Kirby Smart describes impact of George Pickens return on Georgia offense, locker room

Georgia wide receiver George Pickens only had one catch for five yards on Saturday against Georgia Tech, but his presence in the game was a much bigger deal than that reception. 

“Well first, I’m just glad of the effort George has been putting into getting back,” Smart said. “He’s worked really hard. We know guys on the team that have had ACLs. It’s a mental injury as much as it is a physical injury. It’s taxing, and it’s draining to sit there and watch all of your friends play in the spring and play the spring game and then go play in the fall. And you’re sitting there doing rehab all the time.”

Pickens tore his ACL last spring, one of many Georgia wide receivers to deal with injury in the last year. He had been sidelined for the vast majority of Georgia’s season but is back just in time for what they hope is a run at the national title. 

“George loves football, and George has always really wanted to get back and have an opportunity to get out there,” Smart added. “We were able to integrate him a little more in practice and try to get him some confidence in his legs. He’s done a really good job.”

Pickens received a warm welcome from fans when he entered the game on the first drive, and the wideout got rousing cheers when he made his first catch. 

Georgia ultimately topped their in-state rival 45-0. The Yellow Jackets were shut out for the second consecutive week, as they lost 55-0 to Notre Dame last weekend. 

Pickens still working to get back to peak

While Smart and the rest of the nation’s top team are thrilled to have Pickens back, his head coach knows he must keep working to get back to his old self. 

“It’s one thing to just go catch the ball, and it’s another thing to get the signal, get lined up, know who I block, know what I do on my conversions,” Smart said. “He’s still getting all that back and in the flow of things.

“There’s things he could have done better that he wasn’t perfect at and he’s got to continue to get involved in some things. He’s still not, he’s safe and he’s cleared but he’s not 100 percent right now. He’s got the knee brace on and I think he’s pushing that, but we’re proud of the GPS numbers he’s hit.”

The Bulldogs will travel to Atlanta with a 12-0 record to take on Alabama for the SEC title. If they win, they are surely getting a spot in the College Football Playoff. A loss would likely have them included as well.