ATHENS -- Caleb King certainly deserved a Thanksgiving feast.
Georgia's tailback was on a liquid diet for six weeks after breaking his jaw against LSU on Oct. 3, getting clearance only last week to begin chewing solid food again.
The concern had been that chewing could complicate the jaw's healing and possibly result in surgery.
King's first meal after six weeks of protein shakes?
"Went to Chili's and had steak," he said.
It has been an eventful season for the former Gwinnett County prep star, who was sidelined early with a pulled hamstring but has emerged lately as part of a promising tailback tandem with freshman Washaun Ealey.
King, a sophomore, is coming off the best three-game stretch of his UGA career, rushing for 71 yards against Tennessee Tech, 66 against Auburn and 77 against Kentucky.
"He is getting better and getting more comfortable and confident," offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. "The big thing is getting his confidence. There's a lot of pressure on these young men, especially when they come in highly recruited and a lot of people put pressure on them to be the next Herschel Walker from Day 1."
Said King: "I believe I'm doing well, I'm progressing. I've still got a lot of things to work on. I'm sure I'll hit those spots [in the off-season] and become a better back for next season."
Saturday's game at Georgia Tech will feature two of the state's top running-back prospects from the 2007 recruiting class: King and Tech's Jonathan Dwyer.
Georgia recruited both backs -- King successfully, Dwyer not.
"We tried like mad to get Jonathan Dwyer," Georgia coach Mark Richt said.
Dwyer's college career, of course, has far exceeded King's -- and most other folks'.
Stressful season
How has Richt handled the stress of the worst season of his head-coaching career?
"I think he's stayed the same person," Georgia quarterback Joe Cox said. "He hasn't changed when we struggled or changed when we have done well. He's in it with us, too, and I don't think he wants to be the coach that changes into a completely different person depending on how we do.
"He wants to still preach the same things he believes are right. He's been consistent the whole year, and that's been good."
Cox graduates in December with a degree in psychology and then hopes to start a coaching career of his own.
Etc.
Georgia is 1-8 vs. Georgia Tech in games, such as Saturday's, which the Bulldogs enter unranked and the Yellow Jackets ranked. Georgia's one victory under such circumstances: 2006, when the unranked Dogs upset the No. 16 Jackets. ... Georgia defensive tackle Kade Weston on the key to playing defense against Tech's spread-option offense: "Everybody has to focus on their own assignment. Don't try to be a hero or anything." ... Georgia's captains for Saturday: fullback Shaun Chapas, center Ben Jones, linebacker Rennie Curran and defensive end Demarcus Dobbs.
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