Following the first scrimmage of fall camp, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart expressed displeasure with the way the receiver group played. With the departures of Riley Ridley, Terry Godwin, Mecole Hardman Jr., and Akhil Crumpton, as well as the dismissal of Jeremiah Holloman, the statement wasn’t what Georgia fans wanted to hear.

“I’ve been pleased with those wide receivers, the work ethic, the things they’ve done in practice up until today,” Smart said after the first scrimmage last Saturday.

The second scrimmage told a different tale for the group of wideouts. When asked who hit on some of the most explosive plays during the second scrimmage of fall camp Saturday, Smart didn’t hesitate.

“Receivers,” he said. “Last scrimmage it seemed like a lot of the backs, the backfield, had some big plays. It was the wideouts as a group. (Lawrence) Cager had one. George (Pickens) had one. Tyler (Simmons) had one. Trey Blount had one. We had several guys have explosive plays. Explosive to me is over 12, 13 yards. Kearis (Jackson) had a big one. So it seemed pretty balanced on the explosive plays.”

The progress from the first to the second scrimmage was encouraging to Smart, but as always, he thought more could be made.

“I think you can always do more,” Smart said. “And that’s what we’re trying to do. I’m very pleased with that group’s effort, toughness, resilience, pushing-through-contact toughness. There’s some balls that probably should have been caught today, but that’s probably always going to be the case.”

Although the group is nowhere near perfect at this stage of the year, the fact that the wideouts were able to produce some big plays is noteworthy. Of the 2,091 yards receiving produced strictly by wideouts last season, only 177 yards belonged to receivers currently on the roster. Tyler Simmons had 138 and Trey Blount had 39.

Georgia returns roughly eight percent of their receiving yardage from wideouts in 2019. With the additions of Lawrence Cager, George Pickens, and Dominick Blaylock to go along with Kearis Jackson and Tommy Bush ditching their redshirt status, the Bulldogs will have to rely on some new faces in the passing game.

George Pickens, in particular, has caught the attention of Smart as a guy who can contribute to the success of the team right away. When asked about the footage of Pickens’ one-handed catch in the first scrimmage being released, Smart had nothing but praise for the receiver.

“I mean, I saw it live, so, I’m like, shoot, he’s special,” Smart said. “Great catch, he’s had, and I wouldn’t say just like that, but several one-handed catches in practice. He’s a talented player, but he’s got to learn his assignments and learn what to do because he could certainly help us."

The receiver group has roughly two weeks left of practice to put it all together before the team travels to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. But, if Saturday’s scrimmage is any indication, the group is certainly trending upwards.