Georgia football sophomore WR Dominick Blaylock has torn his ACL again.
According to Dawgnation, Georgia sophomore wide receiver Dominick Blaylock has torn his ACL and will need surgery.
Blaylock suffered a torn ACL to the same knee in last year’s SEC Championship Game against LSU. He had surgery on it December.
Blaylock signed with Georgia as a five-star recruit in the class of 2019 out of Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia and was the Bulldogs’ fourth leading receiver last year, catching 18 passes for 310 yards and five touchdowns.
In mid-August, Kirby Smart said that Blaylock had been doing some straight-line running but was not yet cleared for all drills.
Blaylock was set to be the Dawgs’ No. 2 guy at the receiver position this year if he were able to come back from his previous ACL tear.
Georgia football WR Dominick Blaylock has been cleared for a full return, following a knee injury suffered in the SEC Championship.
Georgia sophomore wide receiver Dominick Blaylock, who suffered a knee injury in the SEC Championship, has been cleared for play, per Dawgs Daily.
Blaylock performed well for a freshman, finishing the 2019 season as the 4th best receiver on the Dawgs’ roster with 18 receptions for 310 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Blaylock is fully cleared for action, making his return less than eight months from his injury.
Georgia lost Lawrence Cager and Tyler Simmons, who both signed with NFL teams this offseason. The Bulldogs will need Blaylock to help fellow sophomore George Pickens carry some of the offensive load. Senior wide receiver Demetris Robertson will also be returning for the 2020 season, giving Georgia a very solid looking receiving corps.
Georgia ranked 50th in the FBS last season in points per game and will need to put up more if they want to be in the National Championship contention. Wake Forest transfer quarterback Jamie Newman will likely help in that department as he is the highest rated deep passer returning in 2020.
A look at the Georgia football 2020 wider receiver room headlined by star George Pickens.
The 2020 college football season is fast approaching and players will be allowed back on campus for summer workouts starting June 8.
That said, let’s take a look at the Georgia wide receivers, perhaps the most exciting position to watch for the Bulldogs in 2020.
This is not a depth chart projection, but a look at who we project to see the most snaps.
1. George Pickens (So.)
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Pickens (6-3, 190), from Hoover, Alabama, is one of the best returning receiver in college football and will be heavily relied upon by new Wake Forest transfer QB Jamie Newman and for good reason. As a freshman in 2019, Pickens caught 49 passes for 727 yards and 8 touchdowns, which earned him Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team honors.
2. Demetris Robertson (Sr.)
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Robertson, (6-0, 190) from Savannah, Georgia, is a transfer from the University of California in 2018 and hasn’t been able to find much a rhythm as a Bulldog. However, we know he has talent and even received Freshman All-American honors in his time with Cal, so look for his speed on the inside to be a huge factor for the Bulldogs in 2020.
3. Dominick Blaylock (So.)
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Assuming Blaylock (6-1, 195) returns from an ACL tear in 2019, he will be competing for the starting slot-receiver position with Robertson. Before his injury, Blaylock, from Marietta, Georgia, was having a solid freshman season, catching 18 passes for 310 yards and 5 touchdowns in 12 games. Most notably, Blaylock averaged over 17 yards per reception and contributed to special teams as punt/kick returner.
4. Matt Landers (Junior)
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Landers (6-5, 200), from St. Petersburg, Florida, should see time on the outside opposite George Pickens. Especially in goal line situations where his length creates match-up problems with virtually anyone who covers him. That being said, Landers will have to show route-running and catching improvement if he wants to contribute. His three catches versus Baylor in the Sugar Bowl shows he is headed in the right direction.
5. Kearis Jackson (RFr.)
(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Jackson (6-0, 200,) from Fort Valley, Georgia, started the Bulldogs’ first game at Vanderbilt last season and caught two passes for 31 yards until exiting early with a hand injury that derailed the rest of his 2019 season. Georgia coaches were confident enough to tab Jackson as a starter early on, so, assuming his hand injury is no longer a factor, he should be competing for the slot position with Robertson and Blaylock this summer.
NEXT: Who else could we expect to catch some passes this year?
This stat about Georgia WR George Pickens will get you excited about the UGA football offense in 2020.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF) Georgia wide receiver George Pickens is the only returning receiver with 75 plus targets and zero drops in all of college football.
Pickens was a freshman phenom for the Bulldogs last year. In a run dominant offense, he caught 49 passes for 727 yards and 8 touchdowns, which earned him Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team honors.
A former 5-star recruit from Hoover, Alabama, in the 2019 recruiting class, Pickens was originally committed to the Auburn Tigers until flipping to the Bulldogs on signing day. He was tabbed as the No. 4 receiver in the country and the No. 1 player in Alabama, which helped make the 2019 Georgia class the No. 1 class in the country for the second year in a row.
Complete list of returning players with 75+ targets and 0 drops last season:
The sky is the limit for Pickens in 2020. Georgia made two huge off-season moves for the Bulldogs’ passing game with the singing of Wake Forest transfer quarterback Jamie Newman, who is known for a great deep ball and the hiring of offensive coordinator Todd Monken, known for his air-raid passing attack.
