As was expected, Georgia head coach Mark Richt confirmed on Tuesday that wide receivers Justin Scott-Wesley and Malcolm Mitchell will not play in the season opener against Clemson on Aug. 30.
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Scott-Wesley is serving a one game suspension for a marijuana arrest earlier this year, but rumors were he might not have been physically ready anyway. Mitchell had arthroscopic surgery July 31 on the same knee which ended his season against Clemson in last year’s opener, and he hasn’t participated in practices since the surgery.
Both receivers are key ingredients to the Georgia passing attack, but that doesn’t mean the Bulldogs will be short of people for Hutson Mason to throw the ball.
Michael Bennett, Chris Conley and Reggie Davis are listed as the starting wideouts for Saturday’s game, and all three receivers have plenty of game experience, as well as big play ability. While the number of available targets may have decreased, the quality of those targets has not.
The biggest question is who will be able to get free as a deep threat without the speed that Mitchell and Scott-Wesley have, and that task will undoubtedly fall on the same person it did last season when both the speedsters were out with injuries, Chris Conley.
Richt spoke about the receiver corps at Tuesday’s press conference: (H/T Saturday Down South)
"“Sometimes you don’t have to have blinding speed to go deep, and sometimes it’s just a matter of getting off the jam and getting the guy cut off. Not many guys just run away from people, but you know we have a good history of placing the ball where our guys can catch it.”"