In just his first season, George Pickens posted numbers rarely seen from a Georgia receiver dating back over the past 10 years.
Only once since 2010 has a Bulldog wideout caught more than the 49 passes Pickens did as a true freshman last fall.
For those wondering, Malcolm Mitchell was the only Georgia player to eclipse that number, when he caught 58 balls in 2015, followed by Isaiah McKenzie (44 in 2016), Javon Wims (45 in 2017), and Riley Ridley (44 in 2018).
Now in his sophomore year, more is being expected for Pickens, who earned Sugar Bowl MVP honors after catching 12 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in the Bulldogs’ win over Baylor.
With all the hype that followed the former five-star to Athens, this was the kind of performance many envisioned when Pickens came on board.
Oh, we saw flashes early in the year. Two of Pickens’ five catches went for touchdowns in Georgia’s win over Missouri. His seven-catch, 98-yard effort in the Bulldogs’ overtime loss to South Carolina also stood as a high-water mark, until the breakout game in the Sugar Bowl.
Expect Pickens, who finished with 727 yards receiving and eight touchdowns, to be even more productive for the Bulldogs this fall.
That is, assuming he can become a more disciplined player than he was a season ago.
Pickens took a lot of heat from teammates after he was kicked out of the Georgia Tech game for fighting, an incident that forced him to sit out the first half of the SEC Championship against LSU.
This came after Pickens was suspended for the first half against the Yellow Jackets for what Kirby Smart deemed a “violation” of team rules.
Pickens knows he has to harness that energy and apply it in a more positive way.
“I've still got growing to do,” Pickens told reporters after the Sugar Bowl. “But I can kind of tell myself that I'm improving every day.”
He’s already pretty good.
Pickens’ knack for making acrobatic catches was highlighted during preseason camp, when a video leaked of the former Hoover standout making an amazing, one-handed snag during the course of a scrimmage at Sanford Stadium.
Fans at the Sugar Bowl got to see for themselves, when Pickens came down with another one-handed grab, another in what should be a long line of memorable catches before his Bulldog career is done.
“I just play football. When I see that guy running full speed, I try literally every option to avoid him,” Pickens said after the game. “I know it looks crazy when I'm trying to leap over people and risking injury, but I mean, I'm just playing football.”
No doubt Smart is thrilled, knowing he’ll be around for two more years.
Even if the next two seasons see Pickens only able to match his 49 catches, he’ll pass the likes of Hines Ward (144 catches) and Reggie Brown (144 catches) for career catches. With even a modest bump in production, he will challenge Mohamed Massaquoi (158), Fred Gibson (161), A.J. Green (166) and Malcolm Mitchell (174).
Four years and Pickens could challenge Terrence Edwards’ career mark of 204. Of course, that’s if he stays all four.
Considering how fewer and fewer top-echelon wideouts are hanging around that long, the idea of Pickens in a Georgia uniform as a senior is probably wishful thinking.
Fortunately for Bulldogs and their fans, that’s still two years away. Until then, enjoy the show.
