The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA receiver a surprise, but not to everyone
ATHENS — Funny how things work out sometimes. That’s what Preston Poag was thinking this week about his former star player, Ladd Mcconkey.
Mcconkey, who played for Poag at North Murray High, started in the slot last Saturday for the Georgia Bulldogs against No. 3 Clemson. The redshirt freshman got the start primarily because senior Kearis Jackson was not fully recovered from offseason knee surgery.
And Jackson is someone with whom Poag and Mcconkey are familiar. Jackson absolutely lit up their Mountaineers team in the playoffs in his senior year at Peach County High.
“Kearis absolutely killed us,” said Poag, able to laugh about it years later. “Catching the ball, returning kicks. I’m telling you, I thought for sure he was going to be a superstar. He was the best I’d ever seen in high school.”
That night in Fort Valley, Jackson had 220 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns — in the first half. Peach County’s 49-7 win eliminated North Murray from the playoffs.
Mcconkey was a 140-pound sophomore wideout on that North Murray team. But, Poag asserted, he belonged on that field that night in Fort Valley. And he believes Mcconkey belonged on the field at Bank of America Stadium against Clemson — way before anybody expected.
“Ladd’s always been smaller, going all the way back to little league ball,” Poag said. “His freshman year in high school, he looked like a seventh grader. He was tiny. But ... he always knew how to play. And he always had a lot of wiggle. People miss him. I know they liked him up at Georgia because of that. I thought it
might take a while.”
Mcconkey eventually took over at quarterback for North Murray. He also played safety on defense and returned kicks. The Mountaineers were undefeated in Region 6-3A during his senior year and reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 Class 3A playoffs.
The Bulldogs believed Mcconkey would develop into a decent receiver. But their primary interest in him was as a kick returner. Within that particular discipline, Mcconkey’s special athletic traits truly stand out.
That’s what makes Mcconkey starting Georgia’s opener so ironic. He played the slot because Georgia didn’t believe Jackson’s knee was well enough for him to take a bunch of offensive snaps. And Jackson returned punts because the Bulldogs weren’t sure whether Mcconkey was ready to handle such a big responsibility on such a big stage.
It’s likely the two Georgia players
eventually will switch those roles. Regardless, Mcconkey is thrilled to have a role at this point.
“It was a great experience, finally getting out there with full capacity and all the fans and the atmosphere was great,” Mcconkey said of his first collegiate action.
Mcconkey’s was a quiet debut, just as it was for the entire Georgia offense. He had two catches for 12 yards with a long of 8. But the Bulldogs’ 10-3 win catapulted them to No. 2 in the nation, and Mcconkey has exorcised whatever jitters might’ve been within him.
With Georgia’s receiving corps in varying degrees of injury-related disarray, Mcconkey remains in the Bulldogs’ plans as they prepare for Saturday’s home opener against Alabama-birmingham. The fact that coach Kirby Smart tabbed Mcconkey for Wednesday night’s post-practice interview duty is a testament to that.
Mcconkey seemed to enjoy that moment too. He laughed as reporters tried to pin him down about his true height and weight. He’s somewhat generously listed on Georgia’s roster at 6 feet tall and 185 pounds.
Mcconkey said he was “maybe a buck-65 soaking wet” — 165 pounds — when he signed with the Bulldogs in December 2019. He said Smart wants him at 185 and he’s “getting there” with the help of UGA’S nutritionists.
UGA was the only Power Five scholarship offer Mcconkey received, and it was very late in coming. Had he not signed with the Bulldogs, Poag said Mcconkey probably would have gone to Tennessee-chattanooga.
Had Mcconkey been able to live out his boyhood dream, he’d be playing for that other Tennessee. He grew up a Volunteers fan.
“Because of my grandfather, it was how my dad was raised, and so we all grew up Tennessee fans,” said Mcconkey, whose high school is 15 miles from the Tennessee state line. “But once (Georgia) offered me and I got up here, there was no denying that this is where I needed to be.”
Had the Vols been a little more persistent, they could have had Mcconkey.
“The day after Kirby was here to see Ladd, (Vols offensive coordinator) Jim Chaney came to see him,” Poag said. “I told him, ‘If y’all offer him, y’all will get him.’ But they wouldn’t offer him because of his size. And I told him, ‘You’ll regret it.’ Of course, they’re not there anymore.”
No, that former Tennessee regime is long gone. But Smart and the Bulldogs are still very much around and in the thick of things. And there is little ol’ Mcconkey, right there in the thick of it with them. He’s expected to get his second consecutive start Saturday, and might even return some punts this time.