Parrish provides early spark for Bulldogs

THENS, Ga. - Linebackers Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins have been the primary tone-setters for Georgia's defense so far this season.

Not Saturday.

In the 48-6 scorching of Southern, sophomore cornerback Malkom Parrish broke through early with two big plays. Parrish blocked a punt following Southern's second possession, setting Georgia up at the 27-yard line of the Jaguars, and he tackled receiver Mike Jones for a 2-yard loss on third down during Southern's third drive.

"I think I played fairly well," Parrish said. "I'm getting more and more comfortable, and that's really coming through practice. I mess up more in practice, but I can learn from that so I can eliminate the mental errors."

The 5-foot-10, 188-pounder from Quitman, Ga., finished with three tackles in the fourth consecutive start of his college career.

"Malkom is a very good football player," coach Mark Richt said. "He's become a very reliable guy to where we have a good trust factor in him. He takes care of business."

Richt said the Bulldogs can try to block a punt from either side but finds the left side more reliable due to Parrish.

"That was the first time I've ever blocked a punt in my life," Parrish said. "I'm going to try and get another one. It's different from a pick, but they both feel good."

Georgia held the Jaguars to 184 yards, including 79 through the air. Southern rushed 16 times for 81 yards in the first half but had 19 carries for 24 yards in the third and fourth quarters.

The defensive effort was mostly appreciated by those involved, but now it's on to Alabama's impending visit.

"All the hype leading up to this will just be clutter and distraction," senior defensive lineman Sterling Bailey said. "As a player, we really want to focus on the game plan and the fundamentals and the techniques that our coaches are going to teach us that will help us to perform to our peak in this game."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.