The SEC media days are over.

Practice starts Aug. 2. 

The new football season is fast approaching for the Georgia Bulldogs, with the opening game a little more than a month away. 

The season begins as the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns come to Sanford Stadium for a 12:21 p.m. kickoff on Sept 4. 

For head coach Mark Richt and the rest of his Bulldogs squad, the season cannot get here soon enough.

“There’s an energy that we have this offseason that we probably haven’t had in a while, quite frankly,” Richt said. “And a lot of it has to do with the changes.”

The “changes” Richt refers to involve the new 3-4 scheme defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is installing.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt said he is excited about the energy surrounding the football program this season. PHOTO BY RYAN BLACK

“There’s a lot of young guys who are wondering where they fit in and where they are going to play, and that’s created a lot of excitement amongst the players, coaches and even the fans,” Richt said. 

Wideout A.J. Green is also ready for the season to start.

“This season, a lot of people are counting us out, but I believe that this team right here is real special with a lot of the older guys coming back, with our new quarterback,” he said. “That’s really going to open some eyes this year and going to help us win a lot of games.”

Georgia punter Drew Butler said he is confident that with the experience coming back on both sides of the ball and with the new 3-4 system taking hold in Athens this fall, there are pieces in place for Georgia to make a run at the SEC title.

He said he knows that it will be no cakewalk through the conference, though.

“If you look around, the West does have the reigning SEC champs,” Butler said. “Alabama is the ‘Beast of the West’ because they have the trophy. You can always expect good teams from the SEC, and I think the East will be competitive this year.”

 Senior linebacker undergoes toe surgery after off-field setback

 Senior inside linebacker Akeem Dent underwent surgery July 27 to repair an injured toe suffered in an off-field accident. Details about the accident were not released.

Recovery time for Dent is expected to be four to six weeks. 

Dent was No. 1 on the post-spring depth chart at the strong-side inside linebacker position, ahead of No. 2 Mike Gilliard and No. 3 Akeem Hebron.