Ladd McConkey continuing to make name for himself
Just looking at Ladd McConkey, you probably wouldn’t expect him to be a big time SEC wide receiver. He’s generously listed at 6-foot-0, 185 pounds on Georgia’s roster, but don’t let looks deceive you. If you do that, he might just make you miss in open space and turn it in to a touchdown, like he did twice on Saturday in the Bulldogs’ 49-3 season-opening win over Oregon.
In total, McConkey touched the ball seven times — two rushes, five catches — for 89 yards, an average of over 12 per touch. He scored both rushing and receiving touchdowns, showing off his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands. But that’s something that’s always been there according to Kirby Smart and McConkey’s Georgia teammates.
“Ladd’s always been a good player. That’s not something new. He’s always been an extremely hard worker. He’s dependable. He’s conscientious. It’s important to him,” Smart said on Monday. “He gives you everything he’s got every day. And the biggest difference is, you know, he has confidence in himself to perform because he performed on big stages last year. And when you’re one of these guys that has confidence, talent and you work really hard, then the sky’s the limit for you. And he’s worked really hard each and every day. And he knows the things he’s still got to work on and he’s got a lot of those things, too.”
McConkey arrived at Georgia in 2020, redshirting and spending the entire season on scout team. Tate Ratledge was on scout team with him and recalled his initial reactions to seeing McConkey play.
“I didn’t really know Ladd at the time, but after getting to know him, I know he’s a really good guy,” Ratledge said. “After seeing what he did on scout team because we were down there with him, we were like, ‘Okay, this kid can play. He’s out there giving our No. 1 defense trouble.'” Ratledge said. “He brings a lot of explosiveness to this team. He’s definitely a weapon. I feel like we have a lot of those all over the field, and with him out there, it adds to it.”
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“It’s not a surprise. If you can do it in practice, you can do it in the game. He’s been doing it ever since he was on scout team,” fellow wide receiver Kearis Jackson added. “Making guys miss. You could see it on Saturday how he was able to be so illusive and make guys miss. He does it in practice every day too. He’s hard to tackle, very shifty. The things he does in practice translates over to the game.”
McConkey came onto the scene around this time last year when he cracked the wide receiver rotation and played in all 15 games, seven of which he started. A redshirt freshman at the time, McConkey earned Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC honors as he finished the season with 31 catches (second-best on the team) for 447 yards and five touchdowns. He had a team-high five receptions for 135 yards in a ranked road win over Auburn including a 60-yard touchdown catch. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance.
Now, about a year after making a name for himself, McConkey is looking to do more. And days like Saturday’s two-touchdown performance certainly will do that if McConkey can keep it up in the SEC.
