Wide receiver spring recap

As we continue our spring recap, let’s slide over to the wide receivers.

Injuries at the position were well-documented long before last week’s G-Day game took place. However, that left a little intrigue as far the contest itself was concerned.

Who would step up? Would there be any surprises?

Let’s take a look.

First, let’s do a quick injury review.

As expected, neither George Pickens, Dominick Blaylock, Justin Robinson, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, nor Jermaine Burton took part in the scrimmage, although the latter four were dressed out and running during warmups.

Even Pickens, who underwent surgery almost three weeks ago, was standing on the sidelines without the aid of a crutch (more on that later).

We also knew that coaches would use the opportunity to give the team’s other receivers their chance to shine.

Youngsters Ladd McConkey, Adonai Mitchell, and Mercer transfer Steven Peterson (who played with Justin Fields at Harrison High) were names we had heard about. Each impressed. So did vets Kearis Jackson, Demetris Robertson, and walk-on Jaylen Johnson, each of whom scored touchdowns.

Even with Pickens’ situation, depth from a numbers standpoint is not expected to be a problem for the Bulldogs this fall.

You’ve got start with Adonai Mitchell.

There had been plenty of buzz about Mitchell going in, and he did not disappoint. The early enrollee caught a game-high seven passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, drawing praise from both head coach Kirby Smart and JT Daniels.

He was not the only surprise.

We were not expecting wide receiver Arian Smith (wrist) to get into the game. Although he wore a white non-contact jersey, Smith did go out for a couple of long passes (neither were complete).

The biggest surprise came later, however, during my conversation with SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic when he was asked about Pickens.

Cubelic, who was at the game as the sideline reporter and who spoke to Smart, suggested that Pickens might not be out as long as some might think, noting that perhaps a late November return might be in store.

Obviously, that would be great news if it could happen. We’re told that Pickens is taking his rehab extremely seriously and definitely wants to get back this year.

Burton, Rosemy-Jacksaint, Robinson, and Blaylock are also expected to be good to go by the time fall camp begins.

The wait for everyone to get healthy is the biggest concern. After that, the pecking order is what we’ll be watching for.

You saw receivers do a lot of cross-training. For example, Robertson saw action at both the X and the Y. He can already play slot, but that’s the sort of versatility coaches want to see regarding their wideouts.

Speaking of Robertson, he caught four passes for 88 yards, including one for a 59-yard touchdown during G-Day. It’s been a difficult go for the Savannah native since he arrived. He could have moved on, but the former five-star was one of five seniors who decided to take advantage of the NCAA’s one-time waiver to give it one more shot.

If last weekend’s scrimmage was an indication, perhaps he’ll finally make the kind of impact Bulldog fans have been waiting for.

Then: Is Mitchell for real?

Georgia fans have seen wideouts come out of nowhere in spring games before. Jonathan Rumph and Matt Landers come to mind, but they were never really heard from again.

Listed at 6-foot-4 (that may be fudging just a bit), Mitchell dropped the first two passes thrown his way, but then recovered and enjoyed a whale of a game. The Texas native did a good job on a couple of back-shoulder throws, appeared to run good routes, and certainly had the confidence of Daniels as his seven receptions would indicate.

Smart will tell you there’s no such thing as having too many good wide receivers, and it certainly appears Mitchell will continue to get a long look.

Kearis Jackson on the receives at G-Day: “It’s just G-Day—being out there, throwing the ball around, just trying to keep guys healthy and safe, and just being able to sling the ball around today and have some fun. Just bringing over what we’ve been doing all week. These 15 practices have been fun, just being out here to compete. Throwing the ball around because the only way you get better in the passing game is actually doing it in practice. Just being able to execute and throw and catch. We were able to do some of that today and have fun doing it.”

Kirby Smart on Adonai Mitchell: "We thought he was a talented player. He is another one of the guys that—we do as good of a job as anybody in the country doing research on players and evaluating players. It's not about what they're ranked, or what the media says about them, or what the recruiting rankings say. We watch the tape. The tape speaks volumes. In the case of Jordan Davis, it spoke volumes. In the case of Adonai Mitchell, it speaks volumes—these guys we evaluate ourselves. We thought he was a really good player. We didn't care what everybody else thought, and he's a good football player. We evaluated him and kept recruiting him. He came in, and we didn't get to see him in the bowl practice. He actually got sick right when he got here, and never got to really bowl-practice with us. It was very unfortunate that he was here for eight days and never got to practice. Then he had to go home, and then he came back. He worked out well. He has gotten himself in decent shape. He needs to get in better shape, but he made plays. He made plays during the spring. When you have a guy like that who steps up, it's almost a bonus. We lost George [Pickens], and it forced him to play more, but he picked it up fast. When Jermaine [Burton] went down, he had to get even more reps. We're really excited about him and think he's a good player. The last three practices of spring ball were probably his best practices."

Kirby Smart on Ladd McConkey: “Yeah, he gets a ton of reps. First of all, he’s got great toughness, he’s savvy, he has no fear. He’s taken some shots this spring, but he gets back up after them. He’s in a competition for return game reps, and my expectation is that he competes. He’s going to go out and compete for special teams jobs all over the place and compete at wide receiver to learn the offense—get a little bigger and stronger. He’s got really good quickness. But I’m excited about Ladd. He’s going to be a guy who is going to be a really good football player for us.”

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