Johnson gets dismissed by head coach

ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia's linebacker corps grew uncomfortably thinner following Wednesday's announcement that freshman Josh Johnson has been dismissed from the team for unspecified disciplinary reasons and will transfer to Georgia Military College.

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"Although Josh is in good academic standing, he has fallen short of the expectations in some areas related to discipline," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. "We both agreed it would be in his best interest to spend next season at GMC to work on these areas of responsibility."

Johnson, who redshirted in 2004, was projected to be the Bulldogs' backup middle linebacker to Tony Taylor, who missed all of last year with a torn ACL.

Starter Derrick White was suspended for Georgia's first two games following his arrest in April after a fight in an Athens bar. That leaves junior Jarvis Jackson, sophomore Brandon Miller and Thomson junior Danny Verdun Wheeler as the only linebackers with game experience who will be available for the season-opener against Boise State.Georgia signed three linebackers - Marcus Washington, Jamar Chaney and Tavares Kearney - in February. They will likely have opportunities to play this season.

COOPER CHOOSES NEW SCHOOL:Former Georgia running back Michael Cooper, the Bulldogs' leading rusher in 2003, didn't go far to find his new college home.

The former Screven County star is headed to Division I-AA South Carolina State, Bulldogs coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough confirmed.

Cooper, who rushed for 672 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman in 2003, had just 70 yards on 29 carries last season when his only carries after the third game of the season came in a 62-17 rout of Kentucky.

LINEMAN SAVE LIVES: Two Georgia football players helped rescue three victims of a fiery multitruck crash that killed a trucker and injured five others on U.S. Highway 441 in Jackson County on Tuesday.

Russ Tanner and Dennis Roland, both starting offensive linemen with the Georgia Bulldogs, said they were on their way to South Carolina when the wreck exploded in front of their eyes.

The white semi skidded across the two-lane roadway and crashed into a ditch, where it burst into flames, the football players said.

The driver of a southbound log truck slammed on the brakes to avoid the other rig, but the truck jackknifed.

"We jumped out and heard them screaming in the other pickup," Tanner said. "The lady inside handed the baby to me, and I gave it to Dennis (Roland)."

After Tanner pulled the two adults through the pickup truck's broken driver's window, Roland called 911 and both football players ran to the white semi, which had caught fire. When a man and woman came tumbling out of the cab, Tanner said, "we drug them into a ditch to get them away from the fire."