Dominic Lovett and Georgia: a perfect match

Wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon was asked back in January to recall the message he gave transfer target Dominic Lovett prior to transferring from SEC rival Missouri.

It almost sounded like a warning.

“I said I want you to understand what you’re stepping into here culture-wise,” McClendon said. “Our culture is going to be something a little different. I’m not knocking any place that you’ve been, but our culture here is about the greater good. So, if you come in here looking for something in particular then you need to make sure that’s one thing you’re looking for.”

Fortunately for Georgia, it was.

During a post-practice session with reporters, Lovett went in-depth about his decision to become a Bulldog. Despite a season that ranked him among the top receivers in the SEC, he was hungry for more, and Georgia just seemed like the perfect fit.

“I’m just another weapon that’s been added to a team that’s already got plenty of weapons,” Lovett said. “I don’t really focus on individual goals. It’s a team sport. Without those other 10 guys on the field, I couldn’t do what I do, and without the defense, we couldn’t do what the offense is doing and vice versa. I just want to take it game by game, practice by practice, keep pushing and keep striving.”

Head coach Kirby Smart said it did not take long for him or the coaching staff to see how perfect a fit Lovett would be.

"We felt like he gave us depth and a play-maker at a position where we needed it. We were going to lose some good wideouts last year. We've lost a couple in the last couple of years. We played against him. We'd seen him in high school. We knew about him in recruiting. We saw what he did to us when we played him, and just felt like he was a really good player and a good asset to the program,” Smart said. “Once we were around him and knew what kind of person he was and his family, we felt like he was a good fit and a good match. It's just a tremendous blessing. I think he'd be the first to tell you the demands and what we're asking him to do every day at practice are taxing him more, but it's making him a more—hopefully, to be more of a complete player, which is what he wanted."

Statistically, Lovett is coming off a sophomore season at Missouri that saw him post some of the more explosive numbers in the league.

In 12 games (six starts), Lovett (5-foot-10, 187 pounds) caught 56 passes for 846 yards, an average of 15.1 yards per reception.

He already appears to have captured the starting job at slot, and along with fellow junior Ladd McConkey, could give Georgia one of the more explosive receiving duos in the conference.

“Whoever is out there we have the utmost confidence in to get the job done. I feel as if our offense is based on toughness and consistency,” Lovett said. “We’ve got multiple weapons that we can hit you with, both from an offensive and defensive perspective. It’s pick your poison. We’ve got everything basically that an offense would need and want.”

The Bulldogs were apparently an easy sell. Lovett said it did not take long during his visit to Athens to see he’d be a good fit.

“I felt that Georgia had a strong connection as soon as I entered the portal,” Lovett said. “When I came down here, they showed me around the facility, the nutrition, the academics, and it was basically everything that I was looking for in a program, the standard, how they develop young men and send them to the league, has been at a very high level. Coach Smart and the coaching staff were everything that I wanted.”

His new teammates quickly made him feel right at home.

“It was actually dope for me to meet some of the players I’ve met because I’ve looked up to them. Guys like Jalen Carter, Ladd McConkey, Marcus Rosemy, Brock Bowers … just meeting those guys and seeing how humble they are and having them welcome me with open arms was a big thing,” Lovett said. “Javon Bullard, K-3, (Kamari Lassiter), Malaki Starks, the whole team invited me in and that was a big thing for me coming from the transfer portal to a new place. It’s just a family-friendly environment.”

Smart and the Bulldogs had a closeup view of Lovett and what he could do during last year’s game in Columbia. The Tigers lead going into the fourth quarter before Georgia rallied to take a 26-22 win.

In that game, Lovett caught six passes for 84 yards.

“We mostly joke and laugh about it,” Lovett said. “They tease me when it comes on the TV, say things like ‘Hey Dom, there you are, and we just kind of laugh. It’s cool, but it is kind of funny seeing where I was and how I ended up here, from going against them to now playing with them.”