Georgia will conduct its third and final preseason scrimmage tonight at Sanford Stadium, but Bulldogs coach Mark Richt doesn't sound any closer to announcing a starting quarterback.
The Bulldogs open their 15th season under Richt in nine days against visiting Louisiana-Monroe.
"We may not announce anything," Richt said Wednesday night in a news conference. "We may just say, 'Come to the game.' We might get 100 more people to come to the game and get a higher TV rating."
There was speculation this week that the battle among redshirt junior Faton Bauta, redshirt sophomore Brice Ramsey and Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert had been trimmed to Ramsey and Lambert when Bauta was spotted by reporters Monday and Tuesday working with the third team. Richt said the rotation has been changed a little bit but that all three still are being evaluated on a daily basis.
Lambert, who started nine games last season for the Cavaliers but was supplanted on Virginia's depth chart this spring, has come the furthest since the start of the month, but he also had the furthest to travel.
"When he first started throwing it day one, I got a little bit nervous," Richt said. "He struggled, but I think it was just nervous energy and all. He's settled in and has thrown the ball well.
"For the amount of time he's been here and been in the system, he's done a good job of learning what to do."
Ramsey has been viewed as the favorite for the job after backing up last season's starter, Hutson Mason, and replacing an injured Mason in December's Belk Bowl. Richt said Ramsey has a live arm and is a good athlete but added that his biggest strides in recent months have come from a preparation standpoint.
If Bauta winds up third in the race, he apparently will have left nothing behind.
"Faton is a preparation machine," Richt said. "He may be the hardest-working guy I've ever seen. He really cares about his team and his teammates, and he cares about making people around him better.
"He has probably made the least amount of mistakes (of) anybody out there."
Wednesday's practice was trimmed so that players would be fresh for tonight.
This has been more of a practice game in recent years, but Richt said tonight will be another competitive scrimmage because there is still so much to be determined as far as position battles.
"Every scrimmage I've ever played in is about earning your spot," senior nose tackle Chris Mayes said, "and right now I don't believe anybody has earned a spot."
Odds and ends
Redshirt sophomore cornerback Aaron Davis, who made 10 starts last season, has been awarded a scholarship. Practicing at the "star" position this month in nickel packages have been junior linebacker Leonard Floyd, redshirt sophomore cornerback Reggie Wilkerson and freshman cornerback Rico McGraw. Richt said the second-team offensive line has made a lot of progress in recent days. Quarterback Jacob Eason and tackle Ben Cleveland, the first two commitments in Georgia's 2016 signing class, have signed financial aid papers and plan to enroll in January.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.