UGA gets bad news on Colbie Young, says Gunner Stockton played through injury
ATHENS — Colbie Young entered the game as Georgia’s leading receiver, which makes the loss of the wide receiver all the more significant.
Young suffered an injury on Georgia’s opening drive of the game when he hauled in a 36-yard pass from Gunner Stockton on the flea flicker.
Young exited the game shortly after the play and did not return.
“It’s not good. It’s fractured down there,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “It’s broken. It’s either his tibia or fibula. I don’t know which one but it’s not good.”
Young entered the game with 22 receptions for 300 yards and a touchdown.
With Young out, it was expected Noah Thomas would see an uptick in snaps. Thomas committed a costly offensive pass interference penalty on Georgia’s first drive. He did not have a reception in the game.
Georgia’s Zachariah Branch was Stockton’s leading pass catcher Saturday, as he caught 7 passes for 81 yards in the 43-35 win.
Stockton was able to finish the game, but the Georgia quarterback was not healthy during the week.
“He’s wired for these type moments because he’s tough and his team believes in him,“ Smart said. ”You know, I can talk about it, but this kid couldn’t practice Monday and Tuesday. I mean, he literally couldn’t practice. His oblique, the shots he took at Auburn, he’s beat up."
Smart said they were willing to find options for him to have less contact but Stockton told him, “I want to run it. I want to run it. My team needs to see me run it.”
“We were concerned he wouldn’t be able to go,” Smart said. “And there was no flinch in him.”
Stockton threw for 289 yards, tossed four touchdowns and ran for 59 yards and a touchdown. Stockton accounted for five total touchdowns while having just five incomplete passes.
Georgia was without starting safety Kyron Jones as he deals with a foot injury. JaCorey Thomas started in his place.
Georgia had a healthy offensive line, making it the first time this season Georgia did not start a new offensive line combination.
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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.
