Georgia football injury report for Week 1 matchup at Arkansas

Full injury report for Georgia football going into Game 1 against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The SEC kicks off its season this Saturday, officially ending the drought of college football.  The season has been delayed a few weeks and shortened to a 10 game, SEC only schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Georgia last played on January 1st, defeating Baylor 26-13 in the All State Sugar Bowl.

The No. 4 Bulldogs, who have won the SEC East the past three years, play at Arkansas, facing off against former Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman in his first game as a head coach for the Razorbacks.

Here are all the injury updates for the Dawgs going into Week 1.

Offensive lineman Ben Cleveland has been battling some ailments this offseason and is listed as probable for the Arkansas game.  Expect Cleveland to start at right guard for the Bulldogs on Saturday, bringing lots of veteran experience to the Georgia offensive line.

Wide receiver Kearis Jackson has had a rough go of it injury wise during his time in Athens.  He redshirted his freshman year due to a hamstring injury and was very limited in 2019, battling a broken hand and sprained ankle.  Jackson is a bit banged up coming out of preseason camp but can be expected to be starting in the slot for the Dawgs.  Look for Jackson to have a breakout season this year, taking some load off of sophomore wide receiver George Pickens.

Freshman running back Kendall Milton has been dealing with a leg injury throughout preseason camp.  Milton went through most of camp in a black, non-contact jersey.  Milton, the California native, was a huge recruiting target for the Dawgs that helped secure their No.1 overall recruiting class for the second time in three years.  Zamir White and James Cook are healthy so we shouldn’t see too much of Milton this Saturday.

Running back Kenny McIntosh is expected to to be involved in Saturday’s game in some capacity.  He has been dealing with an unknown injury during preseason camp, wearing a non-contact jersey for most of it.  McIntosh is expected to be the No. 3 running back for the Dawgs this season, backing up White and Cook.

Rian Davis has been nursing knee and shoulder injuries since arriving in Athens last year.  UGA has six inside linebackers with defined roles in Monty Rice, Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker, Channing Tindall, Trezmen Marshall (special teams), and Nate McBride (special teams).  Davis is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game.

Wide receiver Tommy Bush is dealing with an unknown injury that has forced him to miss a good chunk of the preseason.  Bush is a very talented receiver that can’t seem to catch a break with injuries.  He was sidelined for the majority of last season dealing with a sports hernia.  Bush is listed as questionable against Arkansas.

Florida State tight end transfer Tre’ McKitty left the field this preseason with a minor knee injury.  McKitty underwent an arthroscopic knee scoping and is expected to be back very soon.  Redshirt sophomore John FitzPatrick and  freshman Darnell Washington have been filling in on the first-team reps since McKitty’s injury.  McKitty is expected to have a huge year with the Bulldogs.

USC transfer quarterback J.T. Daniels is still recovering from an ACL tear that he suffered last season with the Trojans.  Daniels is a former five-star recruit and has been ruled out for the Arkansas game.  Redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis was given the nod as QB1 for Week 1.  Daniels is expected to return very soon and make for an interesting quarterback battle.

Wide receiver Dominick Blaylock went down with an ACL tear during preseason camp.  Blaylock injured the same knee he hurt in the 2019 SEC Championship game against LSU. The sophomore was just getting back to full health when he devastatingly injured it again.  This is a huge hit to the Bulldogs pass game for 2020.

The No. 1 cornerback in the 2020 recruiting class Kelee Ringo underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum before preseason camp.  The injury will force him to miss all of 2020, a tough loss for the bulldogs.  Georgia luckily has lots of depth at the position and will be alright defending the pass game without him.