TideSports.com - SEC Media Days outtakes

July 19, 2012

Aaron Suttles
TideSports.com Senior Writer

Richt on discipline

Georgia coach Mark Richt addressed team discipline issues that continue to plague the Bulldogs.

Four defensive starters face suspensions at the beginning of the season, although Richt refused to go into specifics about how each suspension would be handled.

Richt previously stated that starting cornerback Sanders Commings faces a two-game suspension and will miss the season opener against Buffalo and the first conference game at Missouri. Commings was arrested in January on a domestic violence/simple battery charge.

Branden Smith, the other projected starter at cornerback, is facing a one-game suspension for a charge of possession of marijuana in March.

Also in March, a report surfaced that All-America safety Bacarri Rambo and starting inside linebacker Alec Ogletree face multiple-game suspensions for violations of team rules. Asked to elaborate on the suspensions of Rambo and Ogletree, Richt declined to comment.

"I'm not going to update anything other than we know that Sanders Commings has a two-game suspension," Richt said. "Anything else we'll let you know sooner or later, but not at this moment."

On why his program continues to have discipline issues, Richt said people make mistakes.

"When they do, you discipline it," he said. "Some (programs) have policies, as you mentioned earlier, that bring certain things to light, and some people don't.

"I love every guy on our team. Part of love is to be able to help teach them right from wrong. When they make mistakes, you need to discipline them in such a way that, hopefully, they'll become better men down the road.

"That's what we do at Georgia. To say that issues aren't happening around the country isn't really realistic."

Bray likes challenge

Tennessee junior quarterback Tyler Bray knows the Volunteers' chance for a turnaround season rests largely on the shoulders the passing game.

Bray, a 6-foot-6, 215-pounder with an NFL-type arm, was hamstrung with losing one of his top targets a year ago, when Justin Hunter missed three-fourths of the season to injury. In the three games Hunter played, he averaged 104.7 yards receiving per game.

A healthy Hunter alongside Da'Rick Rogers has Bray excited.

"I like it. Everybody's putting it on us as an offense," Bray said. "It's my third year going into it. It's the third year for a lot of guys on the offensive line, and collectively as a group, we like it to be on our shoulders instead of anything else. I feel like our offense can do anything. We have running backs. We have receivers. We have a lot of skill guys. Our offensive line has a lot of depth now and a lot of experience. I feel like we'll be great."

Building on Oxford

First-year Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze knows he has a rebuilding job in front of him. Undeterred, he plans to use the cultural and social atmosphere at Ole Miss to recruit.

"I think Oxford, Miss., is a great place to live," Freeze said." Where else could you go in the state of Mississippi where you find a town and university that is the home of three national championships and six SEC championships?

"You can ask Eli (Manning) and guys why they come back (to live)."

Freeze then jokingly asked the media to help send the word of what Oxford has to offer.

"If you want to tweet that out, that would be great."

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