Legend of Mekhi Mews continues to grow with special teams success
ATHENS, Ga. — The legend of Mekhi Mews continues to grow. After the 5-foot-8 walk-on wide receiver took a screen pass 54 yards to the house for his first career touchdown in Georgia’s season-opening win against UT-Martin last week, Mews on-upped himself this week with a 69-yard punt return touchdown to give the Bulldogs a spark in their 45-3 win over Ball State.
“He’s provided a spark,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said of Mews, commenting specifically on him as a punt returner. “We trusted him last year, he was Ladd’s back-up, he got a couple of returns. I think he returned a couple against Georgia Tech. He does it every day in practice. He’s done it for 3 years and done a great job as a scout team guy. And when you go against the guys he’s gone against in our place, you’re going to get better.”
“To be honest, I love Mews. He’s done a great job, but there are 10 other guys out there that are elite at holding people up,” Smart continued in typical fashion. “There’s Malaki Starks making blocks, Marcus Rosemy out there making blocks. Those are really good football players out there that are holding people up for their teammate.”
The punt return for a touchdown was the first of its kind in Athens since 2018 when Mecole Hardman had one against Middle Tennessee State. In similar fashion to Mews, Hardman provided Georgia with an exciting element to the game every time he touched the ball, only he was a five-star coming out of high school. As for Mews, who had offers from the likes of Morehouse, Savannah State and Olivet, the walk-on part of his story adds another layer.
“I don’t feel like it was a certain play or a certain practice, it was more my teammates letting me know I could play and helping me build confidence and the coaches having confidence in me,” Mews said this past week on when he first felt like he belonged at Georgia. “I think just scout team really opened my eyes to the athletes that are here and how good they are. Competing with those guys every day, they move at a different pace than I had seen in high school.”
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As for how he did on punt return and kick return in the opener, Mews said that there were missed opportunities. He’s probably not saying that after the second game of the season.
Mews finished the game with three catches for 27 yards including a long of 16. In total, he returned three punts and a kickoff, picking up 163 yards with the yardage taken away due to a holding penalty included.
On the season, Mews has accounted for 310 total yards (receiving and returns combined) with two touchdowns. His average of 26.0 yards per punt return is good for second in the country. He does not qualify for kickoff return standings averaging just one return per game but would rank fifth at 39.0 yards per return.
Georgia is back in action this Saturday, opening up SEC play by welcoming the South Carolina Gamecocks to town. Kickoff time at Sanford Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
