Tag: George Pickens uga

Watch: George Pickens lays out for one handed grab at training camp

Check out this catch by George Pickens…

Former Georgia star receiver George Pickens is already turning heads at his first NFL training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The second-round pick has been making catches like this dating back to his early days at Georgia.

Pickens is already working with the first-team offense in Pittsburgh, and will have an opportunity to contribute right away this season.

The Steelers kickoff the regular season versus the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 11.

PFF expects Georgia Bulldogs WR to breakout

Pro Football Focus projects Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Arian Smith to breakout during the 2021 college football season

Pro Football Focus projects Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Arian Smith to breakout during the 2021 college football season. Smith is one of the fastest college athletes in the country.

The Lakeland High School speedster arrived in Athens as a four-star recruit, who was a member of the class of 2020, but Smith experienced a few injuries that setback his initial development.

Smith ran a 10.18 in the 100-meters event for Georgia’s track team this spring. Smith has burning speed and is well situated to have a big season following the emergence of Georgia quarterback JT Daniels.

Daniels flashed the ability to throw accurate deep balls in his four starts last season. He connected with Arian Smith a few times near the end of the year.

Smith will be a more critical target for the Bulldogs in 2021 because starting wide receiver George Pickens tore his ACL and Demetris Robertson is considering transferring. There should be plenty of opportunity for Arian Smith.

Smith was banged up last offseason. He underwent wrist surgery in May and had meniscus surgery in July. Smith did not play until Georgia’s final four games. He made an impact against South Carolina and Cincinnati and ended the season with 86 receiving yards on only two catches.

Here was Smith’s only career touchdown against South Carolina:

PFF additionally projects Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, TCU’s Quentin Johnston, LSU’s Kayshon Boutte, Maryland’s Rakim Jarrett, and Clemson’s Joe Ngata to be the other breakout wide receivers for the 2021 college football season.

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Georgia football player card: WR Arian Smith

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Arian Smith is one of the fastest college football players in the country.

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Arian Smith, Wide Receiver (No. 11):

Class: Redshirt Freshman

Height: 6-0

Weight: 185 pounds

Hometown: Bradley, Florida

High School: Lakeland High School

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Arian Smith is one of the fastest college football players in the country. The Lakeland High School speedster came to Athens as a four-star recruit in the class of 2020.

Smith runs for Georgia’s track team in addition to playing wide receiver. Smith ran an impressive 100-meters time of 10.18 during track season. He helped Matthew Boling and Georgia set a school record of 38.54 in the 4×100-meter relay event.

Smith will be an important deep threat for the Bulldogs and quarterback J.T. Daniels. Georgia is missing starting wide receive George Pickens, who tore his ACL, and Demetris Robertson entered the NCAA transfer portal. There will be plenty of opportunity for Arian Smith.

Smith was banged up last offseason. He underwent wrist surgery in May and had meniscus surgery in July. Smith did not play until Georgia’s final four games. He made an impact against South Carolina and Cincinnati, but ended up taking a redshirt year. He will look to build off his solid ending to the season.

Kirby Smart and Todd Monken signed Smith, Justin Robinson, Marcus Rosemy, Jermaine Burton and Ladd McConkey as wide receivers in the class of 2020.

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Jan. 1, 2021; Atlanta; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Arian Smith (11) celebrates after a victory against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia football player card: WR George Pickens

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver George Pickens tore his ACL this offseason and is expected to miss a portion of the upcoming football season

Wide Receiver George Pickens (No. 1):

Class: Junior

Height: 6-3

Weight: 190 lbs

Hometown: Hoover, Alabama

High School: Hoover High School

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver George Pickens tore his ACL this offseason and is expected to miss a portion of the college football season. Pickens is ranked one of the top returning receivers in the country. He will be eligible for the 2022 NFL draft.

In eight games last season, Pickens hauled in 36 catches for 513 yards and six touchdowns. Though his overall numbers weren’t as big, he averaged one more catch per game (4.5) and more yards per game (12.2) than as a freshman.

Pickens began his career at Georgia with eight touchdowns and 727 receiving yards as a true freshman.

