Georgia football injury report: TE Ethan Barbour needs ankle surgery
ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart announced freshman tight end Ethan Barbour will need ankle surgery and will miss a significant amount of time.
Barbour’s injury came on the final play of the first half Saturday, as he was rolled up from behind while engaged in a block. While Georgia left for the locker room, Barbour received attention on the field. His left leg was put into an air cast, and he was carted off the field.
“Yeah, he’s got a pretty significant ankle injury,” Smart said. “He’ll have surgery to repair it. So he’ll be out for a little bit.”
Smart compared the injury to that of Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 2020 loss to Florida.
Despite being a freshman, Barbour had carved a role in the Georgia offense. He started Aug. 30 in the Bulldogs’ win over Marshall and lined up at fullback on multiple occasions. On Saturday, Barbour helped spring a 23-yard run by Dwight Phillips that was Georgia’s longest play of the day in the win against Austin Peay.
Barbour played more snaps Saturday than Jaden Reddell, despite not playing in the second half. Georgia still has Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie at the top of the depth chart, but look for them possibly to involve Reddell more Saturday against Tennessee. Georgia also could turn to freshman Elyiss Williams, though he played only one snap against Austin Peay.
The Bulldogs’ tight ends did not have a catch Saturday, something that had not happened since Georgia’s 2021 game against Arkansas.
Tennessee reportedly will play without its top two cornerbacks, as Jermond McCoy and Rickey Gibson are both dealing with injuries.
As for Georgia, injuries to monitor come on the offensive line, as neither Earnest Greene or Juan Gaston played Saturday. Greene at least dressed out, but Gaston did not. Gaston suffered a knee injury in the win over Marshall, and Greene has what Smart called “lower body stiffness.”
Smart said he hopes to learn more about Gaston and Greene later Monday.
Georgia did have Brett Thorson and Daylen Everette return to the lineup. Thorson missed the Marshall game because of an ACL injury. The first-team All-SEC punter had four punts for 175 yards against Austin Peay.
Everette, who was voted preseason first-team All-SEC, had a pass deflection and tackle in the win. He missed the Marshall game because of an ankle injury.
“He’s playing well. He’s a leader,” Smart said of Everette. “We need him to play well. He plays a lot of times into the boundary, and it’s good to have his confidence back out there.”
Saturday’s game against Tennessee is set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC. An availability report will be put out by the SEC on Wednesday.
Georgia football injury report
- OL Juan Gaston — knee/ankle
- OL Earnest Greene — back
- OL Malachi Tolliver — ankle
- RB Roderick Robinson — hamstring
- CB Ondre Evans — knee — out
- TE Ethan Barbour — leg — out
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
