ATHENS, Ga. -- Although Georgia's defense dominated the team's first preseason scrimmage Saturday night at Sanford Stadium, coach Mark Richt offered a surprising twist at the end of the evening.
His staff isn't necessarily sold on the positioning within his linebacking corps.
Much offseason talk has concerned senior Brandon Miller's move from strongside linebacker to the middle, with Dannell Ellerbe at weakside and Darius Dewberry at strongside. But Richt said after the scrimmage that "it's not etched in stone right now how we'll line up at linebacker."
Miller is cross-training at strongside and the middle, while Dewberry is working at strongside and weakside and Ellerbe at weakside and in the middle.
Richt said that move is not made out of displeasure with how the three starters are filling their roles, but instead to build quality depth at each position.
"By the time the second, third scrimmage rolls around, we'll know how to line 'em up," Richt said, later adding, "It'll be a combination of those three -- whichever we think is the one that everybody feels the most comfortable at."
The possible switcheroo at linebacker doesn't change the fact that the defense owned the day, thanks in part to a rash of injuries to the young offensive line.
Senior tackle Chester Adams was already out with an ankle injury and freshman guard Tanner Strickland was on crutches with a foot sprain before the scrimmage even started. When starting guard Scott Haverkamp went down early in the scrimmage with an ankle injury, the No. 1 offensive line then featured senior center Fernando Velasco and four freshmen -- tackles Clint Boling and Trinton Sturdivant and guards Justin Anderson and Chris Davis.
"It's no fun for the offense today, really," Richt said.
The scrimmage put the first and second teams in numerous situations, running eight-play drives, one-minute drills and red-zone series. And the defense was by far the most effective in most of the situations.
Matthew Stafford was 13-for-20 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown, a 9-yarder to Tony Wilson. Backup Joe Cox was 5-for-16 for 64 yards, mostly against the starting defense.
Redshirt freshman Knowshon Moreno was the top ground gainer with 36 yards on five carries. Senior Kregg Lumpkin had three carries for 12 yards and a touchdown and Thomas Brown had two carries for 4 yards.
The swagger is now back for Georgia’s defense after the offense seemed to steal it with a dynamic spring game. But Brown said he's not concerned just yet.
"I'm not taking anything away from the defense, but that's the way it is every year. The defense always wins the first scrimmage," he said. "We'll be a lot better in the second and third scrimmages."
That doesn't change the fact the defense ended the first week of preseason camp with quite an enjoyable performance.
"It was fun to watch without question, but they've got to temper their excitement because of the rookies they were going up against," Richt said.
Notable scrimmage stats
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