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Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

Bobo staying on sideline for Florida game

ATHENS — The sideline might not be the most comfortable place for Mike Bobo to watch a game, but it’s hard to argue with success.

For the first time in his career as offensive coordinator, Bobo called plays from the sideline in Georgia’s most recent outing, Oct. 17 against Vanderbilt.

The result was the team’s easiest win of the year, highlighted by a season-high in rushing yards.

While the view wasn’t quite as good as it was from the press box, Bobo said he liked the feel of being on the sideline and said he’ll be there again this week when the Bulldogs take on No. 1 Florida.

“In the box, it’s like you’re watching a TV screen except you can see the whole thing, so you can see if we executed, and you can see if we don’t,” Bobo said. “Down there, you can feel the passion and the excitement, the highs and lows of when things go well and when things don’t go well. That part I liked. It’s a little more intense down there, for sure.”

The upside to Bobo’s appearance on the sideline is mental, he said.

With so many first-year starters on offense, Bobo was concerned that the unit was lacking confidence. Players were talented enough to succeed, but he wanted to be on the field where he could remind them of that, even in the face of failure.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys that haven’t made a lot of plays in some games,” Bobo said. “We have guys we feel we have some ability, but for whatever reason, they’re not making the play or they had their head down at certain times. (I wanted to) have the ability to say, ‘Hey you’ve got the ability, let’s go and get it done,’ or just to look them in the eye and say, ‘We can do it.’”

MYSTERY SURROUNDS O-LINE

During Georgia’s off week, Clint Boling said he had spent some time working at left tackle, moving over from the right side where he has played all season.

Josh Davis got his first start of the season against Vanderbilt, too, giving the Bulldogs yet another look on the offensive line — their fourth different starting lineup of the season.

But Tuesday, head coach Mark Richt said he isn’t expecting a major shake-up for this week’s contest against Florida.

“We really don’t have a lot of choices, so I don’t see a lot of change there,” he said. “The guys that have been playing will continue to play. We may move them around a little bit, but I’m not even sure of that.”

Richt said Davis, Boling, Vince Vance, Ben Jones, Chris Davis and Justin Anderson will all see action, but he wouldn’t commit to the specific roles for any of them.

‘BACKERS BACK

Georgia’s depleted linebacker corps figures to get an infusion of healthy bodies this week with both Akeem Dent and Marcus Dowtin expected to return to action after extended absences due to injuries.

“(Dent) looks like he’s going to be able to make the trip, but we’ll see how he progresses here during the week as we run a little bit more,” linebackers coach John Jancek said. “Dowtin has been cleared and is ready to go.”

Dowtin missed the past two games after suffering a ligament tear in his finger that required surgery following Georgia’s loss to LSU. Dowtin had earned regular work as a reserve linebacker and was third on the team in tackles at the time of the injury.

“We really missed Marcus not having him for the last two ballgames,” defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said. “Marcus has been one of our playmakers — a kid that can run, athletic, smart. He really was playing really well.”