Colbie Young injury update: Georgia WR heads to locker room after trick play vs. Ole Miss

Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young headed to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury on the opening drive against Ole Miss. He went down after a 36-yard reception on a trick play.

Young hauled in the catch from Gunner Stockton on a flea flicker, which came early in Georgia’s opening possession. It turned into a 36-yard gain to get the Bulldogs deep into Ole Miss territory, but he was visibly shaken up after the play.

Young is in his second year at UGA after transferring from Miami, and he’s become a top target for Stockton so far this season. He entered Saturday with 22 receptions for 300 yards and a touchdown through the first six games.

The expectation was Colbie Young would be a huge part of the attack once again on Saturday, according to ABC’s Holly Rowe. He was later ruled out with less than six minutes to go until halftime.

“Colbie Young, who is the second-leading receiver for the Georgia Bulldogs, is out right now with an ankle injury,” Rowe reported on the broadcast. “He is one of their top targets. In fact, Mike Bobo [was] telling us, he was trying to target him 10 times a game right now, along with Zachariah Branch. I’ll keep you posted if he’s able to return, but that is a big blow for Georgia’s offense right now.”

Saturday’s game received plenty of fanfare as undefeated Ole Miss made its way to Athens. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in attendance as the Rebels look to not only improve to 7-0, but also get a second straight victory over Georgia after winning last year’s game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Of course, there’s also the storyline that both Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart worked together at Alabama. They were part of Nick Saban’s staff as offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, and still have a close relationship.

In fact, earlier this week, Kiffin offered some high praise for Smart and what he’s done as UGA head coach. But in true fashion, he also had a bit of fun at Smart’s expense, particularly regarding his record against Alabama.

“He’s done it a lot longer (than me) and done a great job,” Kiffin said of Smart. “Remember, he went there when I was at Alabama when he took the job and had the first year. They were not playing as well as they’d like and he kind of redid their offense and has never looked back since and really became the new Alabama and kind of built it the exact same way.

“People talk about people leaving coach Saban and what do they take – I think Kirby basically is Nick Saban in almost every area. How he is, how he coaches, everything. How he models his team. And it’s worked. Basically have repeated the program and the success, really against everybody but Alabama.”