ATHENS – Some might say the Missouri Tigers got the best of Dominic Lovett-Luther Burden deal. The Georgia Bulldogs might take issue with that.
Not that there was a “deal,” necessarily. A myriad of circumstances led to Lovett being at Georgia and Burden first signing with and then remaining with the Tigers. The Bulldogs were a leading player in the recruitment of Burden, a 5-star prospect out of St. Louis, and had they won that initial scrum, the fortunes of Mizzou might look a lot different than they are presently.
Lovett, who left Missouri last December to play for the Bulldogs, attended the same high school as Burden. As the leading wideouts for the respective teams that will meet at Sanford Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS), their relationship and crisscrossing paths will be a primary focus in the leadup to monumental concept.
But inside the Bulldogs’ camp, they’re simply thrilled to have Lovett in red-and-black.
“The thing I love the most about Dom is just the fact that he’s a person who really wants to soak up anything he can,” Georgia senior center Sedrick Van Pran said. “When he first came to Georgia, he was really quiet as far as he wasn’t the first one to speak. … He wanted to learn and listen and just observe the things we’ve been doing the previous years and be a part of that. He’s done a tremendous job of acclimating himself without changing himself and what the Georgia standard is, and I love that about him.”
Bulldogs defensive back Tykee Smith has to defend Lovett every day in practice and will have a central role in trying to contain Burden on Saturday. Burden leads the SEC in receptions (61) and is No. 2 in receiving yards (905).
“Luther kind of went into Dominic Lovett’s spot when he left and came here,” Smith said. “So we’re looking forward to that matchup.”
Lovett, a 5-foot-10, 187-pound junior, leads Georgia’s wideouts with 35 catches for 365 yards and a score. When asked about it last week as the Bulldogs were preparing for Florida, Lovett would say only he’s “excited about playing Mizzou.”
But coach Kirby Smart said Monday he doesn’t expect Lovett to be excited beyond his capacity to play with composed intelligence against the Tigers.
“He’s fired up for every game,” Smart said. “… He’s busted his butt since he’s been here, been very humble and bought into what we’ve asked him to do in being selfless. He’s tried to improve his game as a blocker. That’s one of the things he had to work on. But I’m not overly concerned about (Lovett being too fired up). As much as it is a story for you guys, it’s not for him.”
McConkey hauls in SEC award
Georgia junior receiver Ladd McConkey received the first SEC offensive player of the week honor of his career for his role in the Bulldogs’ 43-20 rout of Florida last Saturday.
The redshirt junior from Chatsworth matched his career highs with six catches for 135 yards and scored a 41-yard touchdown versus the Gators. It was McConkey’s most extensive participation of the season as he missed the first four games of the year with a back ailment and has been eased back into the receiver in the four games since.
That McConkey came through in the Bulldogs’ first game playing without star tight end Brock Bowers was significant to Georgia’s offensive operation.
“He came out of the game great,” Smart said of McConkey’s health. “We’ve got a little routine we’ve done now in terms of what we do Sunday, what do we do Monday, what do we do Tuesday. And now that we’ve got that routine, it seems to be working, and we keep doing what we’re doing.”
McConkey’s SEC weekly honor was the seventh of the season for the Bulldogs. Van Pran, linebacker Smael Mondon, place-kicker Peyton Woodring and quarterback Carson Beck have also been cited by the league office for their play this season.
What about Mims?
Junior tackle Amarius Mims made the trip to Jacksonville and went through pregame warmups with the Bulldogs but ultimately did not play. He will be almost six weeks removed from tightrope surgery for a high-ankle sprain when Missouri visits on Saturday. Smart was asked Monday if the 6-foot-7, 340-pound junior might see action then.
“He’s got to be healthy enough to play and be the best available player to play,” Smart said. “I mean, he’s working his butt off. He did extra work Friday, extra work Saturday, extra work yesterday, and he’s going out there (Monday) to continue to work. But at the end of the day, he’s got to be confident to go out and play. He’s much closer to that today than he was last week is all I can tell you.”
Georgia got an unexpected major contribution last Saturday from sophomore defensive end Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. Out since the first game of the season with a sprained foot, Ingram-Dawkins was a late addition to the travel roster and came through with a tackle, tackle for loss, sack and forced fumble. That they all came on the same play resulting in the Bulldogs’ first recovered fumble of the season was a bonus.
There are two other Georgia players who are unlikely to play Saturday. They are senior safety Dan Jackson and sophomore outside linebacker Darris Smith. For the first time, we know why.
Smart revealed that Smith is “focusing on academics” but is “not necessarily with us.” Jackson, one of Georgia’s most experienced defensive backs and a key backup, is dealing with a bursae in his knee that has kept him out of the lineup for the last two weeks and could Saturday, too.
“It actually got infected (before) the Vanderbilt game,” Smart said. “It happened while we were there and didn’t find out until the morning. So , e didn’t get him in the Vanderbilt game the last minute, and then he was unable to go last week. And we’re hopeful to get him back this week and give us some extra depth in the secondary. He’s supposed to be able to do some stuff today for the first time. We’ll see how he does.”
Freshman linebacker C.J. Allen left the Florida game with what Smart called a “hamstring tweak” and is considered “day-to-day.”
