To say George Pickens is starting to develop some chemistry with quarterback JT Daniels would certainly qualify as an understatement.
It should also serve as an enticing preview of what the future may hold.
In Pickens’ first four games (he didn't play against Florida and Kentucky due to injury), Pickens combined to catch 13 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Since Daniels took over as the starting quarterback against Mississippi State, Pickens’ three-game total is 16 catches for 238 yards and three touchdowns.
“I’ll never overthrow George. All I’ve got to do is throw it up,” Daniels said. “A 50-50 ball to George is really an 80-20 ball. Probably the most important thing he does, and we talk about it at least once a week—I told him I’ll throw it to him every single time, as long as he promises it won’t get picked.”
Considering the level at which the two are currently executing, Daniels shouldn't have to worry much about that.
Against Missouri, Pickens enjoyed his second-best day from a statistical standpoint of his Bulldog career. He caught five passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, taking advantage of the fact that the Tigers’ secondary opted to use single coverage against the sophomore.
His only other occasion of surpassing 100 yards receiving was Georgia’s Sugar Bowl win over Baylor, when Pickens tied the school bowl record for catches with 12 (175 yards), earning the game's MVP honors.
“That was the first time you got a look when no one is playing help on George,” Daniels said. “That’s what it looks like when it's George one-on-one.”
It wasn't as if they were routine efforts, either.
His 36-yard touchdown grab with 36 seconds left in the second quarter was a sensational grab. It saw Pickens somehow snag the football just off the turf while in tight coverage.
Another seemingly impossible catch was made when Pickens displayed a pretzel-like body twist before coming away with the football.
“George—every time you don’t think he can catch it, he catches it. He finds a way to get the ball and catch it,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “He hasn’t reached his full potential. I think people just see him and think, man, he's a phenomenal wideout. He can work on his releases and win one-on-one even more often. He’s so good at adjusting the ball to his body and catching it.”
Now that Pickens appears to have found his groove, Smart hopes some of Georgia’s other receivers will, too.
“A lot of times he ends up covered, just because he doesn’t necessarily release the right way, but he wins the one-on-one,” Smart said. “JT’s got a lot of confidence in him, but JT has a lot of confidence in Jermaine (Burton), Tre’ McKitty, Kearis (Jackson). We’ve got to get the other guys to come along with that, too, and be able to help out.”
Between the two — Pickens and Daniels — Georgia’s offense was simply too much for the Tigers. Along with Daniels completing 16 of 27 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns, the Bulldogs also rushed 45 times for 316 yards, with Zamir White (126 yards) and Daijun Edwards (103 yards) each going over the 100-yard benchmark.
“Offensively, it was coming together, and what we’ve been looking for the past couple of weeks. That was our first real complete game,” Daniels said. “Mississippi State, we were great throwing, didn’t run it like we wanted to; South Carolina was more of a statement game, we came out and wanted to try and run it. Tonight, we threw when the looks said to throw and ran when the looks said to run.”
