Staff Photo by Patrick Smith/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Georgia senior inside linebacker Akeem Dent (51) celebrates after Georgia recovered a Tennessee fumble during their game Saturday. Georgia won 41-14.ATHENS, Ga. - In setting goals before this football season, Georgia senior inside linebacker Akeem Dent was more subtle and successful than junior cornerback Brandon Boykin.
Boykin announced a goal of 10 interceptions, though he quickly admitted his objective was aggressive. He was on pace through one game after picking off a pass in the opening rout of Louisiana-Lafayette, but his only other interception occurred in the whipping of Idaho State.
Dent had an idea of how many tackles he wanted to compile, but there never were any declarations.
"I was just basically trying to average 10 a game," Dent said this week.
Dent has 122 tackles entering a New Year's Eve date against Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl, an average of 10.17 a game. He ranks second in the Southeastern Conference behind Kentucky linebacker Danny Trevathan, who will take 130 tackles into the BBVA Compass Bowl against Pittsburgh on Jan. 8.
Passing Trevathan will be a challenge, but tallying nine tackles against UCF would enable Dent to top the 130 that Rennie Curran amassed for the Bulldogs last season. Curran left following his junior season and was a third-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in April's NFL draft, an event Dent hopes to experience, too.
"I feel like I've done a good job of trying to improve my stock," the 6-foot-2, 233-pounder from Atlanta said. "I've raised some eyebrows, because I don't know if there were too many people before the year who knew who Akeem Dent was. I was just one of those guys who tried to work hard and give everything I had."
Dent is coming off a career-high 16 tackles in Georgia's 42-34 win over Georgia Tech on Nov. 27, but he had company. Defensive linemen DeAngelo Tyson and Abry Jones had 16 tackles as well against Tech's triple-option offense, which ran 92 plays and held the ball for more than 38 minutes.
"When I looked at that, I was like 'What in the world?'" Dent said. "Two defensive tackles having 16 tackles? That's unheard of. I had never seen anything like it."
'Kind of curious'
Josh Davis and Clint Boling, who start on the right side of Georgia's line, will be playing a final time for the Bulldogs in the Liberty Bowl. Trinton Sturdivant and Cordy Glenn, who start on the left side, are juniors who have submitted their names to the NFL advisory board.
Sturdivant and Glenn are not expected to leave, but if they do, center Ben Jones would be the lone returning starter up front for 2011.
"You don't want all your big linemen to leave, but I think every junior in America is kind of curious where they sit as far as the NFL is concerned," coach Mark Richt said. "There are a lot of guys who want to turn in their papers and see where the NFL sees them. I think that's not all that surprising. These guys come in with the thought of possibly playing there one day.
"It's part of college football today. In basketball, they get them for one year and they are off and running. We have a lot of quality linemen in our program, but we certainly would hate to lose guys who know what the plays are and have had the experience to play in the Southeastern Conference."
Richt appreciates the NFL's decision to institute an advisory board in 1994, because many players previously were making decisions based on agents or the media.
Ealey, Gilliard lauded
The Bulldogs conducted two practices in shoulder pads and shorts Thursday, after which Richt praised sophomore tailback Washaun Ealey and sophomore linebacker Michael Gilliard for their actions the night before. Ealey and Gilliard assisted the driver of a campus bus Wednesday evening after watching the bus skid into a tree near the intersection of Cedar Street and Sanford Drive.
"Those two guys did a very good deed," Richt said. "They stopped and helped out, and I'm proud of them. They assisted someone who was in distress, which is a good thing."
Said Ealey: "We got down there as quick as we could and helped the driver get out. She was pretty shaken up and there was a lot of broken glass. We just helped her get out and made sure she was OK."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.