Georgia practice notes: Julian Rochester, Shakenneth Williams earning reps with position groups

Georgia’s defensive line is set to feature a rotation of young contributors.

One of those looks to be freshman early-enrollee Julian Rochester, who appeared to be running with the first three defensive linemen during Saturday’s practice – at least in the viewing period open to reporters. Rochester was working alongside Trent Thompson and Jonathan Ledbetter.

Thompson, who played primarily at defensive tackle in 2015, was working as a nose tackle.

Rochester, 19, is already listed as the biggest defensive lineman on the roster, which coincides with the kind of size head coach Kirby Smart is looking to put on both lines of scrimmage. Rochester is listed at 6-foot-5 and 327 pounds.

Chauncey Rivers and Michael Barnett were working with the second group of linemen. The Bulldogs figure to rely on a rotation up front much like they did a year ago.

WILLIAMS EARNING REPS

Shakenneth Williams, a Macon native who played high school football at Rutland, got a chance to run some plays as part of the first group of receivers on Saturday.

Williams was the third wideout with Terry Godwin and Isaiah McKenzie when Georgia first broke into practicing plays against air. Greyson Lambert was the first-team quarterback again, with Brice Ramsey and Jacob Eason working behind him.

When Georgia came back to the first team the second time around, freshman Riley Ridley replaced Williams as the third receiver in the formation. Ridley was seen working among the top four receivers during practice on Thursday.

BOBO, JONES RETURN

Two familiar faces stopped by Georgia’s practice on Saturday.

Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo and Tennessee Titans center Ben Jones were in attendance to see the Bulldogs practice at Sanford Stadium. Bobo was an assistant under former head coach Mark Richt from 2001-14 and also played quarterback at Georgia from 1993-97.

Jones was Georgia’s center from 2008-11 and was drafted in the fourth round by the Houston Texans in 2012. He recently signed a new contract with the Titans when free agency opened in early March.

Bobo is a friend of Smart’s as the two were teammates at Georgia. Smart was a safety from 1995-98, with the two overlapping in Smart’s first three years in Athens.

PADS ON

Georgia's third spring practice marked the first time the team practiced in full pads. The first two practices were conducted in helmets and shorts.

This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Georgia practice notes: Julian Rochester, Shakenneth Williams earning reps with position groups."