| Richt teaches 'Scooter 101'

Freshman tailback Caleb King and redshirt freshman tight end NaDerris Ward were arrested last month by campus police for traffic violations while riding their motorized scooters. King was driving the wrong way down a one-way street and had a suspended license; Ward passed cars on the shoulder and did not have his license.

Traffic violations have not resulted in missed game time under Richt, but he felt it was time to address the basics.

"Once you break a rule or break a law, you've basically lost control of what happens," Richt said Saturday.

Richt used former defensive tackle Darrius Swain as an example of what happens when you don't pay tickets or show up in court. Swain had repeat traffic violations on a suspended license and wound up spending 22 days in jail during the summer of 2005.

Former offensive guard Kevin Breedlove (1999-2002) is credited with starting the program's scooter craze. There were nearly 30 of them parked outside the Butts-Mehre athletic complex for Saturday's first practice.

Senior tailback Thomas Brown does not travel by scooter but doesn't understand why scooter arrests become headlines.

"A lot of guys think a scooter is a lot like a bicycle and that you can do whatever when you're on the road, but to me it's not that serious," he said. "Little things we do get blown up, I swear, 10 times more than anything we do positive, and we did a lot of positive things this spring and summer that never got in the paper. Any time we do something negative, it's put out there like, 'Oh, Georgia messed up again,' like it's a big catastrophe."

Joined at the hip
During Richt's first four seasons, the two assistants most joined at the hip were defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder and secondary coach Willie Martinez.

Now the most close-knit tandem is offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and offensive line coach Stacy Searels. Their inseparability is understandable considering Searels is entering his first season at Georgia and Bobo is beginning his first full season calling plays.

"They're like brothers out there," senior center Fernando Velasco said. "Everywhere you see Coach Searels, you see Coach Bobo. Everywhere you see Coach Bobo, you see Coach Searels."

Not needing respect
Despite being ranked No. 13 in the USA Today preseason coaches' poll, the Bulldogs feel they are not getting much respect. Georgia was picked third in the SEC East at the league's annual media days and did not have a single preseason first-team selection.

"I kind of like where the team is right now," senior kicker Brandon Coutu said. "Everybody is trying to count us all out. I'm excited about playing an underdog role. It takes the pressure off everybody, and I think it will allow us to come together."

Odds and ends
Richt said reserve center Ian Smith's decision to leave the team was the result of concussions, neck injuries and migraine headaches. ... Freshman Justin Houston of Statesboro signed as a defensive end but has moved to strongside linebacker, where he is behind Darius Dewberry and Akeem Dent. ... Richt said determining whether junior Brian Mimbs or freshman Drew Butler punts may not occur until the final scrimmage of camp.

By David Paschall
Staff Writer