UGA Football To Play Season Opener Without Star Receiver Ladd McConkey
Real Georgia Fans Don’t Miss the Dawg Post Newsletter - Sign up now!
ATHENS - Kirby Smart and the UGA football team will be without one of their biggest offensive weapons for their season-opening game against Tennessee-Martin.
Dawg Post was on the field for pregame and noticed that veteran WR Ladd McConkey was not dressed out and was not taking part in pre-game drills and warmups.
“Ladd is doing great,” Kirby said Monday. ““We had to shut him down for a little bit. He had a back injury, but he’s fine. He’s dealt with it before, he’s had it last year. He practiced Saturday and it was good and he’s expected to be out there today. So he should be fine.”
Sophomore De’Nylon Morrissette and reserve wideout Jackson Meeks were also not dressed prior to today’s ballgame. As for McConkey, he’s a reliable member of Georgia’s passing attack and one of the top receivers in the SEC, and possibly across the country, for the 2023 season.
Last fall, McConkey caught 58 passes last year for 762 yards and seven touchdowns.
Majority of Defenders Return
The Bulldogs return 12 players who have starting experience from a corps that ranked fifth nationally last season allowing opponents only 14.3 points per contest. Starting up front, Nazir Stackhouse, Zion Logue and Tramel Walthour had 34 starts between them last year and will work to fill the void left by NFL first round pick and All-American Jalen Carter. The team’s two leading tacklers from last season, inside backers Smael Mondon and Jamon Dumas-Johnson, also return to stabilize the middle of the defense. On the outside, the Bulldogs are aiming to replace captain and NFL first round pick Nolan Smith and veteran Robert Beal, Jr. with Chaz Chambliss and rising sophomore Jalon Walker, among others. Reigning Defensive MVP in both the CFP Semifinal and National Championship Javon Bullard is back alongside Kamari Lassiter, who started all 15 games at DB last season, in the secondary along with National Freshman of the Year finalist Malaki Starks. In addition, last year’s leader in sacks, Mykel Williams, is expected to play a larger role in his second year while Dan Jackson will be returning at safety following an injury that cost him the final eight games of 2022. Dumas-Johnson, Lassiter and Stackhouse have the longest active starting streaks on defense at 15 games.
Thorson Back While Placekickers Battle For Job
Australia native Brett Thorson, who earned All-SEC Freshman honors in 2022, posted a 45.0 average on 36 punts last year. Thorson will benefit from having snapper William Mote back in the fold. Mote has been the Bulldogs’ primary snapper on punts the past two years and is expected to snap on field goals and PATs this season. Georgia will have to replace Jack Podlesny who anchored down the place-kicker spot the last three years. In 2022, Podlesny was 26-of-31 on field goals and drilled 73-of-74 PATs. Jared Zirkel, who is 1-for-1 in career field goals (21-yarder at USC last year) plus has nine career kickoffs, battled the nation’s No. 1 prep kicker, Peyton Woodring, during preseason camp for the placekicking job as well as handling kickoffs.
Eko Poly's Ocean View Bar Height Tete-a-Tete Set
Perfect for the backyard, beach or lake
Use the code: “DAWG15” to get 15% off & FREE Shipping!
20-Year Warranty | Made in Georgia
About UT Martin
The Skyhawks are members of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are the two-time defending champions of the Oho Valley Conference. FCS teams can have a maxium of 63 scholarships and split them up however they want. The Skyhawks went 7-4 last season and fell 65-24 at No. 3 Tennessee. They are coached by Jason Simpson who is in his 18th season at the helm with a record of 107-84 (.560).
Did You Know? Simpson gave Bulldog defensive line coach Tray Scott his first full-time job when he hired him to coach UT-Martin’s defensive line in 2013. Simpson began his collegiate career as a football/baseball player at Mississippi State and concluded his career playing baseball at Southern Miss.
We’ve Gone Streaking
* The Bulldogs are 29-1 in their last 30 games including winning back-to-back national championships. Georgia enters the 2023 season on a 17-game winning streak, which is tied for the school record. The Bulldogs won 17 in a row from 1945-47 while the current stretch of success began with a 34-11 win over Michigan in the 2021 CFP semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl.
* Georgia has won 27 consecutive regular season games dating back to a 31-24 home victory over Mississippi State on Nov. 21, 2020. The school record is 28 in a row from 1981-83.
* Georgia’s longest home winning streak is 24 set from 1980-83. Currently, the Bulldogs have won 18 straight at home. The current streak began with a 21-0 win over Kentucky on Oct. 19, 2019.
EXCLUSIVE: Champion Retro P.E. Class Natty Sweatshirt
