Bryan McClendon returning to Georgia as wide receivers coach
Georgia has made a move to fill the vacancy at wide receivers coach as sources have confirmed to DawgsHQ that Kirby Smart has hired Bryan McClendon away from Miami.
The former Bulldog pass catcher was set to be a member of Mario Crisobal’s first staff at “The U” after making the move from Oregon with him but will now head home to Athens where he played and began his coaching career.
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.
McClendon was a graduate assistant during the 2007 and 2008 seasons until he was promoted 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. He also served as the interim head coach, leading the Bulldogs to victory over Penn State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
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When Richt left Georgia, so too did McClendon. He joined forces with Will Muschamp, who is on staff at Georgia now, at South Carolina from 2016 to 2019 focusing on the Gamecock wide receivers the entirety of his time there as well as his duties as offensive coordinator in 2018 and 2019. Under McClendon’s direction, Deebo Samuel earned All-SEC honors with 62 catches for 882 yards and 11 touchdowns while Bryan Edwards and Shi Smith also combined for 100 receptions, 1,519 yards and 11 touchdowns. McClendon then went to Oregon for two seasons as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator, also serving as the interim head coach when Cristobal made the move to Miami.
McClendon will be tasked with replacing quite a bit of lost talent and production in the wide receiver room this coming season. Aside from the departure of former position coach Cortez Hankton, Georgia saw George Pickens leave for the NFL Draft and Jermaine Burton, as well as Justin Robinson and Jaylen Johnson, enter the transfer portal. Luckily, the Bulldogs have Ladd McConkey, AD Mitchell and Kearis Jackson coming back to spearhead the passing game.
DawgsHQ will continue to update this story as more details emerge.
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