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WATCH: Mic'd up with new Georgia wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon

Nikki Chavanelleby:Nikki Chavanelle•04/05/22•

NikkiChavanelle

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Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Georgia Bulldogs released a mic’d up video of new wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon as spring practices roll on to their halfwaypoint.

McClendon’s hire to Georgia was a homecoming and reunion for the former Bulldog, and he appears to fit in perfectly. In the video, the new wideouts coach chats it up with his players during warmups and offers plenty of instruction during drills.

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McClendon played at Georgia from 2002 to 2005, hauling in 56 passes for 830 yards and six touchdowns over the course of his career. All six of those scores, including the game winner against Georgia Tech, came during his senior season. From there it was the NFL, playing one season for the Chicago Bears before returning back to Athens to coach under Mark Richt.

He was a graduate assistant during the 2007 and 2008 seasons until he moved into the role of running backs coach in 2009. Recruiting the likes of Todd Gurley, Keith Marshall, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, Georgia under McClendon continued to build its reputation as “RBU.” In his final season at Georgia, McClendon moved to coaching wide receivers where he has remained for the rest of his career.

McClendon spent the last two years as Oregon’s wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator under Mario Cristobal. He was preparing to follow Cristobal to Miami before Smart came calling.

The Bulldogs are paying hansomely for their former player to coach the up-and-coming stars at the position. He signed for $700,000, an increase of $150,000 over former WRs coach Cortez Hankton.

Smart shares who has emerged as leaders for Georgia this spring

Kirby Smart is looking for leaders heading into the 2022 season. With a ton of the national championship-winning team off to the NFL, it will be a completely new group for Smart, hoping some players step up in the leadership department.

On Thursday, the head coach shared who has emerged thus far in spring practice. He was able to name a few names from both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, mainly coming from the line of scrimmages.

“We got a lot of guys stepping up,” Smart said. “I think, Pop is doing a good job stepping up. Sedrick Van Pran, Warren Ericson are guys that continue to lead upfront. I think Robert (Beal Jr.) is trying to take on a little greater role. Kearis (Jackson). Nolan (Smith) has been tremendous at being vocal when things aren’t going right. There are just a lot of guys. You see can just see them trying to assert themselves and encourage more than discourage.”

Georgia will be looking to repeat this season and staying disciplined with leadership will be one of the main reasons they will have a chance to. Smart seems to be off to a good start, with plenty of experienced leadership stepping up early in the spring.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.