Dominic Lovett, Rara Thomas impressing upon arrival this spring
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia transfer receivers Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas have been generating buzz since the day they announced their commitments to the Bulldogs. Arriving in Athens from Missouri and Mississippi State, Lovett and Thomas were always thought to be plug-and-play type players. They’ve done it in the SEC before, so why couldn’t they do it again?
Based on the first few weeks of spring practice, there’s no reason to believe that the two new Bulldogs can’t do it again. Georgia played against both last season, and it’s safe to say that everybody in Athens is excited they’ll be on their sideline instead of the other this go-around.
“Well, I mean, I’m glad that they’re my teammates now. I mean, those guys are really good players, you know? Guarding them last year, I had to watch a lot of film on both of those guys just to make sure I was on my A game,” Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter said this spring. “Bringing them to Georgia, it just increases the intensity at practice. You know, the competition level between the receivers and the DBs. That’s some things like the guys like me — ultra-competitive guys, I like that, you know? I want the best guys to be here, and they want to go against the best guys as well. So just those guys being here, it’s really good for us.”
“RaRa’s just been out there making plays,” Georgia tight end Brock Bowers added. “I mean, he’s just an athlete. He’s going to be really good for us, and then Dom, he’s shifty and catching almost everything. So I mean, I think they’re going to be two good additions for our receiver room.”
Last season, each led their respective teams in receiving yards. Lovett hauled in 56 passes for 846 yards last season at Missouri while Thomas racked up seven touchdowns on 44 catches for a team-high 626 yards.
Since their arrival in Athens, they’ve stepped right in and made plays on the field. Their experience – and success – in the league was one of the reasons why Kirby Smart and company felt so confident bringing them in, expecting them both to make an immediate impact. Meanwhile, off the field, they’re doing just fine too. Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard said he and Lovett have bonded over their matchups on the field and gotten to be good friends in the locker room. Ladd McConkey, who shares a position group with the two newcomers, said that they were eager to arrive and jump right in to everything the receivers were doing.
“Dom’s like my little brother, man. He was one of the first guys that, like, when we came back, we were in the locker room just chopping it up,” Bullard said. “Very quick, very fast. Like I said, very agile, gets in and out of his breaks really good. Great route runner, knows how to play with his speed a lot, so I’m looking forward to seeing him play. And RaRa, I haven’t really gotten to guard RaRa just because he’s so outside. I know Kamari got to go up against him a lot, and just based off what he was saying he’s very quick off his first step off the release and has great hands, too. So like I said, I’m excited to see both those guys help us.”
Georgia will take the practice field again on Thursday, passing the halfway point of spring drills with their eighth session. Then, on Saturday, the Bulldogs will go through their first of three scrimmages this spring, the final one acting as the spring game on April 15th. ESPN will be in town to air G-Day from Sanford Stadium live on ESPN2 at 4:00 p.m. ET that Saturday, the first chance for fans to see what Lovett and Thomas bring to the table as Bulldogs.
