Kirby Smart provides positive update on the status of Ladd McConkey's nagging injury

Georgia will be making their first road trip of the season, facing Auburn in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Head coach Kirby Smart will be hoping to have Ladd McConkey at Jordan-Hare Stadium, recently providing a positive injury update on the wide receiver.

“He looks really good,” Smart said during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. “It’s walk before you run, run before you sprint, and then spring and get contact. So, we’re kind of in stages of that.

“It’s one of those things that we don’t know what’s going to frustrate him or bother him. And he has to trust it. He’s doing exactly what the doctors have told him and the experts told him. So, he’s coming back.”

McConkey has not yet played a game this season, dealing with a back injury. Smart feels like he has the opportunity to get onto the field and make his 2023 season debut. It would be a major boost for the Georgia offense — not that they were struggling in the first place.

However, just because McConkey is able to get back onto the field does not mean he will be full-go from the beginning. Smart says he will need to ramp up and get back into full-game shape. Especially with the heat expected on the Plains come Saturday afternoon.

“Getting faster each day in terms of ramping up and then conditioning is a factor as well,” Smart said. “It’s expected to be hot and he hasn’t played this season. So, there may be a role for him in what he does.”

You could say McConkey enjoys facing off against Auburn. His best-ever game, from a statistical standpoint, came during the 2021 season. McConkey caught five passes for 135 yards and got into the end zone for a touchdown. All in front of the Auburn faithful, earning a dominant win for Georgia.

Even last season saw McConkey go for 47 yards on five receptions. When the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry gets played, the lights turn on for McConkey in a big way.

If a similar impact is going to be made by McConkey, a few things will have to happen. First, he will have to play and get through some of the issues Smart presented. Thankfully, the update provided on Wednesday was a positive one.

And then McConkey will need to show up in what could be a limited role for him. Either way, Georgia will just be happy to have a reliable receiver back onto the field, no matter the opponent.