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Georgia Bulldogs: First Padded Practice Went Well

By John Buhler

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The Georgia Bulldogs’ first padded practice of 2015 Fall Camp went off without a hitch.  Though tackling was not part of the protocol in yesterday’s session, “thudding” certainly was and Head Coach Mark Richt‘s team successfully implemented some on-field installs.

Mark Richt said that while he has done tackling right away in the first padded practices of some seasons, he believes that “thudding” allows his players to build a strong framework to get themselves in tackling position.  Footwork is a crucial part in being able to bring an offensive player to the ground and coaches on Richt’s staff like ILB Coach Mike Ekeler are emphasizing that this fall.

-= Keith Marshall: Bounce Back Year in 2015? =-

Players like Senior Tight End Jay Rome and Sophomore Outside Linebacker Lorenzo Carter expressed their excitement to getting back into full pads on Saturday.  Carter said, “It was fun.  We got a lot of built up aggression, I guess.  We’re coming out here, having fun and staying safe though.  That’s been a key emphasis that the coaches are telling us.”  He later added, “We don’t want to come out here and hurt our teammates, but they’re going to feel it when we hit them.”

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    • Rome stated that everybody was playing all out in full pads regardless of the Georgia Heat.  “Everybody wants to go hard when you’re in full pads because it feels like real football.  So I feel like everybody had really high energy today and we got a lot of work done.”  Jay later said, “It’s intense.  Though we’re not tackling to the ground, but the defensive guys are really ‘thudding’ up.  I feel that we really got after each other and made each other better today.”

    Players like Jay Rome and Lorenzo Carter will play important roles on the 2015 Georgia Bulldogs team.  Both will see a ton of playing time as major contributors at the their respective positions.

    However, there were two key players for the Georgia Bulldogs that did not practice yesterday: DL James DeLoach and WR/KR Isaiah McKenzie.  DeLoach has a broken bone in his hand, but Coach Richt says that he will take part in practices later this week on he gets his hand wrapped in a club.  While I wouldn’t expect DeLoach to get his normal amount of reps with the first-team due to his injury, at least he can contribute in practice in some capacity in the coming days.

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    McKenzie did not practice due to a hamstring injury.  Since speed is such a key part of I-Mac’s game, Richt is pre-cautiously keeping McKenzie out of practice for the next several days.  Richt did not believe that Isaiah’s hamstring issues are anything severe but would rather have the Human Joystick back at full strength than to rush him back too soon.

    It seemed like yesterday’s practice was more geared toward teaching and installation than full contact.  I know that the players want to hit but learning how to do it more efficiently will play a huge part in the overall development of DC Jeremy Pruitt’s defense.  We’re inside of a month until football season.  Go Dawgs!

    Next: Georgia Bulldogs: Excited for First Padded Practice

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