Growing up in Chatsworth, approximately 30 minutes from the Tennessee state line, redshirt sophomore Ladd McConkey acknowledges he didn't grow up rooting for Georgia.

It was the team up north in Orange and White that held his attention.

“Really, funny story: every bit of my friends grew up Georgia fans. My family grew up Tennessee fans. That’s how my grandfather was, how my dad was raised,” McConkey said. “When I was growing up, Georgia fans were after me all the time, trying to get me to change over. But once I got over here for a visit, there was no denying that this was where I needed to be.”

The Bulldogs are certainly happy he did.

With all the injuries to Georgia’s receiving core, the redshirt freshman is playing an integral early role for the Bulldogs, who entertain UAB in Saturday’s season-opener (3:30 p.m., ESPN2).

Against Clemson, McConkey’s 24 snaps were the fifth-most by a Bulldog receiver, catching two passes for 12 yards.

“Playing as much as he did … It was an awesome experience, just getting the opportunity to go out and there and be with my teammates,” McConkey said “It was great.”

McConkey’s recruitment was one of the feel-good stories for Georgia’s 2020 class.

As a senior in Chatsworth High, he was not exactly besieged with offers. In fact, before Georgia got into the mix, his only offers were from Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern, and Coastal Carolina.

Family favorite Tennessee gave a look, but never pulled the trigger with a scholarship offer. When Georgia did, McConkey jumped at the opportunity.

“It definitely changed my thinking, having a school like the University of Georgia reach out,” McConkey said. “It was humbling. It was a great experience, a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

One of the reasons McConkey likely did not receive a lot of offers was his size.

“The end of my senior year, I was maybe a buck-65 soaking wet,” McConkey said. “I always kind of struggled to gain weight, but when I got here with the strength staff and nutrition staff, it’s been great. They put the weight on me pretty good.”

Earlier in the day, head coach Kirby Smart took part in the weekly SEC teleconference.

Below is what he had to say:

…On Saturday’s opener: "I'm excited about UAB. Bill Clark is a good friend, and I have a lot of respect for what he's done with their program. What a tremendous job they've done since cutting football and then rebuilding it back really quickly. A lot of talented, really fast players, especially defensively. They've been a Top-5 Top-10 team in the country four or five years in a row now. They play really hard. They are physical, up front offensively. You find out a lot about a team when you see their special teams and see how hard they play. The punts they've blocked. They do a tremendous job. We're excited to be back home in Sanford Stadium in front of a packed crowd and get this game going."

…On inside linebackers today: "The way the game has changed, inside backers are athletes. You look across the NFL. They're not taking on Isos, fullbacks, and leads. They are in space, playing empty, playing five-out. Playing Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, people like that, so inside backers have to be much better athletes than they've ever been. It changes kind of who you recruit and how you recruit. you have to look at alternative positions to find the best inside backer. Sometimes high school football teams are not even playing inside backers."

…Nakobe Dean’s biggest improvement: "Confidence and Leadership. He's always been a great kid. A hard worker. He's one of the fastest to learn things and understand the defense that I've ever been around. He came in and immediately picked up the defense. He's very conscientious of his work ethic, but the biggest area of improvement has been his confidence and leadership."

…His thoughts on Zamir White: "Toughness. Hard nose. Physical runs. He doesn't shy away from contact. He has toughness and cares about his teammates. He's selfless. That has kind of been the mantra of our team, but also our running back room, because we have talented guys in there. They have to understand that they serve an even greater purpose in their role on special teams and all-around team morale even though not any one person is going to get tons of opportunities and carries. You're not going to end up with a guy with 20 carries probably. Not with a backfield like we have, but it's still demoralizing to other teams to have a fresh back coming at you all the time."

…Regarding UAB’s multiple quarterbacks: They both have a lot of experience. They do a great job. that offense sets up nicely for them. (Tyler) Johnston III seems like he's been playing forever, and (Dylan) Hopkins has great arm talent. They have a really good pairing there. they understand their route system. They are a play-action, launch it, team on you. They run the ball really well. They don't get themselves in long-yardage situations, and that helps them be efficient."

…Thoughts on Jordan Davis: "Jordan has been tremendous. He's worked really hard. He continues to work and keep his weight down. Part of staying humble is particularly to work and be explosive and affect teams in the passing game. Obviously, he's a space-eater. A dominant guy against the run game. He's hard to move. I think it was great for him to go back to Charlotte and have a good game, because that's home to him, and his mom lives there and works. His little brother is there. It just means a lot to him to go back. That's why he decided to come back. He wanted to have a big game."

…The ideal weight for Davis: “You know it's body mass, body fat, bone structure. A lot of things go into that, so it's hard to say what is optimal. One 6-foot-6 guy could be 200 pounds, and one 6-6 guy could be 350-360 pounds. It's not the weight that concerns me as much as the stamina, and stamina is much more important than just weight alone. If he can play 15-20 snaps in a row at 350 or 330 or whatever weight he's best at, and we like to think that is maybe around 340-345 pounds, and that's what we try to work with him on."