Some comments by Georgia fans on Internet message boards today expressed delight that defensive tackle Geno Atkins’ mother talked to Loran Smith in a column in the Banner-Herald about her son returning for his senior season.

That would certainly be great news for the Bulldogs. I haven’t spoken to Geno about what his thinking is, but in general a word of caution is probably a good thing with comments made by underclassmen considering the NFL. Especially in October.

Remember 2004?

Safety Thomas Davis and linebacker Odell Thurman indicated strongly that they would return for their senior season. Two months later, they were gone to the NFL.

Players who are seriously considering making the jump don’t want to put that out there publicly when there are still games to play.

Let’s hope that Mark Richt wasn’t surfing the Internet on Tuesday.

The 2008 NFL Draft wasn’t even two days old yet, and already Georgia’s starting quarterback is being touted as a high pick in the 2009 draft.

SI.com has Matthew Stafford going No. 1 to the Chiefs. ESPN’s Todd McShay has the Chiefs taking him with the third pick. Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline has Stafford pegged as the top overall pick.

I addressed Stafford’s NFL stock for next season in a story that ran in Sunday’s newspaper.

Richt understandably didn’t want to delve too deep into the subject when I spoke with him about Stafford and the 2009 draft.