Georgia still deciding starting punter for Kentucky game

It could be a decision that goes down to how the coaches feel Saturday.

Freshman Marshall Long has started every game at punter thus far, although he was spelled three times for junior Brice Ramsey during Saturday’s 24-10 loss to Florida. While head coach Kirby Smart said Long has kicked the ball well in practice, he’s struggled at times and only averaged 32 yards per attempt against the Gators.

Then again Ramsey, a left-footed punter, also averaged only 32 yards per attempt with his longest against Florida being from 36 yards. Both hit punts under 30 yards in the game.

“They’re both still working,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “Obviously one’s left-(footed) and one’s right. That dictates some of it. We try to go off of practice with which guy punts better and more consistently.”

Ramsey offered a bit of a new technique during the Florida game, in which he used a rugby-style tactic to move the pocket to his left. It was a new look for Georgia and one designed not as a potential fake, but as a way to add more time for the punt coverage unit.

Smart said that hang time has been missing all season long and having Ramsey do that added a second or two extra for the coverage unit to get down the field to prevent a big return.

Ramsey has worked with the punters all season but has also continued taking reps at quarterback and has rotated with Greyson Lambert in taking reps with the second team.

As for the punting job, what occurs by the end of the week will be deciding factor as for who trots out there for Georgia’s first punt.

“(Long’s) punted better than Brice,” Smart said. “We decided to change it up in the game because he wasn’t punting real well. We’ll decide based on practice this week.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Georgia still deciding starting punter for Kentucky game."