During Mark Richt’s press conference with the media on Wednesday afternoon, the Georgia head coach announced that the Bulldogs will be without a key defensive player in their upcoming Belk Bowl matchup.

Linebacker and UGA sack leader Leonard Floyd won’t be on the field after receiving shoulder surgery on Tuesday.

“Leonard will not be available for this game,” Richt said. “He had some surgery yesterday to clean up his shoulder. We want to give him the maximum amount of time to be prepared for his senior year. So we made that determination to do that.”

With Floyd out for the Belk Bowl, that likely means extended playing time for true freshman Lorenzo Carter. Late in the season, Carter received some starts for the Bulldogs, thanks to Floyd struggling in a few conference games.

The former five-star recruit came on strong in the latter part of the season, picking up 19 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries.

Floyd, a strong candidate earlier in the season to declare for the NFL Draft, decided over the weekend that he will return for his junior