SPRING FEVER: Bulldogs prepare for annual G-Day game

The Georgia Bulldogs will conclude spring practice on Saturday with the annual G-Day game at Sanford Stadium. The G-Day game is a time where fans get an early look at the 2012 Bulldogs and while enjoying the first football game at Sanford Stadium since mid-November last year.

Based on last year where the Bulldogs reached the SEC Championship and the players that are returning for this season, the expectation level for this team is high. However, there are some areas of concern that has made interesting storylines this spring.

The first is the secondary and what will it look like once September arrives. Malcolm Mitchell has been working exclusively at cornerback this spring and is expected to play both ways this fall. Mitchell is not expected to play Saturday so expect Damian Swann and Blake Sailors to see a lot of action. Sanders Commings is the other starting corner but he will be suspended at the start of the season.

Also, expect Corey Moore to have a big role in the game since Shawn Williams will not play due to a knee injury. Moore has been getting high praise from his players and coaches, and could be the starter at the beginning of the season to take the place of Baccari Rambo who will be suspended for at least four games.

Another storyline to watch is the offensive line. With three starters gone from last year, offensive line coach Will Friend has worked hard evaluating his players to see which five lineman and the best. Friend recently told reporters that the starting five as of right now are guards Chris Brunette and Dallas Lee, tackles Kenarious Gates and Kolton Houston and center David Andrews. Gates and Brunette are the only full-time starters from last year. Lee did start a seven games last year but broke his leg after the eighth game of the season.

The starting quarterback position is not in question because Aaron Murray is one of the two best quarterbacks in the conference. The backup quarterback spot is another story because Hutson Mason is expected to redshirt this year. So that leaves the Bulldogs with Christian LeMay, Parker Welch and Faton Bauta to fight for the No. 2 spot. LeMay is the odds on favorite to win the job and he will have a great opportunity to do that on Saturday because he will be the starter for the Black team while Murray will start for the Red Team. Bauta will not have a chance to win the backup position because he suffered a minor knee injury.

Another player that will not play in the game is newly signed Keith Marshall who suffered a hamstring injury earlier in the week..

“It would have been nice to see Keith,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said to Georgiadogs.com. “He’s definitely a guy who we feel like we did a good job in recruiting. He’s a talented, hard working guy. Both he and Faton are doing an outstanding job in school. This mid-year experience has been good for them.”

Kickoff for the G-Day game will be at 3 p.m. The game will be televised locally via tape delay on CSS.

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