The greatest unknown for the Georgia Bulldogs heading into Saturday’s game is whether offensive starters Warren McClendon and Ladd McConkey will be able to play. Neither has been spotted at Georgia’s practices at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this week.
But both were present and accounted for Thursday during Georgia’s turn at Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Media Day. Attendance is mandatory for every player and coach participating this week in bowl activities. Hence, the Bulldogs’ four full-size coach buses parked in front of the College Football Hall of Fame for Thursday morning’s festivities.
McConkey, a sophomore slot receiver, and McClendon, a junior right tackle, each suffered knee injuries in the first half of the SEC Championship game Dec. 3. They have been undergoing treatment and physical therapy ever since. How much actual practice they’ve been getting is debatable. Word is both have gotten in some limited work on the field.
Neither player would confirm or deny that Thursday. They were under strict orders not to answer any questions about their health.
“That’s a coach (Kirby) Smart question. I can’t answer that,” McClendon said.
Added McConkey: “Oh, yeah, that’s just coach Smart’s question to answer. That’s our team rule. He answers all the questions about team injuries.”
Smart’s answer was predictable.
“We’ll see Saturday,” he said.
One player who is back and is certain that he’s going to play Saturday against Ohio State in their College Football Playoff semifinal is Adonai Mitchell. A sophomore wideout known as A.D., Mitchell said: “I’m ready. I’m just glad to be back.”
Budding journalist?
Junior defensive tackle Warren Brinson was having more fun than most of his teammates at Thursday’s Media Day. That’s because he commandeered WSB-TV’s camera operator and microphone and started asking questions himself.
Among his interview subjects were Smart and quarterback Stetson Bennett.
Smart told him about how they called some of the bigger, stronger offensive players “body-part guys.”
“That’s ‘cause if you see them coming, you just try to grab a body part,” Smart quipped.
Smart proceeded to ask Brinson about something he did over the Christmas break.
“This is not about me; this is about you,” was Brinson’s reply.
“You said one question; this interview is over,” Smart joked.
New wideouts welcomed
The still relatively new early signing period in football combined with the late fall transfer-portal window makes for some interesting internal dynamics on modern college football. Georgia is not immune to them.
As the Bulldogs’ wide receiver corps stays busy getting ready for Saturday’s game, Georgia brought in five new players who will be bent on replacing them next season. The Bulldogs signed three highly touted wideouts on signing day Dec. 21, which was followed shortly by announcements from two of the SEC’s leading receivers that they were going to play for Georgia next season.
Rara Thomas and Dominic Lovett were the top pass catchers for Mississippi State and Missouri, respectively, this season. The Bulldogs signed Anthony Evans of Converse, Texas, Yazeed Haynes of Philadelphia and Tyler Williams of Lakeland, Fla., to the incoming recruiting class of 2023. All three are four-star prospects.
To them all, Georgia’s current wideouts say, “welcome.”
“Oh, man, I’m open arms to whoever comes into the Georgia family,” said Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, a junior split end, part-time starter and rotation regular. “Whoever comes in, I’m going to try my best to make sure they’re welcomed here; make sure I help them and do my part, just like others did for me when I came in, as far as learning the plays and everything. My job is to help them get acclimated with the way we do things at Georgia.”
McConkey echoed that sentiment.
“That’s our coaches’ jobs, to go get the best players they can get,” he said. “So, yeah, I mean, we’ll look at all that next year. We’re obviously focused on (the Peach Bowl) now. But, yeah, they bring in the best guys they can get, and I’m excited to compete with those guys.”
Of course, as third-year players, McConkey and Rosemy-Jacksaint are eligible to apply for early entry in the NFL draft. One has made his decision, and the other is noncommittal.
“Yeah, I’m coming back. I want to get my degree,” said Rosemy-Jacksaint, a business communications major. “I’ve only got 20-something hours left.”
Said McConkey, a third-year sophomore: “I’m just focused on this game right now. That’d be the perfect headline: ‘Focused on Ohio State.’”
Hot ticket
If there was any doubt that the Peach Bowl is commanding more national attention than the corresponding semifinal that is being conducted in the Fiesta Bowl, it can be removed with Thursday’s update on secondary-ticket market sales.
Currently, the average secondary market list price is $411 for the Fiesta Bowl, and $1,154 for the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, according to Jesse Lawrence of New York-based TicketIQ.com. The cheapest tickets – or get-in prices – are a little closer in value: $207 for the Fiesta and $277 for the Peach, or 34% higher.
Lawrence reports that the average prices for both games actually have been trending down since shortly after the participants were decided Dec. 4. He said the get-in price for the Peach Bowl is down 53% over that span, while the Fiesta Bowl has decreased 64%.
Prices could continue to drop as inventory for both games remains high on the secondary market. Currently, there are over 4,900 seats available for the Peach Bowl and over 2,200 available for the Fiesta Bowl, according to TicketIQ.
Another factor that might drive down ticket prices is travel issues seen across the country. Fans on social media have posted about being unable to fly to their destination, having to give their tickets away because their flight was canceled, or choosing to watch the games on TV instead of buying tickets.
The highest prices that TicketIQ has reported are $11,510 for the Peach and $2,772 for the Fiesta. A higher quantity of higher-priced tickets is a reason for the discrepancy between the two games’ average list price and get-in price.
