Ladd McConkey, Georgia establish 'routine' to deal with back ailment
It wasn’t hard to find a Georgia doubter prior to its 43-20 win over Florida on Saturday. With Brock Bowers out for a few weeks after tight-rope surgery to speed up the recovery process for a high-ankle sprain, many questioned whether the Bulldog offense could keep rolling. Then they got a look at the new-look attack in Jacksonville.
Georgia racked up nearly 500 total yards despite a throttled-down attack in the second half and averaged 7.4 yards per play. Carson Beck threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns in his first game without Bowers as the Bulldog passing game posted three pass plays of 40-plus yards.
Ladd McConkey was on the receiving end of two of those passes and he was a big reason why Georgia was able to move the ball up and down the field, seemingly at will, against its bitter rival. McConkey had six grabs for 135 yards and his first score of the season after missing the first four games and being slowed for the next three due to back spasms.
When the dust settled on the Bulldogs’ eighth win of the season, quite a few questions had been answered. Kirby Smart spoke with reporters on Monday and he put another one to rest. With an increased workload against the Gators, how did McConkey feel when it was over?
“It’s been frustrating for him, not me. It’s frustrating for him because all he wants to do is have a great year. He came back to have a great year, and then to have something unexpected like that has been frustrating for him,” Smart said. “He came out of the game looking great. We’ve got a little routine in terms of what we do Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and now that we’ve got that routine it seems (knocks on wood) to be working, and we’ll keep doing what we’re doing.”
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The former three-star prospect was UGA’s leading wideout a season ago, catching 58 passes for 762 yards and seven scores. McConkey also pilled up 134 rushing yards and two scores on the ground and averaged 11.29 yards per punt return. It’s safe to say that he was a big reason why the Bulldogs, after losing projected No. 1 wideout AD Mitchell for nine games, were able to repeat.
With Bowers set to miss more time, McConkey is a big piece of the pick-up-the-slack puzzle. He’s joined by the likes of the team’s second-leading receiver, Dominic Lovett, who has 13 catches for 155 yards and a score in his past two games. Rara Thomas and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint have been weapons on the outside and will be asked to step up while Oscar Delp is taking on more snaps at tight end during Bowers’ absence.
But McConkey, who considered leaving after the 2022 season, has clearly established himself as a go-top option in the Georgia offense. Those who follow the team closely look for No. 84 in big situations.
“Explosiveness, quickness. Separation is one of the No. 1 qualities,” Smart said of McConkey. “We talk about body quickness. A guy could be straight line fast, but he doesn’t separate. Can you come in and out of breaks? That was the first thing we saw in Ladd when we looked at him. He’s quicker than he is fast, but he’s fast. When you’re quick and fast, that’s when you’re good.”
