Georgia freshman TE Lawson Luckie suffers ankle injury

DawgsHQ has learned a second Georgia freshman suffered an injury in their first scrimmage of the fall this past Saturday. Joining linebacker Raylen Wilson (hyperextended knee), first-year tight end Lawson Luckie went down with an ankle injury. Details of the injury, including a timeline for return, are unknown at this point in time. Luckie was not spotted during media viewing portions of practice on Tuesday.

Luckie, who was ranked the No. 145 overall player and No. 8 tight end in the Class of 2023 per the On3 Industry Ranking, put together an impressive high school career at Norcross. In four seasons, Luckie hauled in 14 touchdown passes and totaled 1,476 receiving yards on 126 grabs with the Blue Devils. He would sign with Georgia in December 2022 and began working out with the Bulldogs right away, helping them prepare for their College Football Playoff matchups against both Ohio State and TCU.

As an early enrollee, Luckie made headlines in the spring. A Georgia legacy with a father and a pair of uncles who played for the Bulldogs in the 1990s, Luckie drew the attention of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart upon arrival.

“He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve been around, as far as playing football. He does a really good job on that. So it’s fun to be around him,” Smart told ESPN’s Alyssa Lang during the G-Day spring scrimmage. “I’ll tell you, he’s a kid that took advantage of, he didn’t go play in all these all-star games. He just said, ‘I’ll stay here and practice with the Georgia Bulldogs.’ So he had 15 to 20 practices of semifinals, and the finals game that he practiced with our team. So he’s so much further ahead.”

Luckie hauled in three passes for 48 yards that Saturday. He reportedly had three touchdown catches in one of the Bulldogs’ earlier spring scrimmages too.

“Lawson has grown up a lot,” Smart told Georgia reporters prior to the spring game. “I think nobody benefited more from bowl practice than Lawson Luckie. He just said, ‘You know what, I want to go to bowl practice’. He didn’t miss one bowl practice. He was there every day. He was everywhere with us. He traveled with the team, blocked people on scout team, scout special teams.”

“He jumped on seniors and followed them,” Smart continued. “He has grown up a lot and he’s getting very mature quickly. He’s not where he needs to be. I think he’d be the first to tell you he likes to consider himself a tough guy. He’s got a ways to go to be tough enough to be a physical blocker. He does have some savvy route running. He’s got really good hands. He continues to improve, but he can’t think that he’s all the way there.”

As a result of the buzz he created, Luckie has been included on several lists of potential impact freshmen. On3’s Matt Zenitz named him one of 10 offensive spring practice standouts.

Luckie’s injury, if it keeps him off the field for an extended period of time, would leave Georgia with just three tight ends on scholarship. Of course the Bulldogs have Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers. He is joined by sophomore Oscar Delp and freshman Pearce Spurlin. Bowers has led Georgia in receiving each of the last two seasons while Delp is expected to take a step up as an option for the Bulldogs in replacement of Pittsburgh Steelers’ third round pick Darnell Washington. Spurlin, who suffered a broken collarbone and missed the bulk of spring practice, was the No. 68 player and No. 2 rated tight end in the Class of 2023.

Luckie’s injury is the latest for Georgia in fall camp with Bulldogs like running backs Kendall Milton (hamstring) and Branson Robinson (foot), linebacker Smael Mondon (foot) and defensive back Kamari Lassiter (foot) – among others – are battling bumps and bruises. Georgia holds its second scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday. Head coach Kirby Smart is expected to speak with reporters after the fact when Luckie’s injury and subsequent timeline for return will certainly be a topic of conversation.