Spring practice is a time for learning and Georgia’s two early enrollees at wide receiver are getting a crash course.
Every day is new experience by De’Nylon Morrissette and C.J. Smith, but according to fellow wideout Ladd McConkey, the duo is making progress.
“They’re both great. All the freshmen have come in and had the same mindset. They want to get on the field and take someone’s position that has been playing. They’re putting their head down and grinding just like all of us,” McConkey said. “They’ve made great strides and I’m excited to see how they go.”
The newcomers obviously bring some welcomed talent into the equation.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Smith is a former high school track star, wining the Class 2A state championship in the 100- and 200-meter. His 100-meter time of 10.5 ranked fourth nationally in the 2020-21 season.
Morrissette, meanwhile, is coming off a senior season at North Cobb which saw him catch 63 passes for 824 yards and seven touchdowns.
“C.J. and De’Nylon, they’re both very fast. They’re learning the playbook, they’re eager to learn and doing whatever they can to go out and make plays,” junior wideout Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint said. “They’ve still got a lot to learn but they are very smart, they’re good kids and I can’t wait to see them also.”
With George Pickens and Jermaine Burton no longer part of the program, head coach Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken are looking for their newcomers to make an impact fall.
Fellow freshmen Dillon Bell and Cole Speer will join the team next month, but it’s also hoped that returning sophomore Jackson Meeks will take a step forward and join Rosemy-Jacksaint, AD Mitchell, McConkey, Kearis Jackson and Arian Smith as key figure in the rotation.
“Jackson (Meeks) is growing, he’s getting better. I don’t know if he’s been here two years - maybe he has. It seems like he’s been here for a shorter time than that,” Smart said. “He’s got to get to where he can help us on special teams, he’s got to be who he is. He’s really physical, strong. He had some balls he probably should have caught the other day and he’ll be the first to tell you that. But he also made a couple of plays, so when that happens, I just look for more consistency and contribution on special teams.”
McConkey believes that he will.
“Jackson from last year to this year, he’s made such an improvement,” McConkey said. “Just the way he’s shaped his body, his route running; he’s going to be a great player, too.”
If work ethic means anything, their opportunities could be coming sooner than later.
“I feel like throughout the entire winter workouts, they were engaged, they were working,” Kearis Jackson said. “There was no complaining because the standards was already set.”
McConkey said both players understand the challenge ahead.
"Nothing is given around here,” McConkey said. “Coach Smart talks about you’ve got to earn everything, so I feel like that’s my shoes, that’s anybody who is playing. You’ve got to go out there, prove you can do it in practice and transfer it over to the games.”
