Ladd McConkey appears to be full go for Ohio State in Peach Bowl
ATLANTA, Ga. — All signs point to Georgia having sophomore wideout Ladd McConkey at full speed for the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. He worked with the team during all pre-game warmup without any apparent limitation.
DawgsHQ reported earlier this week that McConkey was expected to play in this game. He left the LSU game just before the end of the first half with a right knee injury. Kirby Smart said he had been dealing with tendonitis. He aggravated that injury on a 22-yard catch and run that set the Bulldogs up at the Tiger two-yard line.
McConkey is Georgia’s most lethal weapon on the outside in 2022. He has 51 catches for 675 yards and five scores on the year while adding 120 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. He trails just Kenny McIntosh and Brock Bowers in total yards on the year.
The Bulldogs had just gotten healthy at wideout when McConkey went down. Sophomore split end AD Mitchell had essentially missed 11 straight games before playing 15 snaps in the SEC Championship game. He was targeted just once but he did complete a pass to Darnell Washington to convert a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
McConkey has played through a myriad of minor injuries this season. In addition to dealing with knee tendonitis, Smart mentioned earlier this season that McConkey was also battling injuries to his toe and ankle. He added that the staff sometimes has to back the play-making wideout off in practice so those ailments can mend.
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“Ladd is one of those dudes who can kind of go overboard in the sense of wanting to get all the reps and wanting to get every look and everything thing else,” wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon said earlier this week. “That’s phenomenal and what I feel like makes him the player that he is. But sometimes you’ve got to make sure you save him from himself a little bit, tell him, ‘hey man, you’ve got that rep already.’ Like with anything else, you’d rather say “whoa” than “sic’em.”
What about Warren McClendon?
It looks as if McClendon will be available for Saturday’s game but he will not start. McClendon has started 37 straight games at Georgia but is dealing with an MCL injury suffered in the LSU game.
McClendon worked with the second-team offense during pre-game warmup. Amarius Mims, who has played in all but one game this season, is in line to start. Mims has played meaningful action throughout the season in a rotational role.
