The 2018 season for the Georgia Bulldogs was a team effort, as far as receiving is concerned. Several Dawgs did very well, but in the course of the season, the team seemed to be missing a dominant force. This is the second in a five-part series reviewing the year. The preceding segment examined the players who threw the ball; now we focus on those who caught it.
I decided to divide the receivers into three groups. Here's a breakdown on the total number of receptions divided in percentage by the wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs.
Different Bulldogs were the go-to-receivers throughout the season. There were 19 players with at least one reception this season, and nine different Dawgs had at least one touchdown. Six different receivers averaged at least one reception per game. Here is how they did, as we breaking down the 2018 season into two halves.
Here's a look at how Georgia’s top three receivers fared in terms of catching the ball, over the last ten seasons.
Here are the top three of the last ten seasons, in terms of yards receiving by season.
Riley Ridley led Georgia in all three major receiving categories: receptions, yards receiving, and touchdown receptions. His nine touchdown receptions were not only the most by a Ridley brother in a season (Calvin was an Alabama standout), but the second most ever by a Bulldog in a single season. Check out all the Dawgs who had nine or more in a season, and how many receptions they had in that season as well.
Ridley is one of the Bulldogs who declared for the NFL draft; another was Isaac Nauta. Over the past 20 seasons, Nauta has caught the third most passes in career by a Georgia tight end. Here are the top five.
What about throwing to the running backs? After two seasons, current Bulldog D’Andre Swift has had the fourth most receptions by a Georgia running back in that time period.
Mecole Hardman and D’Andre Swift each had six receptions in a game—the most by a Georgia player this season. Isaac Nauta and Swift each had five, tied for the second most with Riley Ridley, who had five on four different occasions.
Hardman was the only Dawg to reach the 100-yard mark in a game this season with 103 in the game against South Carolina. Terry Godwin (95) and Jeremiah Holloman (90) had the next highest totals.
Hardman had seven touchdown receptions this past season. Four of them were at least 44 yards in length. He had two more from at least this distance in 2017.
Godwin finished his career with 134 receptions. He finished in a tie for tenth all-time with Michael Bennett in career receptions as a Bulldog. His 1,800 yards receiving during his career were just 175 shy of tenth-place holder Juan Daniels’ career total.
Holloman against Florida and Ridley against Georgia Tech represented the only two occasions when Georgia had a player with two touchdown receptions in a game in 2018.
Tyler Simmons, Jayson Stanley, and Brian Herrien each had their first career touchdown reception in 2018.
In case you missed part 1 of the series, click here: Passing Stats
