[JRL]

ATHENS, Ga. --

BY DAVID CHING

dching@ledger-enquirer.com
--­--
Mark Richt 's cautious optimism concerning Thomas Brown 's possible return for the Florida game has given way to a more realistic perspective.
He does not expect the senior tailback to be physically cleared to take on the rival Gators on Oct. 27.
"I don't think there's any chance he'll play against Florida," Richt said after Tuesday's practice.
Brown originally injured his collarbone against Ole Miss on Sept. 29 and discovered it was broken the following Saturday, at halftime of the Tennessee game.
Brown said team doctors wanted him to perform an X-ray on the shoulder before the game, but he asked them to put it off until halftime -- and then played the first half without feeling any physical discomfort.
"I didn't feel it at all. I was just getting it inspected before the game started and the doctor decided it was a problem with my collarbone. He said he wanted to X-ray it before the game and I told him I wanted to wait until halftime," he said. "I played the whole first half and didn't have any problems out of it."
But he was held out after the X-ray revealed the break -- an injury that typically takes 4-6 weeks to heal. The Florida game would be the four-week mark, but Brown said that will be too soon for a tailback to return because of the physical pounding the shoulder would take each play.

Full Story