Georgia receiver depth creating competition from within

ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart enjoys competition. He likes to put his teams into situations that bring a fire out for his Georgia Bulldogs so he can see what they’re made of. Well, there’s no need to do that with the wide receivers. They’re doing it themselves.

Georgia brings back Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, both of whom finished top five on the team in receiving last season. Add in tight end Brock Bowers when you’re talking about returning pass catchers and it’s easy to understand why it’s no given who’s getting the ball every play.

Then there’s Arian Smith and Dillon Bell, two receivers who made big plays last season and have the potential to do even more this year. And oh by the way, Georgia also went to the transfer portal and brought in a pair of players that led their respective SEC squads in receiving last season – Dominic Lovett (Missouri) and Rara Thomas (Mississippi State).

All this amounts to incredible depth in the receiver room and a strong sense of competition – one that’s got everybody in the group getting better.

“I ain’t going to lie, it’s really deep. We’ve got a lot of competition, man,” Smith said on Thursday, Georgia’s first day of fall camp. “Everybody around me is going to make me better just like I’m going to make them better. Just the competition. I’m ready to see what we have in store for this year.”

During yesterday’s practice, McConkey, Lovett and Rosemy-Jacksaint made up Georgia’s first group of receivers. Behind them were Smith, Bell and walk-on Mekhi Mews. The likes of Thomas, Cole Speer, Jackson Meeks and freshmen Anthony Evans, Yazeed Haynes and Tyler Williams all provide that depth the Dawgs are looking for.

“We have three guys at every position that can go in and feel like we won’t skip a beat,” McConkey said. “Obviously we all have our different ways of playing and styles of playing, but there’s so many guys that can go in there and contribute. That’s exciting. You stay fresh the whole time. I don’t think DBs can rotate like that, so we can always have fresh guys in there to be able to play fast. It’ll be special.”

McConkey’s right. There is no cookie-cutter Georgia receiver. Every one of them brings something a little bit different to the table.

For McConkey, it’s an edge. He’s not the biggest or the fastest – although Smith said that he’s among his challengers for fastest on the team – but he plays with passion.

“Ladd’s a guy where he ain’t going to leave no doubt. He’s going to do the extra, make sure his teammates are doing OK regardless of position,” Smith said. “He’s just a team guy. He doesn’t really focus on himself. He’s going to make sure you’re OK. If I do something in practice, he’s going to make sure I do it to the best of my ability. If I’m not running fast, he’ll say, ‘Arian, you need to run, or you need to do this.’ You know, he’s more of a team guy, I’d say.”

Then there’s Smith, the former Team USA track star who plays the game fast. Sometimes other parts of his game are overlooked because of the speed, but Smith can do more than just run by defenders.

“Anytime he’s on the field, he scares the DBs,” McConkey said about his teammate. “He’s a deep threat. He can take it deep literally any play. It just gives us another element to take the top off. He can run routes too, get underneath and catch a little screen, take it 80 on you. He’s a track runner, and when you can run that fast, it scares a lot of people.”

Rosemy-Jacksaint, who’s always been known for his blocking ability, took strides forward as a pass catcher last season while Bell, who appeared to have put on good weight, has a chance to surge in his second year in Georgia’s system.

With the newcomers, all of whom were on campus in the spring, it could take some time to gel. That’s why there’s no reason to panic over Thomas not being in the two-deep on the first day of camp. There’s a reason the Bulldogs brought both he and Lovett in, and it’s because they were looking for proven talent with the potential to make an immediate impact.

From top to bottom, each Georgia receiver is different and adds a unique element to the offense. That’s a good thing for position coach Bryan McClendon and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo as everyone will have to earn their opportunity to get on the field this fall.

“It’s coming from everybody, down to walk-ons,” Smith said when asked where the competition comes from. “Everybody out there trying to play. Everybody is trying to make an opportunity for himself to get on the field.”