George Pickens on rumors and injuries

George Pickens acknowledged that he heard the talk. Yes, he knows how Internet rumors can get.

In the days leading up to Georgia’s game against Florida, Pickens, who missed the previous week’s game against Kentucky, was “said” to be unhappy. Others had the Alabama native on the verge of putting his name in the transfer portal.

Tuesday, Pickens confirmed his absence was due to an upper-body injury he suffered in the days leading up to Georgia’s game against Kentucky. As far as those rumors went, he did the only thing he could: he ignored them.

“I really wasn’t paying too much attention to that,” Pickens said. “When I wasn't on the field, I was encouraging the young guys, which makes me happy the most, because I was a freshman last year. I'd just text them all the time, always telling them to put their best foot forward in practice and let them know it would pay off in the game.”

In Pickens’ first game back, the Alabama native looked more like the receiver fans became accustomed to seeing as a freshman. Last year, he caught 49 passes for 727 yards and eight touchdowns, capped off by his school-tying record 12-catch for 175-yard performance in Georgia’s win over Baylor in the Sugar Bowl.

Against visiting Mississippi State, Pickens caught a season-high eight passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, providing quite the combo with freshman Jermaine Burton, who caught eight passes for 197 yards and two scores.

“He’s kind of similar to me last year,” Pickens said of Burton. “You really don’t have to tell him what to do. You just play your game, and he feeds off it. I see that, and that's what I mean by kind of helping other guys. It’s about me doing my part and them feeding off of my energy.”

Of course, Pickens’ return coincided with the debut of JT Daniels, who wowed fans by completing 28 of 38 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns, an effort that included four completions of at least 40 yards.

Pickens said the game plan with Daniels was not unlike any the Bulldogs used previously this year.

“No, it was the same plan that we had with the other quarterbacks, it’s just some quarterbacks throw different than others, some have a different trajectory.”

Pickens was asked how Daniels’ ball compared to that of former quarterback Jake Fromm.

“I feel JT is a Cali kid, he has a bigger arm. He’s throwing the ball in the air,” Pickens said. “It’s not going to be too flat or too low, it’s going to get there. It’s really the same with the other quarterbacks, they’re all competing and they all work hard.”

Pickens said his injury was a real problem.

“It was just a minor strain,” Pickens said. “It was an upper body injury, it was like, my shoulder. It was not nothing too painful, but I could not do it. Just to be on the safe side my coaches wanted me to stay off it and just cheer my team on.”

Pickens admits he was frustrated.

“It was kind of frustrating for me, because of course, every player wants to play,” Pickens said. “I never had an injury that I didn’t try to play through. It was frustrating, but it was good to see guys step up, the ones who play behind me and show their talents.”