It took a lot longer than expected, but wide receiver Jonathon Rumph finally caught his first touchdown pass for Georgia.
Nearing the end of his second and final season in the UGA program, the former junior-college standout got open in the back of the end zone Saturday and snared a 12-yard pass from backup quarterback Brice Ramsey in the third quarter of the Bulldogs’ 55-9 win over Charleston Southern.
“It was a long time coming,” Rumph said. “But I got it done.”
“I saw him stack the corner up — and a whole bunch of open grass in the end zone,” Ramsey said. “So I just threw it to a spot, and he went up and got it for me.”
Rumph caught five passes for 67 yards, including receptions of 22 and 17 yards, his second productive game in the past three.
“Just showing what I came here to do,” he said. “That’s really what it was.”
The 6-foot-5, 208-pound Rumph joined the Bulldogs amid high expectations last year, but has been slowed much of the time since by a chronic hamstring injury.
He played in only five games last season, catching seven passes, and didn’t play in the first eight games this season. He got on the field at Kentucky on Nov. 8 and caught four passes for 81 yards — his only catches this season before Saturday.
“I am completely healthy now,” he said. “I learned from my mistakes, and now I’m taking care of my body like I should … getting the right rest, drinking water, stretching all the time, just keeping up with little things like that.”
Starting quarterback Hutson Mason said Rumph can be an important offensive weapon when healthy.
“It’s nice to see him get out there and make some plays,” Mason said. “Coming into the year, we were expecting a lot of big things out of him. … We just need him to stay healthy and continue to make plays and show he’s trustworthy enough to be out there. But he showed it today.”
