ATHENS, Ga. - The kicking game at Georgia is expected to be a work in progress this year given that the Bulldogs played last season with a pair of four-year starting specialists.
G-Day did nothing to change that thought.
In the Black team's 34-14 victory over the Red on Saturday afternoon before an announced crowd of 93,000 at Sanford Stadium, Brice Ramsey had a 50-yard punt and Rodrigo Blankenship a 46-yard field goal. There were also three missed field-goal tries, including one by Blankenship, and a shanked punt by walk-on Thomas Pritchard that took a fortunate bounce.
"The punting has been a larger issue than the field goals," first-year Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. "I was pleased with some of the effort today, but you really can't judge today outside of field goals, because the kicking situations were scripted and not live."
Ramsey, the backup quarterback last season who took over most of the punting duties from Collin Barber, launched his 50-yarder after the first drive of the game but did not punt again. The Bulldogs are seeking a place-kicker to replace Marshall Morgan, who tallied more than 400 points in his college career.
Walker's big day
Sophomore outside linebacker D'Andre Walker was credited with four sacks (down by contact) for the Black, which included the second-team defense. Walker repeatedly got the better of second-team tackle Kendall Baker.
"Kendall Baker started out spring as our first left tackle, and D'Andre was matched up on him most of the day," Smart said. "D'Andre has done a really good job of becoming better as a player. I know he was lining up with the twos against the twos, but Baker started out with the ones at left tackle.
"He's had a tough time with D'Andre."
Nauta's debut
Isaac Nauta, the No. 1 tight end nationally in the 2016 signing class, had six catches for 56 yards and a touchdown in his first G-Day game, but the early enrollee was far from perfect according to Smart.
"I know he had two bone-headed plays where he did the wrong thing," he said. "He heard the call wrong in the huddle, but he caught some balls and made some plays after the catch. He has to work on his blocking and protecting, because you have to be able to do that as a tight end."
Rochester and Clay
The two early enrollees who were arrested last Monday for shooting a BB gun in their campus dorm room, defensive lineman Julian Rochester and defensive back Chad Clay, played in the G-Day game. Clay was credited with two tackles.
"Julian and Chad will end up being disciplined in an appropriate manner," Smart said. "They came back to practice on Thursday, and they were back out there today.
"Once that decision is made, it will be a lot easier for us to move forward. I don't know what their exact discipline is going to be, but it wasn't any factor today."
Odds and ends
Sophomore defensive tackle Trenton Thompson, the top overall prospect in the 2015 signing class, had three tackles and a tackle for loss. Sophomore Shaquery Wilson, who worked this spring at receiver and tailback, had a 7-yard touchdown run for the Red early in the fourth quarter. Georgia picked up a commitment for the 2017 signing class Saturday from William Poole III from the Atlanta suburb of College Park. The 6-foot, 180-pounder is rated by 247Sports.com as the nation's No. 12 cornerback and No. 100 prospect overall.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.