Game on.

Freshly-departed Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford is in Tampa this week for Super Bowl XLIII festivites, and will be participating in the annual Madden Bowl.

The yearly event held in conjunction with the Super Bowl pits NFL players against each other on the video game version of themselves and their teams.

Today, Stafford will compete against former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez in the first-ever “rookie play-in game.” That matchup will put the two quarterbacks most likely to be drafted first against each other for a chance to officially enter the eight-man tournament.

Other participants:

 Antonio Bryant – WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 Edgerrin James – RB, Arizona Cardinals

 Maurice Jones-Drew – RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

 Willie Parker – RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

 Justin Tuck – DE, New York Giants

 DeMarcus Ware – LB, Dallas Cowboys

SAMUEL HAS WRIST SURGERY

Sophomore tailback Richard Samuel had successful surgery Wednesday on a wrist injury he sustained during the Capital One Bowl.

The injury was described as “injured ligaments” in a Georgia Sports Communications release.

According to the release, Samuel will wear a cast for three months before having a second surgery to remove hardware. He will miss spring camp but is expected to be ready for the start of the 2009 season.

Samuel and classmate Caleb King were expected to compete for the spot left empty by Knowshon Moreno’s early departure for the NFL.

Samuel gained 133 yards on 26 yards in 2008, an average of 5.1 yards per carry. King got the majority of the carries spelling Moreno, toting the ball 61 times for 247 yards.