ATHENS — Georgia won’t know the status of two of its stars until later in the week for this Saturday’s game against South Carolina.
Georgia is still in wait-and-see mode when it comes to Ladd McConkey and Javon Bullard. The latter left Saturday’s game with an ankle injury and Smart said Georgia won’t have a better idea of his status until after Wednesday’s practice.
In the event Bullard can’t play, Georgia will rotate David Daniel-Sisavanh and Dan Jackson at safety.
As for McConkey, he has missed the first two games of the season with a back injury.
“We have guys that have similar skillsets, we just don’t have the experience. We have guys capable of filling the void left by Ladd, but we don’t have guys with the experience in this offense,” Smart said. “Two years, 15 games a year, 30 games of experience is immense. That’s the part we miss. As far as his availability, he hasn’t been available. He’s been injured. He’s trying to come back, and we’re trying to figure out all we can do to speed that process up.”
Georgia has leaned more on Arian Smith and Dominic Lovett with McConkey out. Lovett leads Georgia in receptions with 8, while Smith had 50 receiving yards in the team’s win over Ball State.
Mekhi Mews has also taken advantage of McConkey’s absence. The redshirt sophomore has a touchdown in each of Georgia’s wins, including a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown against Ball State. Mews has also taken over McConkey’s duties as a punt returner.
Georgia is expecting running back Daijun Edwards to return to action on Saturday, as he has not played in Georgia’s first two games as he has been recovering from an MCL injury.
Austin Blaske may be available for Saturday’s game as he deals with an MCL injury.
The Bulldogs also saw linebacker Smael Mondon return to a starting role against Ball State. Mondon led the team in tackles with 4.
“I think he’s still kind of knocking the rust off a little bit. He flashes,” Smart said. “He’s really smart, man. He’s a really good leader. He and Pop together are comfortable.”
Georgia also saw linebacker Raylen Wilson make his season debut against the Ball State.
The Bulldogs take on South Carolina at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. CBS will broadcast the game.
Georgia football injury report
- Branson Robinson, knee -- out
- Lawson Luckie, ankle -- out
- De’Nylon Morrissette, groin -- out
- Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, foot -- out
- EJ Lightsey, shoulder -- out
- Joshua Miller, undisclosed -- out
- Austin Blaske, MCL sprain -- doubtful
- Chris Peal, toe -- questionable
- Javon Bullard, ankle -- questionable
- Christen Miller, cervical/neck -- probable
- Raylen Wilson, knee -- probable
- Ladd McConkey, back -- questionable
- Kendall Milton, hamstring -- probable
- Daijun Edwards, knee -- probable
