Kirby Smart, Georgia are well-aware of threat Luther Burden presents

The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs head to Columbia, Missouri on Saturday for a primetime matchup versus the Tigers. Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart discussed the threat the Tigers’ offense poses with former five-star wideout Luther Burden lining up out wide.

Burden was a Georgia recruit in the last cycle, but he ultimately opted to stay in the Show-Me state.

“Size, elite skillset, he’s strong,” Smart said on Monday. “He’s physical. You watch him as a returner, he makes people miss. They find ways to get him the football. He’s a very elusive, physical runner, you can tell when people go to tackle him, he’s stout.”

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In four games with Missouri, Burden has hauled in ten catches for 78 receiving yards and a touchdown. It’s been a slow start for the wide receiver, though it’s been a slow start for the Tigers all around so far this season. Eli Drinkwitz’ squad is 2-2 on the year with losses to Kansas State and Auburn.

In addition to his receiving duties, the Saint Louis native returns punts for the special teams unit. Through five games, he has five returns for 114 yards, which includes a 78-yard touchdown return.

Coming out of high school, Burden was ranked a five-star prospect by the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services.

He was a huge recruiting win for head coach Eli Drinkwitz, with Burden picking Missouri over the likes of Alabama and Georgia. Burden ranked as the No. 3 overall player in the 2022 class coming out of East Saint Louis High School.

Smart addresses availability of Javon Bullard

Georgia could be down a defensive back this weekend. Police arrested Javon Bullard on Sunday morning and charged him with seven misdemeanor counts including DUI. Smart addressed his status for Missouri week on Monday.

“Yeah, I released a statement yesterday I believe,” Smart said. “Disappointed in Javon, hate it for him. He’s got a wonderful family but made poor decisions and it’ll be dealt with internally.”

The Bulldogs head coach went on to share what the team’s internal process is for handling these situations.

“We have a process here we go through and we have a committee that he goes in front of, with the athletic director (Josh Brooks) and (senior deputy director of athletics) Darrice (Griffin),” Smart said. “That’s what I mean by it’ll be handled internally with us. There’s still a lot in the air there.”

Bullard had been credited with 18 tackles and a pass deflection so far in two seasons of playing action with the Bulldogs.