Pickens came to Athens as a highly touted five-star recruit. He saved his best game for last in 2019. Pickens shredded the Baylor Bears for 175 receiving yards on 12 catches (both career highs for Pickens) en route to winning MVP honors at the 2020 Sugar Bowl.

Kirby Smart and Georgia will need other receivers to step up in Pickens’ absence. Jermaine Burton, Darnell Washington, Arian Smith, Adonai Mitchell, Dominick Blaylock and Kearis Jackson will play a larger role in games with Pickens out.

The Bulldog offense looked much better to end the 2021 college football season under quarterback J.T. Daniels.

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Sept. 26, 2020; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver George Pickens (1) during the third quarter of the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Georgia won the game 37-10. Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

 

Georgia star WR George Pickens has torn ACL, will require surgery

Georgia football star receiver George Pickens suffered a torn ACL in practice on Tuesday. Details here.

Georgia football has confirmed that star junior receiver George Pickens has suffered a torn ACL and will require surgery.

The injury occurred in a non-contact drill during Tuesday’s spring practice.

Coach Kirby Smart on Pickens’ injury:

“The good news is that the MRI showed it to be an isolated injury with no other structures involved.”

Pickens was set to be one of the top returning receivers in the country. As a sophomore n 2020, the Hoover, Ala., native caught 36 passes for 513 yards and six touchdowns in just eight games played. That’s after a great freshman season in 2019, where Pickens caught 49 passes for 727 yards and eight touchdowns, good enough to rank second all-time in freshman receptions behind UGA legend A.J. Green.

Pickens definitely benefited from the emergence of J.T. Daniels at quarterback. When the USC transfer stepped in against Mississippi State, he and Pickens seemed to connect immediately. In the Bulldogs final two games of the season versus Missouri and then Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl, Pickens totaled a combined 261 yards on 12 receptions with three touchdowns.

Fortunately for Georgia, the Bulldogs’ receiver room is as deep as it is talented in 2021. UGA returns last year’s receiving leader Kearis Jackson and talented sophomore Jermaine Burton. Redshirt sophomore Dominick Blaylock will be back from an ACL tear in 2020 along with speedy redshirt freshman Arian Smith and senior Demetrius Robertson is back too.

Pair that group with 2021 signee Adonai Mitchell and Georgia should still be explosive at receiver with Pickens out indefinitely.

 

Check out a new episode of “UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton” here! This will get you caught up on Georgia’s pro day.

George Pickens named one of CFB’s top returning WRs

Georgia football WR George Pickens was named a top returning receiver for the 2021 college football season.

Pro Football Focus has released its list of the top-10 returning wide receivers for the 2021 college football season and Georgia wide receiver George Pickens made the list.

Pickens checked in at No. 4 on the list and No. 1 in the SEC.

“Pickens took a step back in 2020, but he has more than proven to be capable of producing at an elite level. As a true freshman in 2019, Pickens earned an 88.0 receiving grade and displayed some of the best hands in the country. He saw 77 targets, and not a single one resulted in a drop.

In 2020, his production took a pretty steep hit. Pickens’ receiving grade dipped to 71.1, and he generated only 1.93 yards per route run. That said, lowly quarterback play early on from Stetson Bennett played a part, as did a nagging upper-body injury. Pickens did, however, get better in one key area: contested scenarios. He raised his 27.8% contested catch rate in 2019 to 64.3% in 2020.

With a clean bill of health in 2021, expect Pickens to get back to doing what he does best: making highlight-reel snags with his massive catch radius.

Look for Pickens to have a big year this coming fall thanks in large part to him being a favorite target of JT Daniels. His freshman season, Pickens looked like he could be the best receiver in the nation, after hauling in 49 catches for 727 yards and 8 touchdowns. As PFF mentioned, he did see a drop in his numbers in 2020, catching 36 balls for 513 yards and 6 touchdowns, but saw a resurgence when Daniels took over under center.

He finished the year strong with a 7 catch, 135 yard and 1 touchdown game in the Peach Bowl.

Georgia fans finally get to see true freshman WR Arian Smith’s speed

On the first play of the fourth quarter, we finally got to see UGA football WR Arian Smith do what he does best…run really fast. 

