Who’s playing?

Saturday’s lineup for the South Carolina game is more or less a list of who’s not playing. This is Georgia’s first real challenge of the season and for the third straight season UGA will be without key starters. I commend Coach Mark Richt for sticking with team policy and benching any and all (star) players for breaking team rules and / or for not putting forth proper effort during practice. I’d imagine some Division I coaches wouldn’t do this, especially during a national televised conference game, but Richt once again shows how he’s not like most coaches by sticking to his policies. If he didn’t stick to the rules, then he’d undermine his coaching authority and it would be one step closer toward the players running the team as oppose to the coaching staff. Return specialist Thomas Flowers, offensive lineman Ian Smith, and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe will all miss Saturday’s game because of suspension.

In a surprising move, star sophomore wide receiver Mohammad Massaquoi will not start against the Gamecocks; however, he will play. According to coaches, Massaquoi hasn’t been putting forth the effort in practice to warrant starting for the Bulldogs on Saturday. I hope this serves as a wakeup call for Massaquoi because he’s a wonderful talent who could make it to the NFL. I want to see him play on Sundays and not be like other Georgia wide receivers that had good college careers but never got to showcase their talents as a professional. My message for Massaquoi, keep your freshman success in perspective, you’ve only had one good year – it’s going to take more than that if you plan on playing in the NFL.