Kirby Smart discusses health of wide receivers, absence of Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint

The Georgia offense saw many different skill position players, including multiple wide receivers, make a play in Saturday’s 48-7 win over UT Martin. Twelve players caught a pass for the Bulldogs, led by superstar tight end Brock Bowers.

But the Bulldogs were without some key wideouts, including Ladd McConkey, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and Jackson Meeks. Head coach Kirby Smart addressed the health and absences of the players in the wide receiver room after the game.

“Ladd’s dealing with a back,” Smart said. “Marcus is an internal issue. I hope to get both those guys back soon, and we’ve got to get better all the way around the board. We’ve got to get everybody back. Jackson Meeks is a guy that had an unbelievable camp who’s dealing with a foot injury. When you look at it, there’s a lot of guys that are beat up and banged up. That’s not an excuse, we’ve just got to go out there and play with the guys we’ve got.”

Smart had told the media about McConkey’s back injury during his press conference Monday but said that the he should be fine.

Rosemy-Jacksaint was arrested in May on misdemeanors charges for reckless driving and speeding. However, the reason for his absence from the Sanford Stadium field of play during Saturday’s game is unknown.

“It’s just one of those deals where we keep our discipline internal and Marcus knows why he didn’t play tonight,” Smart said.

McConkey was the second-leading pass catcher on the team last season after Bowers, snagging 58 catches for 762 yards and seven touchdowns. Rosemy-Jacksaint was the fifth-leading pass catcher — and second among all wideouts only to McConkey — with 29 catches and 337 yards.

With those two wide receivers out of the lineup for the Bulldogs on Saturday, Mekhi Mews led the way with three catches for 75 yards and a score in the season opener. C.J. Smith added two catches for 57 yards and Rara Thomas had a 56-yard touchdown reception.

Heading into the season, Rosemy-Jacksaint was someone who highlighted the depth of the wide receivers.

“I feel like this receiver room now, every position has depth. One, twos, threes, no matter who is in. Whoever is out there, whoever is in the game, we feel they have the full ability and trust to go in there, play at a high level and execute at the level we need them to execute at,” Rosemy-Jacksaint said during August. “I feel like this year, we have a lot more moving pieces in the receiver room and that is going to be a benefit towards us this year. That’s always a great thing to me.”