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Report: Georgia WR Ladd McConkey out against Ball State due to back injury

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•09/09/23
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ATLANTA, GA DECEMBER 31: Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey (84) runs with the ball during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl college football playoff game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Georgia Bulldogs on December 31st, 2022 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Georgia will be without one of its top playmakers this week for a game against Ball State, with receiver Ladd McConkey expected to miss the contest.

Seth Emerson of The Athletic reported that McConkey is being held out today with a back injury.

McConkey also missed the season opener against UT-Martin with the back injury, ceding touches to others at the receiver position in quarterback Carson Beck‘s starting debut. It went quite well, with Georgia winning 48-7.

But the Bulldogs would love to have the veteran leader back. His back injury has proven difficult to recovery from.

“Ladd has not practiced with us,” head coach Kirby Smart explained. “He’s running routes on air. He’s run, he’s cut, but he is not taking hits and doing like reps, whatever you call it, practice reps. He’s doing reps on air.”

McConkey’s production when healthy is undeniable. He was the team’s leading receiver a year ago, catching 58 passes for 762 yards and seven touchdowns, second only to star tight end Brock Bowers.

The back injury Ladd McConkey is dealing with has proven fickle and kept him appearing on the injury update.

“It’s tricky to me because I don’t understand it,” Smart said. “It’s one of those that I listen to (senior associate athletics director of sports medicine) Ron (Courson) each day talk about it and I can’t even explain to you exactly what it is. It’s a really big word.

“But it’s frustrating for him because he doesn’t control, like he runs and great and everything is fine, then one sudden movement can set him back and he has pain and then he’s back down. He’s battling his tail off. He rehabs three or four times a day and he’s like, ‘I can go coach, I can go, let me go out there and practice.’ And we’re not going to do that until we’re certain. So in some ways it’s probably more frustrating.”

You can view information on how to take in the Georgia vs. Ball State game below.

How to Watch, Listen and Stream

Kickoff Time: 12:00 p.m. ET

TV: SEC Network (Taylor Zarzour – Play by Play, Matt Stinchcomb – Color Commentator, Alyssa Lang – Sideline Reporter)

Streaming: Watch ESPN

Radio: Atlanta (750 AM/95.5 FM), Athens (960 AM/106.1 FM), Augusta (580 AM/95.1 FM), Brunswick (1440 AM, 107.7 FM), Columbus (1270 AM/102.5 FM), Macon (106.3 FM), Savannah (1400 AM/104.3 FM), Sirius XM (Channel 137 or 190 – Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network), Online at www.georgiadogs.com/watch/

For those who get their TV through Spectrum, the SEC shared a statement with alternate viewing options for fans still wanting to watch games while the Spectrum-ESPN stalemate continues.

“As negotiations continue between Charter Communications and Disney Entertainment, Spectrum cable customers who are seeking SEC programming on ESPN channels, including SEC Network, can easily find and sign up for ESPN channels across all other major TV streaming providers like DirecTV, Sling, Hulu, YouTubeTV and FuboTV.”