Mississippi St. Week: Thursday News and Notes

ATHENS - Josh Kendall's news and notes from Georgia's fall practices.

INJURY UPDATE: Center Nick Jones is progressing rapidly in his rehabilitation from a minor knee injury, and he may even start Saturday.

“He said he’s definitely going (to practice Thursday), and he thinks he’ll go Saturday,” Richt said.

Wide receivers A.J. Bryant (groin) and Michael Moore (knee) also are expected to be ready.

Starting cornerback Ramarcus Brown will not play. Redshirt freshman Bryan Evans probably will start, but true freshmen Prince Miller or Asher Allen could take the job as well.

Kickoff specialist Ben Wilson also is expected to miss the game, meaning Andy Bailey or Brian Mimbs will kick off.

As for next week against Florida, Richt is optimistic offensive lineman Chester Adams (ankle) and Milner (toe) will be ready to play.

RUNNING MAN: If Georgia’s patchwork line can’t hold up, true freshman quarterback Matthew Stafford may again be showing off an unexpected facet of his game. In the Bulldogs’ first seven games, the 230-pounder has scrambled his way out of trouble several times.

“He has shown a lot more mobility than we expected him to have,” Richt said. “We’re not sitting here designing a lot of quarterback run, but he has done a nice job of managing the pocket.”

Discounting sacks, which count against a quarterback’s rushing total, Stafford leads Georgia with 5.8 yards per carry. He officially has 14 carries for 55 yards, including a long of 23 yards against South Carolina.

There are no plans to rotate backup Joe Tereshinski into the game, but that doesn’t mean Tereshinski won’t play, Richt said.

“I just want to get Stafford in there and start playing ball, and hopefully he’ll play real good,” Richt said. “We’ll play everything by ear, but I don’t think there’s any guarantee of anybody else playing.”