CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Georgia football coach Kirby Smart obviously hasn’t been kidding this year when discussing the likelihood of playing time for redshirt freshman receiver Ladd McConkey.
McConkey made his collegiate debut during Saturday night’s showdown with No. 3 Clemson inside Bank of America Stadium, and it was an active one. The former North Murray High School standout started and had two catches for 12 yards as the No. 5 Bulldogs posted a 10-3 victory.
Georgia’s top two returning receivers from last season, Kearis Jackson and Jermaine Burton, combined on two catches for 11 yards.
“I can’t make excuses, but we’ve had parts of our offense available all camp but never everybody,” Smart said afterward. “Jermaine Burton missed two weeks after spraining his ankle in the very first practice. That has affected him, and we didn’t know if Kearis would be able to go or not. Kearis has been cleared to go, but he’s just not himself yet.
“He’s 85% or 90%, but we felt like he gave us the best chance in punt returns because of his confidence. In a game with this kind of atmosphere, we trust his experience. I’m not using that as an excuse, though, because we’ve got some other good players out there. They played a soft zone and didn’t give us a lot of shots.”