The Georgia Bulldogs continue to rack up stats in an unwanted category — players transferring or leaving the football program.

On Wednesday, running back Ken Malcome added his name to the list.

Bulldogs running back Ken Malcome (24) told Georgia head coach Mark Richt of his plans to transfer prior to Wednesday's practice. Photo from FILE

“He walked into my office just prior to practice and felt like he had got so far behind at the competition at his position he felt like he needed to go to another school to get a fresh start and maybe get a better opportunity to play,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said in his post-practice press conference.

Richt did not close the door on Malcome returning to the team, though.

“If Ken came to me tomorrow and said, ‘Coach, I lost my mind, and I’m sorry. I’d love to come back and compete here at Georgia,’ I’d hug his neck and say, ‘Come on,” Richt said.

In other transfer news, Richt also confirmed that cornerback Derek Owens is leaving, but offered no further comment on the matter.

Counting Malcome and Owens, the Bulldogs have had 12 players leave the football program since the end of last season, not including graduating seniors or those departing for the NFL early.

Richt did not dispute that the rate of attrition seems higher than previous years.

“All it’s going to do is allow us to sign a full boat of recruits again, which will be a very positive thing if we bring in the right guys,” he said.

Richt understands the circumstances when it comes to players deciding to seek newer, greener pastures.

“What happens is young men — and I’m talking in general terms — and we all kinda know this, most everybody we recruit was the best player on their team or one of the best players on their team,” he said, “and just by virtue of the fact they were that talented and showed up, they were gonna play. There’s a lot of guys with tremendous work ethics, but whether they work hard or don’t work hard, some guys are just flat-out better and they’re gonna play. Then they get into a situation where they get around other athletes like them, and now you’ve gotta compete, and learning how to do that is very difficult sometimes. Some guys will see the mountain too high to climb and then decide to go somewhere else, and that’s fine … I want all these guys to get the opportunity to play and I want all of these guys to get an opportunity to get their education, but I think there’s some value in fighting.”

And that’s what Richt likes to see — persistence.

“You hear about guys maybe going, but then they stay and compete, and they get bigger, stronger, get more seniority … and other guys that are ahead of them transfer,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, there they are. They’re playing, and they’re so thankful they stuck around and saw it through.”

One of those players who stuck it out while he battled thoughts of transferring is one of the most decorated Bulldogs in history.

“I’ll never forget David Pollack coming in my office as a freshman during camp and he was down,” Richt said. “He’s like, ‘I can’t do anything right. Coach [Rodney] Garner is all over me. I think I might have made a mistake. I don’t know if I can play here.’ … It’s hard to all of a sudden compete at a level you never had to. The guys [transferring] aren’t bad kids at all. Instead of fighting, they choose to move on, and the kids that do that, they’re a bunch of good kids.”

Georgia scout teamers ‘gutting it out’ despite lack of numbers

Off-the-field transfers aside, Richt was able to take positives from the Bulldogs’ Wednesday practice, as gameday against the “other” Bulldogs of Missississippi State inches ever closer.

“I thought yesterday was outstanding and I thought today definitely had its bright spots,” Richt said, “[so] I think we got better today.”

Richt credited the scout team for doing its best to try to simulate the offense Missississippi State head coach Dan Mullen will bring into Sanford Stadium on Saturday.

He just wishes there was more depth.

“I love every one of those guys and they’re working their tail off, but the problem is we don’t have enough of them sometimes, and they’ve got to go every rep,” he said. “Offensively or defensively, you might have an offensive line rolling in and out of there, and receivers rolling in and out and running backs rolling in and out. Then you’ve got some of these scout teamers that take every single rep, so it’s hard for them to maintain it for the amount of practice time we have. There are guys gutting it out there — and like I said, I’m really thankful for the guys that are there — but it’s tough on them.”

Injury updates

Richt expects both inside linebacker Christian Robinson and wide receiver Marlon Brown to be healthy enough to play on Saturday after taking part in practice this week.

Right guard Chris Burnette (knee) is “making progress” according to Richt, but has not practiced this week.

Wide receiver Rantavious Wooten (concussion) has not practiced, either, and Richt does not expect him to be available against Mississippi State.