ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia punter Drew Butler is having a good season.
It's just not last season.
Butler led the nation in punting last year with a 48.1-yard average but enters Saturday's game at Mississippi State ranked 21st with a 44.6-yard clip. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound junior from Duluth has been outdistanced the past two weeks by Spencer Lanning of South Carolina and Dylan Breeding of Arkansas.
"He's had a good year, but obviously his standards are really high," said Georgia assistant coach John Lilly, who oversees the punters. "There are probably 110 Division I-A punters who would love to be having the season he's having right now. We're hovering around 40 yards net right now, which is outstanding, because our goal for every game is 39."
In last week's 31-24 loss to Arkansas, Butler had the worst punt of a decorated career that includes All-America honors last season as well as the Ray Guy Award. With 54 seconds left in a 24-24 tie, Butler failed to pin the Razorbacks deep, producing instead a 31-yard punt from Georgia's 42-yard line.
That allowed Arkansas to take over from its 27 with 47 seconds remaining, and Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett quickly capitalized, producing a touchdown drive that required three plays.
"It was just poorly executed," Butler said. "I tried to put it down there in that left corner and I didn't kick through it, and it showed on the yardage and the hangtime. It was not a good punt, and that's my fault. It's not going to happen again."
Of course, a 31-yard misfire shows just how stout Butler is on a routine basis.
"It wasn't awful," Lilly said. "I remember a game when I was at Florida State and we were playing Miami, and they were around the 50-yard line with about 45 seconds to go and they're punting and the game is over. Their guy hits a 1-yard punt because it went off the side of his foot, and we had another chance. We went down and missed another field goal like we did about every other year, but that would have been a disastrous deal and a choke job.
"I think Drew is going to come back as determined as ever."
Butler averaged 43.8 yards a kick against the Razorbacks compared to Breeding's 47.3-yard average. In Georgia's 52-41 win in Fayetteville last season, Butler averaged 55.2 yards a punt, which outdistanced Breeding's average by nearly 18 yards.
Lilly said the two continually talk about not trying to measure up to statistics from last season.
"Last year, particularly during the first half of the year, we had a lot of instances where we were punting and his feet were in the end zone," Lilly said. "He had a lot more field to work with."
Butler opened last season with a 57-yard average on six punts at Oklahoma State, which included a career-long of 75 yards. He didn't capitalize two weeks ago on a big field at South Carolina, but his year has included punts of 59 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette, 51 against the Gamecocks and 57 last week.
"A lot of people would like to have the numbers that we have, but those aren't the numbers that we want to have," Butler said. "There is a lot of the season left and a lot of opportunities to get better, and that's what we're going to do."
Anderson is outw
Coach Mark Richt announced Wednesday that junior nose Justin Anderson will undergo surgery on his turf toe and will miss the rest of the season.
"When it's in the condition it's in, you've just got to do it," Richt said. "Hopefully, he'll be prepared for spring ball."
Richt said the chances of guard Chris Davis (hip and knee) and cornerback Branden Smith (concussion) playing this week have improved.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.