Georgia notes: Richt: No doom only excitement

Mark Richt is pretty much atop the list of SEC coaches qualifying for the hammered-to-death hotseat, which won’t change until the season commences.

The Georgia fanbase has mixed feelings.

Contrary to the belief in some circles, he doesn’t think he’s steering the Titanic.

“I know if you walk in the Butts-Mehre Building, there’s not one sense of doom or gloom,” he said Thursday at SEC media days. “There’s only excitement, only guys that are so thankful that we’ve got a new season and a clean slate and the ability to play some great opponents to start the year.

“The expectations are just as high as they’ve ever been going into any season.”

As is the pressure. His players dismissed such talk, and it’s quite simple for center Ben Jones.

“We just try to focus on each game just trying to win every game,” he said. “If we win, there’s no pressure on him.”

Cornerback Brandon Boykin said the Bulldogs don’t pay attention to speculation, and he sees the bigger picture.

“There are minor little mistakes that we (shouldn’t have) made that could potential have made us a 9-4 or, you know, 10-3,” he said. “If we take care of the little things and the minor mistakes that we’ve had, we can go to from that season we had last year to contending for a championship.

“There’s no reason why not.”

The questions aren’t just for Richt, either.

“It’s our job to go out there and play, play to the best of our ability,” Boykin said. “I wouldn’t say heat, just pride in ourselves and our program, not wanting to be what we were last year. It was a terrible season for the University of Georgia. Just our pride alone will allow us to bounce back.”

As has been noted, it wasn’t like Georgia was getting hammered in 2010, with six of the seven losses coming by a total of 39 points, an average of 6.5 points, and four by seven points or less.

Richt minced no words, however, in how bad the 10-6 loss to Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl was.

“It wasn’t devastating,” he said.

“It hurt real bad. I didn’t enjoy it. But devastation means you’ve like blown up the program and it’s beyond repair, so I don’t think it was devastating. But it was awful. I can say that.

“We learned that we better compete harder and we learned we better finish better. That was the story of our season. We’ll see how well we learned it.”

Starting off in style

Maybe fresh threads will help wash away the stink of 2010.

Regardless, Georgia make a fashion statement to begin 2011.

Georgia will have new uniforms for the season opener against Boise State, but the details are still supposed to stay a secret.

Richt sat down with state and some national media before Thursday’s activity started.

He said the team saw the Nike-produced uniforms on Wednesday at a team meeting. At the start, Richt feigned anger when quarterback Aaron Murray and defensive back Brandon Boykin weren’t at the meeting.

“ ‘That’s what the heck’s wrong with this team,’ ” Richt said to his troops. “ ‘Two leaders of our team, we got a team meeting, and they don’t even show up on time.’ Ben (Jones) tried to say something, and I jumped Ben.”

Then Murray and Boykin strolled in wearing the new Nike Pro Combat uniform and gear, greeted at first by silence.

“Their jaws dropped,” Richt said. “Then they’re looking at me, and then they started getting excited. There was a lot of buzz in that room for at least five to 10 minutes before things finally settled down.”

Richt knows that uniforms don’t win games, and the Bulldogs have had mixed success with wardrobe adjustments, ranging from a great game against Auburn in a 45-20 win at home in 2007 to a wretched first half en route to a 41-30 home loss to Alabama a year later.

Sometimes a surprise change works, sometimes it doesn’t.

“Your focus may be gone, too, because you’re worried about what you look like,” Richt said. “We’re going to get all that over with before we go out.”

The public won’t get a look until late August.

Samuel boosts backfield

Returning Richard Samuel to where he began at Georgia, to tailback, is a plus.

“He’s a very mature physically man, he’s a mature man in the way he goes about his business,” Richt said. “He’ll be in that meeting room and he’ll be a great example of how to prepare and how to play the position of tailback.

“I know he holds onto the ball well, I know he’ll strike a backer. I know he’s fast I k now he’s powerful. He will play hard.”

Samuel, a 6-2, 243-pounder, has carried 114 times for 528 yards, an average of 4.6 yards. He’s caught eight passes for 50 yards in two seasons before moving to linebacker for what became a redshirt year.

He was a top-50 running back nationally coming out of Cass, No. 5 by ESPN, in 2007.

Samuel is also the unofficial No. 1 back going into the preseason, and Richt isn’t distressed over a fairly depleted and raw backfield.

“I’m not fretting right now,” he said. “I don’t lay awake at night going, ‘Oh my goodness, what do we do now?’ ”

He might if the absence of Carlton Thomas plays a role against Boise State. Richt confirmed his suspension.

“Carlton won’t play game one, I’ll say ‘team rules,’” Richt said. “You can figure out whatever you want.”

But Thomas will be back for South Carolina.

This story was originally published July 22, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Georgia notes: Richt: No doom only excitement."