It’s a smarter version of Richard LeCounte that will be taking the field for Georgia in the Bulldogs’ season-opener at Vanderbilt.

Those aren’t LeCounte’s words, but head coach Kirby Smart.

“Yeah, Richard is much wiser. He's much more coachable. He understands he's in pursuit of excellence, not perfection, and there's a difference,” Smart said. “I think that as he grows, he can help younger players in that room realize you're not going to be perfect, but we are in pursuit of excellence. When a coach asks you something, challenges you, it's just to help you, and he's now much more receptive of that. I think it's made him a lot better player.”

So does LeCounte, who has a sophomore led the Bulldogs in tackles with 74.

However, it’s the tackles he didn’t make, and a few admitted lapses in fundamentals, that kept the former Liberty County standout from reaching the potential he hopes to achieve come fall.

“Coach Smart sometimes called me ‘Rattrap Richard,’” LeCounte smiled. “It’s been me trying to farm other people’s land, so that’s definitely been a big improvement I’ve been looking to make. I feel good about that now.”

LeCounte claims other changes have been made, changes in his game that will help make him a more consistent performer, one who can be counted on to make a play whenever the opportunity should arise.

For example:

“Angles to the ball, being able to rely more on the other safety to help me make easier tackles, being able to rely on my teammates more, my pass and run keys, things like that,” said LeCounte, who during the offseason bulked up to 195 pounds, some 10 pounds more than he played at last year.

“Coach Smart definitely pushed me a lot to bulk up and make sure I pay attention to the details that I needed for my play to go to the next level and be able to help the team,” LeCounte said. “That’s what I did, now that it’s clicked, I think I’m playing some good ball.”

For the first time since Monday, Brenton Cox’s name is officially off the Georgia football roster.

Head coach Kirby Smart has yet to comment on Cox, but Thursday his name was omitted from both the online roster on Georgiadogs.com and the roster handed to reporters entering the practice field.

Linebacker Azeez Ojulari was asked what Cox’s loss would mean for the linebacking corps, but deferred the question to Smart, who will address the media following Saturday’s scrimmage.

“That’s my brother,” Ojulari said. “I wish him the best.”

Redshirt freshman Divaad Wilson has caught the attention of Lanning.

“It’s early, but Divaad’s a really, really sharp football player; very smart, can adjust on the fly, understands the mechanics of the secondary, and can play multiple positions,” Lanning said. “He's one of those guys we're talking about when you can do stuff with somebody, what can they do. He’s one of those guys that can play multiple positions.”

Currently, Wilson, whose only game as a freshman came in the Sugar Bowl, appears to be working primarily at Star, where he, Mark Webb, and Tyrique McGhee seem to be the main three battling for the starting job.

“He’s very smooth in transition, He has a cover background. I think we're continuing to challenge him to continue to get more physical and run,” Lanning said. “That's something I think we're going to see here in the next few days of practice and the next few weeks leading up. Divaad’s a very sharp player who adjusts really well, which is required for our defense.”

“I am just happy he is really out there. I literally remember the first play of this year during camp, and he burst through a hole and me, William Poole, all looked at each other like ‘Dang, he was really moving on them.’ So I'm really excited to see what he's going to bring.” - Eric Stokes on Zamir White.

…Tight ends Eli Wolf and Ryland Goede were not seen at practice during the media’s 12 minutes of availability. There was no immediate word from the University on why. Backup linebacker Nate McBride was also not seen.

…The Bulldogs will hold their seventh practice of fall camp Friday (it will be closed to the media) before going through their first scrimmage of the preseason Saturday at Sanford Stadium.