That’s what we’ve been waiting for!

On the first play of the fourth quarter, we finally got to see Arian Smith do what he does best…run really fast.

Daniels delivered a perfect throw to the true freshman and former track star from 31 yards out to put the Dawgs up 45-10.

Smith may be the fastest player on Georgia’s roster. He came to Athens as a four-star recruit and a member of the class of 2020. In addition to playing football, Smith also participated in track at a high level in high school. He competed against the likes of Matthew Boling.

Unfortunately for Smith, he had been banged up this offseason. The Bradley, Florida native underwent wrist surgery in May and then had meniscus surgery in July.

A world-class sprinter, Smith competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and long jump for the Mulberry track and field team. He won the FHSAA Class 2A state title in the 200 meters and finished second in the 100 meters. He also won the boys elite 100 meters race at the 2019 Nike Elite Prefontaine Classic.

UGA WR George Pickens ruled out versus Kentucky

The Georgia Bulldogs will be without talented wide receiver George Pickens today at Kentucky.

The Georgia Bulldogs will be without talented wide receiver George Pickens today at Kentucky. Pickens is Georgia’s No. 1 wide receiver and is a key piece in Georgia’s passing offense.

Pickens is injured and did not make the trip to Lexington, Kentucky. He’ll be missed, especially in the red zone. Kirby Smart and Georgia will look for players like Jermaine Burton, Demetris Robertson, and Kearis Jackson to step up in his place.

The Kentucky Wildcats have a good secondary, so this game could be closer than some of the experts think. Stetson Bennett and the Georgia Bulldog offense will have to look elsewhere for explosive plays in the passing game.

ATHENS, GA – OCTOBER 03: George Pickens #1 of the Georgia Bulldogs beats Roger McCreary #23 of the Auburn Tigers for a touchdown during the second quarter of a game against the Auburn Tigers at Sanford Stadium on October 3, 2020 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Pickens is out with an upper body injury. He’ll hope to play next week against the Florida Gators.

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Watch: D’Wan Mathis to George Pickens scene one

Watch new UGA quarterback D’Wan Mathis connect to star receiver George Pickens for a big first-down conversion here!

Georgia has a starting quarterback.

Coach Kirby Smart and staff elected to start redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis over USC transfer J.T. Daniels and he has shown some ability early on in the first half.

This particular throw to George Pickens may be a foreshadowing of things to come for the Bulldog offense :

Love how Mathis stood tall and got it to Pickens with not much room to work with; hopefully we get to see more of this moving forward!

Check back here for more highlights and analysis during the game.

Georgia football player card: WR Arian Smith

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Arian Smith may be the fastest player on Georgia’s roster

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Arian Smith, Wide Receiver (No. 11):

Class: Freshman

Height: 6-0

Weight: 185 pounds

Hometown: Bradley, Florida

High School: Lakeland High School

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Arian Smith may be the fastest player on Georgia’s roster. Smith comes to Athens as a four-star recruit and a member of the class of 2020.

There’s anticipated to be competition at every wide receiver spot outside of the place occupied by George Pickens. Smith will be a deep threat for the Bulldogs. The speedster runs 100 meters in a mere 10.6 seconds.

Unfortunately for Smith, he’s been banged up this offseason. The four-star underwent wrist surgery in May and then had meniscus surgery in July. Smith is expected to be ready for the season opener against Arkansas. He may need some extra reps in practice before he’ll be ready to be a contributor. Smith has missed much of the offseason, but has the talent to play immediately.

Kirby Smart and Todd Monken signed Smith, Justin Robinson, Marcus Rosemy, Jermaine Burton (LSU flip), and Ladd McConkey in the class of 2020 at the wide receiver position. It will be fascinating to see which players emerge from this talented group as freshmen.

In addition to playing football, Arian Smith also participated in track at a high level in high school. He competed against the likes of Matthew Boling.

Jun 22, 2019; Miramar, FL, USA; Matthew Boling (center) wins the 100m in a wind-aided 10.15 during the USATF U20 Championships at Ansin Sports Complex. (From left ) Dante Brown Jr., and Arian Smith and Boling and Justin Ofotan. Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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