Thursday's are becoming one of the better days of the week in terms of interviews now that we're getting assistant coaches on a regular basis. Today we got defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads and running backs/special teams coach Eddie Gran.

Rhoads was especially complimentary of Georgia's offense.

"They're outstanding," he said. "They've got weapons at every skill position. They're outstanding at tailback. Their quarterback (Matthew Stafford) is just a sensational player. He's got the biggest arm we've seen all season but he's smart. He does things at the line of scrimmage that people don't see. He looks here and waits here and sets up a completely big picture for him to throw to and has the patience to do that.

"The freshman receiver (A.J. Green) is as good as anybody we've seen all season. He can make the big catch. He can go over the top of anybody and he can take it the distance if he gets it.

"(Wide receiver Mohamed) Massaquoi is a tremendous football player that's had a lot of success. I can go on and on through numbers and players. Their numbers and what they're doing reflect the talent that they have."

Rhoads didn't forget running back Knowshon Moreno.

"He doesn't go down very easy," he said. "You get him wrapped up and you think he's down and he slips away. He's fallen down and he plants a hand and keeps his balance and comes back out of there. I think he's got a heavyweight fighter mentality where he's coming at you every round. He shows that by how fast he bounces up and runs back to the huddle.

"That sends a message; that's an attitude that he sends to you that says, 'You got to bring more than that because I'm here for all 60 minutes.' If that gets to you with his success than that can wear you down. We've got to wrap up, we've got to gang tackle and we can't be satisfied until the whistle blows and he's on the ground."

Rhoads gaves two big keys for the defense Saturday. First, limit big plays.

"They've gotten big plays against everybody and chances are they're going to get one Saturday afternoon," he said, "but we have to limit them to a minimum number for us to have a chance for success."

Secondly, slow down the run.

"Their play action is built around being successful at running the football," Rhoads said. "If they can't be successful running the football then the play action shouldn't be as effective."

Easier said than done.

Some other tidbits:

• Gran didn't say who would start at running back Saturday, but he sounded high on sophomore Mario Fannin. "He's so physical," Gran said. "He brings that spark to the football team. He's down hill. He's missed some holes where he should have been, but he's not the only one who has done that. He's got to work on when the hole is there, he's got to hit. He does have tendency sometimes to stop, and get East and West. There's a time and place for that. He's hitting it more downhill now. He just brings a spark because of his energy. I think he's a big-play guy."

• WR Montez Billings has practiced this week but hasn't gone full speed. He's a maybe for Saturday.

• LB Merrill Johnson, who broke his hand against UT Martin, will play with a club on his hand. "He'll be out there and he'll be full speed," Rhoads said. Johnson's club isn't as big as the one Tray Blackmon wore earlier this year.

• DT Sen'Derrick Marks, DE Antonio Coleman and NG Tez Doolittle are all back and looking good. "It's probably immeasurable how much it helps (having them back)," Rhoads said. "I think they're as close to 100 percent as they're going to get. I don't know if they could rest a month and be any closer to what they're going to be for this football game."

• Morgan Hull will handle kickoffs. He's been better at getting hangtime than Wes Byrum. "There's a big difference between a 4.0 hang time and a 4.1 hang time than a 3.6 and a 3.7," Gran said. "It's a huge difference, and that's what Hull has brought to the table for us."