Georgia head coach Mark Richt talked about his team and took questions from callers during the first hour of the Bulldog Hotline radio show on Monday night.

Richt and the Bulldogs (5-2, 3-2 in the SEC) travel to Jacksonville, Fla. to face Florida (6-1, 4-1) this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The game will be shown on CBS. The winner of this game will likely be the SEC East champion.

Richt said he knows that Georgia fans will do their part to support the Bulldogs in Jacksonville, and he assured listeners that the team and coaches will do what they can to win the game.

The Bulldogs were off last Saturday, so the team did not practice Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Richt said most of the players went home and spent time with their families.

Richt spent last Saturday in front of the television watching college football. He saw Arkansas’ quadruple overtime win over Auburn, Alabama’s 19-14 win over Tennessee and Georgia Tech’s blocked kick return on the final play to beat Florida State. The Georgia coach said it was a good day to watch college football.

The Arkansas-Auburn game was a reminder to Richt that Georgia needed to work on its two-point plays. Once a college football game reaches a third overtime, teams are required to try a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown.

Richt said the off week helped many of the banged up players heal. Tight end Jay Rome and defensive tackle Trent Thompson had ankle injures. Wide receiver Reggie Davis had a thigh injury. Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, linebacker Jordan Jenkins and defensive tackle Chris Mayes were also able to heal.

The temperature for Saturday’s game is supposed to be in the high 70s or low 80s in Jacksonville.

Richt was asked by one caller if 260-pound fullback Quayvon Hicks was going to carry the ball at some point. The coach didn’t answer the question, but said the fullback is primarily a blocker in Georgia’s offense, and will occasionally be used as a receiver. He also said Hicks is a good football player, and a good athlete for his size.

Richt explained that he usually defers when he wins the coin toss. His thoughts are if you kick off to start the game, and then have a defensive stop, you can potentially get the ball in good field position on your first possession. And then you’ll get the ball to start the second half. But he also said that in some situations, he would receive to start the game if Georgia won the toss.

Another fan asked if senior running back Keith Marshall might get more touches. Richt praised Marshall and his perseverance through injuries, and said he was a good back. But he also said that there were situations in the team’s last game against Missouri when other backs were better options.

Safety Dominique Sanders will sit out the first half of the Florida game after picking up a targeting penalty in the second half of the Missouri game. Richt explained that when a player must sit out the first half after a targeting penalty, he can warm up with the team before the game, but he cannot be on the sideline during the first half.

Richt said Florida deserves credit for what they’ve done this season. The Gators went 4-8 and 7-5 the past two years, but are currently 6-1 this season under new coach Jim McElwain, and sit at the top of the SEC East standings.

Richt was asked how much a win could influence a recruit’s decision to go to Georgia instead of Florida. Richt said it could help. But he also said that there were a lot of factors that go into a recruit’s decision, including depth chart, schemes and potential for playing time. But he admitted that if the Bulldogs play well when a recruit is watching, it can certainly help their chances of signing the recruit.

Richt was asked why Georgia doesn’t roll out its quarterback much. He said they do have some rollouts and bootlegs in the playbook, but that a quarterback’s mobility plays a big part in how often they do that. And he conceded that his current starter, Greyson Lambert, isn’t an extremely mobile quarterback, so they don’t roll him out much.

A caller pointed out that this year is the 40th anniversary of the wide receiver pass from Richard Appleby to Gene Washington for the game-winning touchdown in the 1975 Georgia-Florida game, and asked if the current Bulldogs ever practice trick plays. Richt said he was for anything that would lead to an easy touchdown. Richt said the team does have some trick plays, but also said that sometimes certain non-trick plays are even more effective.

The Bulldogs are traveling to Jacksonville on Thursday night.

Bulldog Hotline airs on Monday nights from 8-10 p.m. Hosted by Georgia play-by-play man Scott Howard, the show’s first hour features Richt taking calls from Bulldog fans. The show can be streamed online at this link to Georgia’s radio broadcasts.