Coach Mark Richt was unavailable for comments following Georgia’s first practice, but below are some quotes from graduate assistant Todd Hartley, who is now in charge of the secondary, punter Drew Butler, and linebacker Rennie Curran.

Graduate assistant Todd Hartley:

On when he found out the coaches were being dismissed and he would be coaching the secondary for the bowl game:

“Well, we were kind of kept in the dark as well. Nobody really knew, and we found out at the team meeting just like the rest of the players. He didn’t come to me at that point because he didn’t know if they were coaching the bowl game or not. He actually came to me Friday afternoon, that’s when I found out. He called me up and told me I’d have the opportunity to coach the defensive backs in the bowl games.”

On if he’s spoken to coach Martinez, who he has assisted in coaching the secondary all season:

“I’ve talked to him a couple times. He just said be confident, and he knows im confident. I think that if I wasn’t confident, Coach Richt wouldn’t have put that responsibility on my shoulders and Coach Doolittle’s shoulders.”

On whether they’ve sat down and created a game plan for Texas A&M:

“We have. It has been a big recruiting week, coaches out on the road, Coach Garner has been in and out, I was out a day last week, but this week we have sat down and put a game plan together and we have a great game plan I feel so far. It’s early, we still have a lot of time, 13 or 14 practices left, but they’re a good ball team. If yall have seen some stats on them, they have a pretty prolific offense I think it’s the no. 5 offense in the NCAA. Really good qb, athletic, he’s big , 6′5″ 243 pounds, 28 tds, 6 ints, that’s pretty stout… so we have our work cut out for us.”

On whether or not he will still be in charge of the secondary if Richt makes his hires prior to the bowl game:

“As far as I know from what I’ve been told by Coach Richt, he said you’re the defensive backs coach for the bowl game, so take that as it is.”

Asked whether or not he’d be pushing for one of the openings if they pitch a shutout with three or four interceptions:

“Man, that’d be great. I’d be pushing for it, don’t you think? And I’d hope the players would be pushing for me too. But I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about getting our players ready to play, and I believe the results will speak for themselves. You just got to go out, have a good plan, solid, can’t be too complicated, can’t be too predictable. The main thing we want is seniors last game, last time to wear the red and black, play for them, get the guys ready to play out in Shreveport, and they’ll be ready to play and that’s our main job.”

On the responsibilities of a graduate assistant:

“Graduate assistants, we do the grunt work, break down film, run scout team, get scouting reports out to players, help with drills – the behind-the-scenes stuff. I do have to go to school. I just finished my final paper -10 pages – last week on Adult Education: Third World Countries. So had school going on, had recruiting, and had this going on…So it can get a little overwhelming, but that’s part of it.”

Punter Drew Butler:

On how he was able to have such a great first season starting:

“Yeah, I really just got myself focused. These past two summers I wasn’t going to be the starter. I knew Brian [Mimbs] had the job. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t focused [previously], but this summer, I knew this was my year. This was an opportunity that I had to seize, and I wasn’t going to let it slip by. I really worked hard on my technique, my drop, and really just refined my game in any and every way that I could.”

Linebacker Rennie Curran:

On the three defensive coaches departure:

“It was tough. Before the team meeting, I didn’t know about it, but ESPN knew and newsflash popped up that coaches had been let go. It was just a big shock and I wasn’t ready to hear that. That was one of the main reasons I came to Georgia, is because I felt like there really wasn’t going to be any coaching chances and any type of drama concerning that. It’s tough to see those guys go when you’ve worked with them everyday and they love you and kind of become like your second fathers, advise you on everything, being away from home and everything…so you know its tough to see them go.”

On if he’s been told who the defensive coordinator would be:

“Definitely not. I just know that Coach Richt is going to make the best decision possible for the best guy for the job.”

On if he’s talked to Martinez or any of the other dismissed coaches:

“Definitely I did. Its tough to talk to them. They’ve become like second father, and it’s unbelievable to walk into a practice or film room and them not be there to give you advice. I feel like after everything that has been said, I really felt like we could have bounced back, and to some extent, we had some control over that because we’re the ones on the field making plays in the position to make plays – so it’s a tough pill to swallow.”

On the two-week break from practice:

“I definitely think it was very good that we had that long break to get our minds right mentally and refocus and kind of let that time pass where were so down about the coaches being gone. It’s really good to get away from football for a little bit, relax and get our bodies right and get back in the weight room. I think all that helped to where when we get back on the field we’re relaxed and we’re not too worried about the coaching chances because that time of mourning has passed. So I wouldn’t say it was easy to get back on the field, but it was a little bit better because we hadn’t been out there for a while…so that excitement of just playing the game took over, and we had a lot of fun out there today.”

Also, check out these two articles with additional quotes I wrote after yesterday’s practice. The first article focuses on the players first practice since Richt’s major announcement last week of changes on the coaching staff. It also addresses the rampant speculation that Rodney Garner will be leaving after the bowl game if he isn’t given the defensive coordinator job.

http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2009/12/13/Sports/With-Coaches.Departed.Bulldogs.Start.Anew-3850485.shtml

Rennie Curran and Reshad Jones have a major decision after the bowl game: How will their former coaches departure affect that decision? Also, Drew Butler comments on the impressive hardware he received at the ESPN College Football Awards.

http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2009/12/13/Sports/Curran.Jones.Have.Plenty.On.Their.Minds-3850486.shtml

With final exams taking place Monday through Wednesday for Georgia’s players, they won’t hit the practice field again until Wednesday afternoon, when they begin preparation for December 28th’s AdvoCare100 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.