After a longer-than-expected rehab, fullback Brannan Southerland is back full-time this week.

Southerland, a senior from Dacula, originally fractured a bone in his left foot and had surgery at the end of last season before fracturing the same bone and having surgery again in June.

“There was a good week-and-a-half there where I was pretty down. I went home, stayed with my mom for a little bit,” Southerland said. “It was then that I kind of realized that this is going to affect the first half of the season … but the more you work out the better you feel.”

“Of course he was disappointed in it and he was in the tank when he first heard the news,” coach Mark Richt said. “But after a couple of days he had the mature comment like, ‘You know what coach, it could happen to anybody and this is where I’m at. I’m going to make the best of it.’”

Richt said the gameplan won’t change much with the return of Southerland, who led the team in scoring in 2006 with 10 touchdowns.

“No sir,” he said. “We won’t change a thing. We might be a little more apt to use him in goalline and short-yardage situations because we’ve done that in the past. But it’s not like those plays were out of the playbook (without Southerland in the lineup).”

Southerland also said that when he says he expects to be back full-time, he means it.

“I believe I’ll be able to go as many snaps as I’ll be called upon,” he said.”

In terms of blocking, Southerland’s experience should help a young offensive line that has had recent shifts and struggled against Alabama.

“It’s definitely good to get him back,” tailback Knowshon Moreno said. “He’s a big boy, he’s a veteran and it’s definitely going to help just to get the fullbacks back together.”

“It helps out a lot,” right guard Chris Davis said of Southerland’s return.

“His leadership, he’s a great leader, but you know Shaun’s been doing a great job for us these first five games. Brannan is just going to be able to keep them both fresh, rotate them in and out.”

Earlier in the week, Richt said that he hadn’t decided if it would be Davis or freshman Cordy Glenn starting at right guard, but the rest of the line is pretty set. Now it’s just up to them to improve.

“We have the potential,” Davis said. “That’s all it is right now is potential.”