ATHENS, Ga. – Mark Richt is experiencing what is easily the worst of his 10 seasons as Georgia’s football coach, but he doesn’t believe his job has lost its fun.
“Head coaching isn’t always fun,” Richt said. “I can tell you that, even when you are winning. Is it as fun as it has always been? If you said as fun, yeah, it’s as fun. I can’t say it’s off-the-chain fun, but it’s a responsibility that I enjoy.”
Richt was relaxed and smiled numerous times during Tuesday’s news conference, certainly not showing the strain of a 1-4 start. He was asked by a female caller on Monday night’s Bulldog Hotline show if he would lead the team on the field Saturday against Tennessee and immediately said he would honor her request.
Previously Richt has jogged out behind his players but said Tuesday that he has started stretching and hopes to avoid pulling a hamstring.
“Of course he’s having fun, but just the way the season has gone so far, it’s kind of hard to show some of that emotion,” senior receiver Kris Durham said. “It’s just been such a roller-coaster ride of emotions for all of us.”
Tailback trifecta
Caleb King, Washaun Ealey and Carlton Thomas each has started at tailback this season. Thomas started last week’s game at Colorado but had only seven carries for 11 yards, while King had 12 carries for 100 yards but fumbled with 1:55 remaining.
“We have not sat down and said who is going to start this week, but Caleb has certainly made a good case to be the starter,” Richt said. “Certainly no one is happy about the last play of the game, but there were some circumstances there. It wasn’t just your normal fumble, in my opinion. It was right in the middle of an exchange. It’s really tough to know exactly what happened.”
Ealey had one carry for 15 yards against the Buffaloes, but Richt said he has earned back playing time after his role had been reduced because of fumbling issues.
Bobo calling shots
Richt was asked Tuesday if he would become more active in play-calling duties, and he responded by saying “right now that’s not the plan.” Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo will call the plays for a 47th straight game Saturday.
“I do have to be more assertive to let Mike know certain situations,” Richt said. “Sometimes if a coach knows he has three downs to get 2 yards instead of two downs to get 2 yards, he may call that a little bit different. Or there may be times I’ll say, ‘Let’s run this thing,’ or whatever it might be. The bottom line is if we score enough points to win, we don’t have to worry about that.”
Odds and ends
Tennessee holds a 21-16-2 series lead over Georgia and has a 10-8-1 edge in Athens. … Richt on the stressful Saturday for former Bulldogs coach Vince Dooley: “Coach Dooley absolutely loves the University of Georgia, there’s no doubt about that, but I think he loves Derek more, which he should.” … Sophomore receiver Marlon Brown did not practice Tuesday. … Freshman linebacker T.J. Stripling, who underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a patella tendon, played one too many games to redshirt. … Richt on Georgia being a 12-point favorite: “Are you kidding? I don’t look at those things. I really don’t. Wow.” … With Branden Smith out because of a concussion, Thomas could return punts this week, but A.J. Green and Logan Gray are options as well. … Richt on if the 1-4 start has affected recruiting: “I can’t say that all the recruits are excited about what’s happening, but most of the guys we have committed love Georgia and want to be at Georgia. Sometimes kids even see that maybe this presents a better opportunity to come in and make a difference.”