Branden Smith to return punts, and other news

As Quinton once said, Branden Smith is a man who is "steadfastly attempting to break the sound barrier on the way to the end zone" every time he touches the ball.

So I'm glad some of his other skills have developed to the point that Coach Richt has named him the primary punt returner.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but as a guy worried that Richard Samuel just wasn't ready to play linebacker and would redshirt, I was interested to see this in The Albany Herald:

Q: How’s the health of the team heading into the opener?

A: Richard Samuel for us maybe would not be able to go, who would normally go. Chris Burnette, he’s iffy right now, but everybody else looks like they will be ready to play, which is great. Everybody is going to be able to practice this entire week who will probably play, so that’s good too.

You'll be able to get fried Oreos and Twinkies at Sanford this year. Surely that's not a good thing. And this, as Groo points out, shows a lack of attention to detail that I find disturbing. Greg McGarity, here is your first simple fix.

The NCAA can suck it. That ain't news, but it's worth re-iterating.

Sturdivant to play on Saturday? Good luck and God speed, my friend.

Finally, you have to like this from David Ching:

This much is clear: Richt seems pleased with the team that will debut Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

And if he's as happy as he seems, his status as one of the most consistent winners in college football leads me to believe that this just might be an exciting fall for those who follow Richt's team.