ATHENS - Georgia safety Thomas Davis said Monday he will play Saturday in the No. 8 Bulldogs' biggest game of the season. Tailback Danny Ware isn't in a position to be so certain.
As for quarterback David Greene, he missed the first practice of the
week with a stomach illness but is expected to be fine by game time.
"I hope it's just a 24-hour bug," quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo
said.
"Now, if he's not practicing on Thursday, we may have a problem, but I
think he's fine right now."
An Internet rumor suggested Greene was hospitalized due to his
illness, but Bobo said that wasn't true. Greene was resting in his
Athens apartment at 8 p.m. Monday, associate athletic director Claude
Felton said.
Greene, a senior who has won an NCAA-record 40 games, won't suffer
much from missing Monday's practice, Bobo said.
"David's been here a while," he said. "He'll have no
trouble catching
up."
Ware, who suffered a sprained ankle and knee against Kentucky on
Saturday, also didn't practice Monday night as Georgia prepared to play
No. 3 Auburn at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Freshman Thomas Brown said he has already been told he would start
against the Tigers, but he didn't know if it was due to his performance
or Ware's injury.
"It really doesn't matter to me the reason for it," he said.
"It means
a lot. It's going to be exciting."
Ware rushed for 14 yards on three carries against the Wildcats. He is
still the team's leading rusher, with 625 yards overall, even though
Brown had 130 yards on Saturday. Brown now had 601 yards this year.
Running backs coach Ken Rucker said he's hopeful that Ware will play
this week but added that Brown probably would have earned the start even
if Ware was healthy because of how well Brown played against Kentucky.
Ware was walking without crutches Monday, Brown said.
"He's doing pretty well," Brown said. "He's keeping his
spirit up,
trying to see if he can come back for this game."
Michael Cooper, who would be in line for the No. 2 spot behind Brown
if Ware can't play, sat out Monday's practice because he had teeth
pulled earlier in the day. Tyson Browning, another option to back up
Brown, practiced Monday but wore a green jersey due to an ankle injury.
Davis also wore a green jersey, signifying no contact in practice, but
the Bulldogs still were more than happy to have him back. He remained
the Bulldogs' leading tackler (62) despite missing a week.
"I wanted to come out here today and test it, and I did and now I
feel
good about it," he said. "I'm ready to go."
Davis wore a large brace on his right knee Monday but hopes to have it
off by game time.
"I feel like about 80 percent right now," he said.
"Hopefully, by the
time we play, with the emotion and all, it'll be up to the high 90s."
Tight end Martrez Milner is also questionable due to a back injury. He
didn't practice Monday and wore an electrical stimulation pack on his
back.
|