It took a little longer than a lot of people had hoped, but Isaiah McKenzie is finally the primary kick returner for Georgia.
It’s what the 5-foot-8, 164-pound freshman from Miami was recruited to do. Hence, the nickname he arrived with, “The Human Joystick.”
But McKenzie has been eased into the job, getting one punt return in the opener against Clemson, none in the second game against South Carolina and most since then. Sophomore Reggie Davis began as the primary punt returner, then they shared time as dual returners.
Heading into Saturday’s game against Missouri and the official halfway point of the regular season, McKenzie leads the Bulldogs and is fourth in the SEC in punt returns at 15.9 yards a return. He also appears to have settled in on kickoff returns, getting the nod of late over Todd Gurley.
“He’s gotten much better in his fundamentals catching the ball,” Georgia coach Mark Richt explained. “… I told them on the front end, unless you prove to me you’re serious about doing the fundamentals right, I’m not going to let you do it. So he took it seriously, and his fundamentals have really gotten good.”
McKenzie appears to have unseated Gurley on kickoff returns. He has been out there for the last four and has the last two returns.
“He’s still working (kickoff return),” Richt said of Gurley. “But when we got low at that position tailback), we backed off a little bit.”
McKenzie has a 52-yard punt return for a TD but hasn’t gotten loose on a kickoff. He’s averages 18.5 yards with a long of 23 yards. But indications from practice are that he has potential to get loose on those as well.
“The things he’s doing, he’s talented and it’s kind of fun to watch,” Richt said. “… He’s done a good job and we have enough faith in him to let him be the guy. But we have a lot of faith in Reggie too. Reggie does a good job.”
