There they were, live and in person, two of the most talked-about Georgia football players not to have played a snap this season.
Wide receivers Malcolm Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley, missing from action all season for distinctly different reasons, were running routes and catching passes full speed Tuesday and looking as if were ready to help the Bulldogs. And boy could the Bulldogs use the help.
The passing game has not been one of Georgia’s strengths this season. Heading into Game 5 on Saturday, against Vanderbilt, the No. 13 Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 SEC) are ranked 111th of 125 schools in passing offense, at 162.3 yards per game. UGA finished ranked 15th nationally in passing last season.
“I do think having Malcolm and Justin is going to help,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said Tuesday. “I think it’s going to help our current receivers, too. I think there will be more depth in practice … and I think in the games they will be more apt to be fresher, too.”
Mitchell was lost on Georgia’s second offensive series last season to a knee injury while celebrating a Todd Gurley touchdown in the end zone against Clemson. After ACL reconstructive surgery and an extensive rehabilitation and recovery period, Mitchell tore cartilage in the same knee while catching passes from quarterback Hutson Mason three days before the Bulldogs were to report to preseason camp. He underwent arthroscopic surgery July 31, and it will be almost exactly two months since then when Georgia takes the field for homecoming against Vanderbilt.
“He’d have to have a setback not to play,” Richt said. “The same with Justin.”
Scott-Wesley also had a major knee injury that sidelined him in 2013, but that’s not why he missed the first four games of 2014. That was because of last October’s dormitory arrest for misdemeanor marijuana possession. UGA’s student-conduct code calls for a suspension of 30 percent of competition dates for a second violation of the school’s marijuana-use policy.
The good news in that regard is Scott-Wesley has been able to practice virtually full speed the past couple of weeks after suffering a temporary setback with an ankle injury the last week of camp. On Tuesday, Scott-Wesley was dressed out in full pads, but wearing the protection of a green jersey, which signifies non-contact status.
Mitchell also donned a green jersey as well shoulder pads and helmet. But he wore sweat pants not football pants and did not participate in coach Tony Ball’s many footwork drills. He did, however, run every pass route and catch most of the passes thrown his way.
“They looked good,” quarterback Hutson Mason said of the two wideouts. “I think it’s going to take a few days for Malcolm and Justin to adjust to the playbook. They’ve been out for a while, so some of these routes that we’re running they don’t remember or we have different names now and stuff like that. Probably their endurance, too. Can they make it through a full game? Justin said he’s been running extra sprints on the side to get ready. We’ll just have to see how it goes.”
The Bulldogs still aren’t back to full strength in the receiving corps. Senior Jonathon Rumph, who has yet to play this season because of a chronic hamstring issue, is “probably doubtful right now,” Richt said.
But in Mitchell and Scott-Wesley, the Bulldogs are getting back two of their most explosive playmakers. They enter Saturday’s game with career per-catch averages of 14.6 and 20.3 yards, respectively. That’s what Georgia has been missing as opposing defenses crowd the line of scrimmage to stop Todd Gurley and the Bulldogs’ other tailbacks.
“We’re gonna try to get these fast guys some deeper routes like they’re really good at,” split end Michael Bennett said. “Me and (Chris) Conley, we’re really good route runners, and we can also stretch the field. But I think we also do a great job in intermediate routes, too.”
How much of an affect will Mitchell and Scott-Wesley have on the offense? The Bulldogs are eager to find out.
“It’s definitely going to make the corners and safeties play a little deeper,” tight end Jay Rome said. “If you don’t, they’re going to beat you deep. So that should definitely open up the middle for the slot positions and the tight ends.”
That said, Richt was skeptical about their presence revolutionizing Georgia’s passing game. Gurley, Nick Chubb and Georgia’s other tailbacks still need to get the football, first and foremost.
“We’re not going to have quite the same balance as we’ve had in the past because of the dynamics of that backfield right now,” Richt said. “It doesn’t make sense to me anyway. But should we have more deep-ball opportunities because of the running game? Yes. So we’ve got to get better at that.”
Mitchell and Scott-Wesley should help.
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