ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia junior Leonard Floyd is happy to be playing outside linebacker again.
His coaches and teammates are happy to see the productivity.
Floyd was credited with 11 tackles and three tackles for loss in Saturday night's 23-17 overtime win over Georgia Southern. Those were season-high totals for the 6-foot-4, 231-pounder from Eastman, Ga., with opposite outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins turning in a season-best 13 stops as well.
"Now that he's back, they can't pick one side," Jenkins said Tuesday. "You have to pick your poison again. It's definitely fun having him back on that other side, because the quarterback is not getting out of that pocket."
After tallying 110 tackles and 18 tackles for loss in his first two seasons as an outside linebacker, Floyd was continually on the move in preseason camp. He practiced outside, inside and at the "star" position in nickel packages and began the season inside.
Floyd had eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the opening win over Louisiana-Monroe.
"We just put him where we felt like we needed him the most," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. "Sometimes it had to do with the opponents, and sometimes it had to do with our depth, because we had (inside linebacker) Reggie Carter go down and didn't know if our true freshmen were ready to play. Now they are, and it's freed him up to play his more natural position, which is the edge.
"He's much more at home on the outside, and I think it's pretty easy to see that. The one thing about him that I really respect is just how much he loves to play. You can just watch the guy and see how excited he gets about making plays or how disappointed he gets when he misses one. He doesn't hide anything. His body language tells you exactly how he's feeling."
Floyd has 66 tackles this season and 10.5 tackles for loss, which is tied with Jenkins for the team high.
"I've definitely learned different positions in the playbook and how each position holds the other positions accountable," Floyd told reporters Monday night, "but I've always enjoyed coming off the edge. That's why I came to Georgia."
Still hating Tech
There is never much debating Georgia's biggest rival for the Atlanta-area Bulldogs, because Georgia Tech is on a totally different level for them. Left guard Kolton Houston is no exception.
"This is the most important game on the schedule every year for me," Houston said. "I don't really like those guys, so we're going to get that Governor's Cup trophy back up here."
Georgia lost last year's game, 30-24, in overtime to the Jackets, who defeated the Bulldogs for the first time since 2008.
"You've got to wait a whole month for that next game," Houston said. "You've got to wait all of December to get stuck with that loss to them."
'Who told you to ask?'
Richt was asked Tuesday whether he felt he was coaching for his job Saturday in Atlanta.
"My focus is on beating Georgia Tech right now," he said.
Richt then was asked if he felt he would be Georgia's coach next season and gave the same response. In each instance, he followed it up by asking the reporter, "Who told you to ask that question?"
Odds and ends
Right guard Greg Pyke (knee) and receiver and return specialist Isaiah McKenzie (foot) remain questionable for Saturday's game. Georgia Tech commits just 3.3 penalties for 28.7 penalty yards per game. Tech coach Paul Johnson on injured quarterback Justin Thomas: "We'll update Justin's status as the week goes on. Right now, we're hopeful that he's going to play."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.