DawgNation should be excited for what is to come for this young offense. Injuries and drops plagued the Georgia receiving group in 2019, but Pickens should have some more help around him in 2020. Sophomore receiver Dominick Blaylock looks to return from an ACL tear and Kirby Smart and staff added four 4-star receivers in this year’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class. Not to mention 5-star 2020 TE signee Darnell Washington (6-8, 261).
Georgia football receivers George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock are due for a big 2020 college football season.
George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock signed with Georgia as five-star receivers in the class of 2019.
Georgia was able to flip Pickens from Auburn on signing day, while Blaylock was all-dawg from the start. Blaylock committed to Georgia in July of 2017 and then signed in December of 2018.
Georgia fans had high expectations for both of them, and both lived up to the hype.
Pro Football Focus spotlighted how the two finished the season with zero drops. See the tweet below.
Pickens was a superstar his freshman season, catching 49 passes for 727 yards and 8 touchdowns. He’s considered one of the top returning receivers in college football for the 2020 season.
Blaylock hauled in 18 catches for 310 yards and 5 touchdowns. He suffered a torn ACL against LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Dominick Blaylock had a solid freshman season in 2019 before tearing his ACL in the SEC Championship Game.
Dominick Blaylock, Wide Receiver (#8):
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-1
Weight: 195 pounds
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia
High School: Walton High School
Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Dominick Blaylock had a solid freshman season in 2019 before tearing his ACL in the SEC Championship Game against LSU. He played in 12 of 14 games and caught 18 passes for 310 yards and five touchdowns.
His biggest play of the season was his 51 yard touchdown catch at Auburn. The Tigers had a very stingy defense in 2019, but that didn’t stop Blaylock from getting the Dawgs on the scoreboard first.
Blaylock came to Athens as a touted four or five-star recruit (depends on the recruiting service) and didn’t disappoint. He’d certainly benefit from a delayed start to the 2020 season.
Should the season kick-off on time, then it is not out of the question for Blaylock to make a return for the opener. Clemson WR Amari Rodgers tore his ACL last spring (March 25th) and went on to play in Clemson’s second game against Texas A&M.
If healthy, Blaylock projects to start for UGA from the slot with George Pickens manning an outside receiver spot. Check out his huge plays from last season:
Jake Fromm with a beautiful dime to Dominick Blaylock!
Kirby Smart provided a rehab update on Georgia football WR Dominick Blaylock while spring practices are cancelled due to coronavirus.
With no spring practices as a result of COVID-19, we have very little information regarding the health of a few key players.
Thankfully, Kirby Smart filled everyone in during a teleconference with UGA reporters on Tuesday.
During the call, Smart mentioned that had there been spring practices this year, multiple Bulldogs would have been forced to sit out due to pre-existing injuries.
One player that Georgia fans have been wondering about is rising sophomore wide receiver Dominick Blaylock, who suffered a torn ACL in the first quarter of the SEC Championship loss vs LSU.
Smart touched on his rehab, and other players’, on Tuesday:
“The great thing about rehab is you can do it anywhere,” Smart said. “Ron (Georgia’s sports medicine director) has them set up. They can come in and do check-ins with Ron. If they choose to be here in town they can do their rehab locally here and have access to everything.”
Given the severity of his injury, nobody expected Blaylock, a former five-star receiver out of Marietta, to be able to train with the team this spring. The hope remains that he will be ready to go for fall camp in August.
Smart also mentioned backup quarterback D’Wan Mathis, who is still in the process of coming back after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst on his brain last May.
“Dom and D’wan they do exactly what you ask them to do, and they know it helps the future of their careers to be rehabbing,” Smart said. “And they’re committed to doing that. And the good thing is the NCAA has allowed us to help those guys.”
According to DawgNation, Mathis chose to stay in Athens during this time so he could remain close to the trainers and football facility.
However, if he did return home to Michigan, Smart said that that would have worked as well.
“The good thing is Ron knows so many people across the country every one of these kids he can reach out to somebody and have a whole network of people where they can get their rehab done,” Smart said.
Georgia football HC Kirby Smart talked about UGA’s loaded group of incoming wide receivers.
After Georgia football landed college football’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class, head coach Kirby Smart spoke with the media about why he recruited each position group the way that he did.
A big reason why Georgia was able to secure the No. 1 class was in part thanks to the signing of five wide receivers, four of them being 4-stars.
We all saw the step back that Georgia football suffered this past season on offense without Mecole Hardman, Terry Godwin, JJ Holloman, Riley Ridley and Isaac Nauta.
Next season Georgia will be without one of its best receivers Lawrence Cager, who shined in 2019 as a grad transfer from Miami before suffering a season ending injury.
Luckily for the Bulldogs, though, Georgia football is in good shape with the return of two five-stars George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock, who are both sure to have big sophomore seasons.
Once Cager was done for the year, it was pretty much Pickens and everyone else. Blaylock did a fine job but did not see enough action.
But there was just no help for Pickens or Blaylock and Smart acknowledged the lack of skill at receiver throughout the 2019 season.
On Wednesday, Smart spoke about the importance of Georgia football landing such a talented class of wide receivers this recruiting cycle.
“Wide receiver was an area that we had to address and I’m excited about the wide receivers that we have as additions to this signing class and those guys are expected to help us. With Justin (Robinson) being here now and going through a couple of bowl practices with us, it’s been a big addition to get those guys.”
Robinson was the only one of the five to enroll early in Athens.
