ATHENS, Ga. — Rhett McGowan is proof that a recruiting ranking isn’t required to make it in Southeastern Conference football.
Late in the third quarter of Georgia’s 24-20 victory over Florida last week, Georgia’s walk-on receiver took off into press coverage from Gators cornerback Marcus Roberson. McGowan quickly freed himself from Roberson, a top-50 national prospect in the 2011 signing class, and caught an 11-yard pass from quarterback Aaron Murray.
“When you go out there and face press coverage on both sides, I don’t care if it’s Rhett that I’m throwing to,” Murray said. “We were practicing all last week on press moves, and he was probably the best one. I was really pumped up when I threw it to him, and he was wide open.”
McGowan’s catch was the first of the season, and his gain resulted in a first down at Florida’s 37-yard line. The Bulldogs came up empty on the drive when Blair Walsh missed a field goal, but they went ahead early in the fourth quarter and earned just their fourth win over Florida in 22 years.
RICHT RESPONDSGeorgia football coach Mark Richt spoke Wednesday about Tuesday’s suspensions of tailbacks Isaiah Crowell, Carlton Thomas and Ken Malcome for reportedly failing drug tests. The three will miss Saturday’s game against New Mexico State.”We all know no one is perfect and that guys tend to use bad judgment at times,” said Richt, who learned of the suspensions Monday night. “When they do, that’s when we come in and help them out.”Richt was asked about the timing of the suspensions, which fall on a week between conference tests against Florida and Auburn.”We do our business the way it should be done and with integrity,” he said. “People who make comments who don’t know probably shouldn’t, quite frankly, because they don’t know. I would be able to prove 100 percent that they’re wrong, but I’m not going to spend the time doing that.”