's ready to play and schematically the things that we're good at and the things we might need to throw out."
Thompson has been cross-training on the defensive front and is on track to contribute at an area that is not overly deep following the departures of Ray Drew, Mike Thornton and Toby Johnson from last year's 10-3 team. Drew, Thornton and Johnson combined for 25 starts.
Sterling Bailey, James DeLoach, John Atkins, Chris Mayes and Josh Dawson have returning experience on the defensive line but have combined for just five starts, so there is plenty of room for Thompson to help out.
"Trent is a talented guy, and when he's fresh, he's pretty good," Richt said. "When he's tired, he looks like a freshman. We were on the right track when we recruited him, that's for sure."
Richt added that Thompson has shown the range to play multiple positions for Rocker.
As a senior last fall at Westover High School, Thompson made 84 tackles and a staggering 36 tackles for loss. He had four sacks, a forced fumble and an interception.
Thompson has not been as dominant this month.
"It's so different," he said. "The game is much faster. There is more competition, and you're going against other big guys. It's not like high school."
So with the daily regimen, the heat and the stiffer competition, have the first few days of college life been fun for the prize signee or a grind?
"It's a grind," Thompson said. "I'm not going to lie. You've just got to keep working hard with your teammates."
Picture Day Saturday
Georgia's annual Picture Day for fans will be held Saturday in the Reed Plaza area of Sanford Stadium and will feature Richt, players, cheerleaders and "Que," the grandson of mascot Uga IX and the likely candidate to become Uga X.
Ticket coupons are required for access to the location for Richt and Que, with those tickets being distributed to the first 150 fans at 10 a.m. from the East End ticket windows on East Campus Road.
Gates will open at 2 p.m., and the ticket holders to see Que must be in line by 2:30. Georgia players will be available for autographs from 4 to 6, while Richt also will be available from 4 to 6 for those with ticket coupons.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.