NEW ORLEANS — Georgia freshman tailback Knowshon Moreno has gotten the recent headlines, but senior Thomas Brown will get the start tonight.

Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said Brown will be the first of three Georgia tailbacks to carry the ball against Hawai'i when the Sugar Bowl kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. Hawai'i time) in the Louisiana Superdome.

"As exciting as Knowshon has been, Thomas Brown has been equally effective and actually has a little better yards-per-carry average,'' Richt said. "Thomas Brown will start the game.''

Richt has kept a close eye on the Georgia backfield during Sugar Bowl practices.

Moreno has worked to recover from a sprained ankle suffered in the Nov. 24 regular season finale against Georgia Tech. Senior tailback Kregg Lumpkin is back in the mix after suffering a knee injury Oct. 13 against Vanderbilt that required surgery.

Richt said his decision to start Brown in the Sugar Bowl is based on practice performances.

"He (Moreno) didn't practice full speed in bowl practice,'' Richt said, "but the last couple of days he looked good.''

Apparently, not good enough to keep the starting duties after Brown erupted for 139 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries against Georgia Tech on Nov. 24. Moreno, meanwhile, had 45 yards on 17 carries in Georgia's 31-17 regular-season ending win.

The 5-foot-8, 200-pound Brown is no stranger to the spotlight, having made 26 career starts and gained 2,573 yards rushing, which ranks sixth in Bulldogs' history — 9 yards short of fifth.

Brown overcame a knee injury suffered last season to start the first six games of this season before being knocked out of Georgia's 35-14 Oct. 6 loss to Tennessee with a collarbone injury.

With Brown sidelined the next three games, the 5-foot-11, 207-pound Moreno took over the starting spot at tailback and held it the remainder of the regular season with eye-opening performances.

Moreno, a consensus freshman All-American, finished with a 1,273-yard rushing season that ranks seventh-best in Georgia history and fourth-best in SEC history among freshmen.

"Our very first game of the year (Moreno) was our No. 3 tailback behind Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin, two established seniors,'' Richt said. "But you look at that Oklahoma State game (a 35-14 Georgia win) and Knowshon had 20 carries, so we knew what we had.''

Everybody in the nation knew after Moreno posted 100-yard plus rushing efforts in his first five starts before suffering the ankle injury against Georgia Tech.

Lumpkin is the biggest back in the group at 6-1, 222. The team's leading rusher in 2006 with 798 yards, Lumpkin started this season on the Doak Walker Award watch list.

Richt said he's been impressed with Lumpkin's efforts to get back into game shape.

"Does he look 100 percent and full speed? No,'' Richt said. "But I think all he needs is a little adrenaline.''

And will Moreno be 100 percent?

"I think he'll start the game looking like it,'' Richt said. "We'll see how he'll react to it when he gets contact.''

Warriors coach June Jones said Hawai'i has made it a priority to be ready to stop whoever runs the ball.

"The thing we'll have to do is tackle that running back,'' Jones said. "It doesn't matter what defense is called.

"We do have a pretty good front seven; the biggest concern I have is when he breaks through the front seven, are we physical enough on the back end?

"It's going to be an unbelievable challenge.''

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