ATHENS -- A common theme for this year’s Georgia football team is the cliché many call bulletin board material.

The latest episode of the extra motivation comes from Auburn right guard Chad Slade.

Slade, a sophomore, told reporters earlier Tuesday that Georgia star outside linebacker Jarvis Jones is not that hard to stop.

“You’ve got to be able to get your hands on him, block him,” Slade said. “He’s a good player, but you can stop him. It’s not that hard.”

Slade did add that Jones is an impact player and will likely be somewhere near the ball on Saturday as the consensus All-American usually is.

When asked about the quote, Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was really not that worried, saying it would not affect his defense’s preparation this week.

“I don’t really have any thoughts (about that),” Grantham said. “I’m looking to win a game. Jarvis is a good player, he’s done really well for us, and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Jones has a similar attitude as his coach and isn’t worried about it, especially since he lines up diagonally in relation to where Slade plays.

“He’s a competitive guy,” Jones said. “He feels like if he can get his hands on me, he’ll be fine. If he wants to come see me, that’s fine. So that’s how I feel.”

Expect a challenge

It would be hard to know that Auburn stands at 2-7 and has been eliminated from the SEC West race by the attitudes of Georgia coordinators Mike Bobo and Grantham. Both coaches said the chance for the Tigers to knock the Bulldogs out of the SEC championship game adds to the rivalry.

“It’s a rival. It’s a big game,” Bobo said. “There’s a lot of familiarity between coaching staffs, players you recruited. It’s just one of those games you like to play in. I mentioned that both stadiums are similar. They feel the same to me. Both teams feel at home when they go to their place. It’s just one of those fun games that you liked to play in.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Grantham said the Tigers present their own set of challenges and that Georgia’s defense must be prepared Saturday evening.

“You look at them, they’ve got a good offensive line,” Grantham said. “We understand that we’ve got to play well, prepare and be ready for battle because in this league when you go on the road in this league, it’s tough to win.”

Hall questionable

After spraining his right ankle two weekends ago against Florida, Georgia fullback Merritt Hall was on the practice field Tuesday, albeit in a limited capacity. During the portion of practice open to the media, Hall was in pads and took part in various runs and stretches to test out the strength of his ankle.

Bobo said Hall’s availability for the game Saturday is questionable.

“He got some reps (Monday) at a controlled tempo,” Bobo said. “We’ll see how he is (Wednesday) and Thursday. If he feels like he can go, he’ll be able to help us.”