The play of Georgia’s defense continues to be one of the major storylines for the top-ranked Bulldogs, and rightfully so.

However, an emerging story is beginning to steal a little of the attention.

Even the casual Bulldog fan can tell you the team’s wide receiving corps has been anything but healthy. Last week at Auburn, not only was Georgia minus the likes of George Pickens, Dominick Blaylock, and Arian Smith, but Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and Jermaine Burton also sat out the contest with ailments of their own.

Think about it: That’s five major starters or contributors who most observers expected to make up the bulk of Georgia’s wide receiver rotation. Still, the offense continues to excel.

Next-man-up has long been a theme for Kirby Smart, but never more so than what we’ve seen six games into the current campaign.

Smart said it himself. When the season began, few predicted redshirt freshman Ladd McConkey and true freshman Adonai Mitchell would take up two of the starting spots in the rotation at wide receiver. The emergence of true freshman tight end Brock Bowers has also been a pleasant development.

So, how does this happen? How are the Bulldogs simply able to plug in different players, in this case young, inexperienced ones, and not have the offense miss a beat?

"Spring practice, number one, was a big help, because the guys who have contributed were here in the spring, and they got a lot of experience in the spring,” Smart said. “Year two in the system for a lot of the other guys. Guys that are playing, obviously—Kearis (Jackson) is a vet now. He's been in (Todd) Monken's system. Ladd's been in the system; it's his second year. AD's been in the system for spring and fall, which allows him to be successful.”

Smart said Monday he hopes to have Rosemy-Jacksaint, Burton, and perhaps Smith back when the Bulldogs host No. 11 Kentucky Saturday afternoon (3:30, CBS).

Their presence would undoubtedly be welcome, but the Bulldogs have shown that no matter who is out there, the same positive results can be expected.

“We called the same stuff we always call,” quarterback Stetson Bennett said after Saturday’s 34-10 win at Auburn. “Ladd played a heckuva game.”

Indeed.

Not many people knew much about McConkey when the season began. All he did Saturday was catch five passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, which came on a career-best 60-yard pass from Bennett.

McConkey is now second behind Bowers (20 catches for 315 yards and four touchdown receptions) with 16 catches for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

“They brought the safety down on his touchdowns. He stepped on his toes and took it deep. I trusted him,” Bennett said. “I don’t think the game plan was any different.”

Mitchell, who caught a touchdown pass against Auburn, is fourth on the team in receiving with 11 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

“It just comes with the preparation,” McConkey said recently. “You get to go against the best defense in the conference, if not the best defense in the country, every day. It only gets you better, that and the spots the coaches put us in to set us up for success.”

Having a solid running game does not hurt the cause, either.

Although the Bulldogs have yet to hit a run longer than Bennett’s 30-yarder last week at Auburn, the effort they’re giving is keeping opposing teams honest.

“The run game allows them to be successful, because some of the plays we're hitting are play-action. As long as they're able to honor that and be successful in the run game. Our goal is 5.5 yards per rush,” Smart said. “That doesn't mean we're going to rush the ball for five and a half yards every time, but if we can be effective and stay ahead of the chains, it allows us to be effective in the play-action pass game.”

Smart said play-action, along with the team’s depth at running back and tight end, have helped with the team’s lack of receiver depth.

“There were 20 percent, 30 percent, 40 percent of snaps that we had 13 in the game the other day, and that's three tight ends,” Smart said. “We are fortunate to be able to get guys back there and be a little healthier to be able to take some of the burden off of wide receiver."

McConkey says confidence is another factor playing in the Bulldogs’ receiver, and a key reason players like himself are able to contribute as early as they have.

“We all go out with the same goal and mindset,” McConkey said. “We all work together, and we’ve all bought in. That’s what makes it special.”

Smart agrees he likes the moxie he’s seeing.

Although the Bulldogs have nowhere near the depth at receiver that he would like, Smart said the resiliency the players have shown continues to pay dividends.

“We've got some guys that are going to compete to play, which is what we challenge people to do. That 'next man up' mentality is there but it's also our resiliency,” Smart said. “We have this word in our core traits, and that's resiliency. Well, that's what we show when the next guy's got to go out and play, because we're resilient."