How London Humphreys knew exactly where he needed to be on clutch Georgia touchdown
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — London Humphreys couldn’t understand why Kirby Smart wasn’t more upset with him.
Humphreys had just fumbled in the third quarter of Georgia’s game Sept. 6, setting Austin Peay up with great field position. The Governors tacked on a field goal to make the score 21-6.
The Georgia wide receiver thought Smart was going to curse him out for the mistake. He was curious why it never ended up happening.
“Fumbles happen,” Humphreys said Saturday. “We’ve practiced more for myself on ball security this week, but I can’t dwell on the past. We talk about living in the moment, so I was living in today’s moment.”
That moment came in the fourth quarter, when Humphreys pulled in a 28-yard catch on fourth down to pull Georgia within two. The pass from Gunner Stockton was impressive, given the stakes at the time. It was fourth down with Georgia trailing by eight.
Humphreys’ grab pulled Georgia back within two.
“Yeah, London ran a great route, and I love London,” Stockton said. “He’s a great teammate. I tried to put it up there for him, and he ended up making a great catch and scored.”
The effort made by Humphreys in the fourth quarter shouldn’t be overlooked in Georgia’s 44-41 overtime win over the Volunteers. He had only two catches in the victory, but both went for explosive plays.
The 31-yard gain he had earlier in the quarter was an even more impressive grab in the eyes of Smart.
“He plays so hard on special teams,” Smart said. “He’s from the state. You know, he’s playing at Vandy. He’s, I mean, you ought to hear him in meetings. He’s just so intelligent and so hard working that it could not have happened to a better guy.”
Georgia had three receivers finish with more than 50 yards Saturday. The Bulldogs landed all three via the transfer portal. Humphreys and Colbie Young arrived before the 2024 season, with Zachariah Branch coming into Athens this year.
Their additions and improvements helped elevate the Georgia pass game. So much so that what was a major question last season now seems to be a position of strength.
Humphreys’ first season in Athens didn’t go as he might have hoped. He battled mononucleosis and a hand injury. His numbers regressed from where they were at Vanderbilt, as he caught 15 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
He’s already equaled his touchdown total from last season and seems well on his way to blowing past the other two numbers.
A game and performance like Saturday’s should help open up even more for Georgia in its passing offense.
“I think it just opens up more possibilities for more things,” Humphreys said. “We’ve shown ourselves that we can do it now, so that is the standard. That was the standard at the beginning of the season, so we’re just going to strive to do that.”
Smart didn’t get a clear view of Humphreys’ catch during the moment. On replay, he thought the junior may have bobbled it. He also knew Georgia needed to deliver on its two-point play to tie the score.
But the replay showed Humphreys snagged the pass, got his feet down and made a huge play for the Georgia passing game.
One he hopes to keep making as Georgia gets deeper into the season.
“We’ve practiced it plenty throughout the week, game-planned it and whatnot,” Humphreys said. “I had a feeling it was coming my way based off the coverage they were playing, which only helps because I can expect it coming. Then Gunner threw just a great pass through right in the bucket, so I just had a good night.”
London Humphreys on his big touchdown catch
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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.
