STARKVILLE, Miss. – Georgia played its fourth and final game without junior receiver A.J. Green in Saturday night’s 24-12 loss at Mississippi State.
While Green’s talents have been missed during the Bulldogs’ 0-3 start in Southeastern Conference play, his fellow receivers are not to blame. Fifth-year senior Kris Durham had the first 100-yard game of his career last week against Arkansas, and redshirt sophomore Tavarres King continues to develop after being rated by Rivals.com as one of the top 100 signees in the 2008 class.
“I think they’ve taken it upon themselves that ‘A.J. Green is out and that we’re not going to be able to throw it outside,'” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “They’ve done a nice job of making plays all year and getting behind people consistently. Durham, I thought, would be a good player for us, but he’s shown the ability to be our deep threat and get behind people.
“Tavarres King – we knew he had it in him, and he’s been very consistent and has worked extremely hard.”
Durham and King entered Saturday as Georgia’s leading receivers and were popular targets for quarterback Aaron Murray at Davis Wade Stadium. Durham had four catches for 64 yards before leaving the game with 10:36 remaining with a neck injury, and King had a 37-yard reception in the first quarter and a 40-yard score with 1:27 remaining.
A holding penalty negated Durham’s first-down reception on the play when he got hurt, and another holding flag on fellow receiver Marlon Brown with 2:17 left in the first half wiped out his 40-yard touchdown.
After sitting out last season with a torn labrum, Durham’s 13 receptions for 260 yards and a touchdown in Georgia’s first three games surpassed any season-long totals the 6-foot-5, 212-pounder from Calhoun compiled since enrolling in January 2006. He had a 41-yard reception in the opening win over Louisiana-Lafayette, a 55-yarder in the loss at South Carolina and a 46-yarder in the loss to the Razorbacks.
“I think every receiver who has played has a catch, and I think that’s just a tribute to all of our hard work,” Durham said. “I know that Tavarres and I have worked out and have spent a lot of time together with Aaron just trying to get things down.”
Said head coach Mark Richt: “Kris has done a great job. I can’t tell you how many times already that if we hit him on the run, he’s in the end zone. He’s been an outstanding deep-ball guy, and he’s been blocking his tail off.”
King ranked fourth on the team last season with 18 catches for 377 yards and a touchdown, but he was suspended for the ULL opener because of an alcohol-related arrest. The 6-1, 184-pounder from Mount Airy had three catches for 28 yards at South Carolina and four for 91 and a score against Arkansas.
“I feel like this year I’ve kind of come out of my shell a little bit,” King said. “I’ve got a lot more confidence than I did last year, and I feel great.”
Durham bobbled a pass in the opener that resulted in an interception, but the Bulldogs did not drop any passes against the Gamecocks or Hogs or again Saturday.
“Pretty much everything has been caught, and they’ve made some plays with the ball,” Murray said. “It’s not been as discouraging as most people thought it would be.”