Georgia football countdown to kickoff: 58 days to go

JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 27: Malcolm Mitchell (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 27: Malcolm Mitchell (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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The 2018 Georgia football season begins in 58 days.

Just 58 days until Georgia football versus Austin Peay between the hedges at Sanford Stadium. For those 58 days, it’s time to look back at two of the best seasons a wide receiver has experienced at Georgia. Mohamed Massaquoi in 2008 and Malcolm Mitchell in 2012. Both receivers caught 58 passes in those seasons.

As a senior in 2008, Massaquoi cemented his legacy as one of the greatest receivers in school history. Alongside A.J. Green and running routes for Matthew Stafford, Massaquoi gained 920 yards and caught eight touchdowns on 58 receptions. That season, Stafford became the second quarterback in school history to pass for over 3,000 yards and Massaquoi managed to account for nearly a third.

His best game unfortunately came in one of Georgia’s worst. Against Georgia Tech, Massaquoi caught 11 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns. But bad defense kept the Dawgs from winning. And his performance is one of the lesser mentioned great senior day performances.

Massaquoi ended his Georgia career with 158 catches for 2,282 yards and 16 touchdowns. His receptions are sixth in school history. And his yardage is seventh.

Seven years later, Malcolm Mitchell had a senior year just as great as Massaquoi’s. In 2015, Mitchell, completely healthy for the first time in three years, caught 58 passes for 865 yards with five touchdowns.

Mitchell became Grayson Lambert’s favorite target in 2015 as he had almost half of Lambert’s 1,959 yards. His best game that season was also Lambert’s best. Against South Carolina, Mitchell caught eight passes for 122 yards with one touchdown. In his last game in Athens, Mitchell had five receptions for 73 yards.

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Mitchell passed Massaquoi’s career totals with 174 receptions and 2,350 yards. he tied Massaquoi with 16 touchdowns. His receptions are third in UGA history and his yardage is sixth. The 58 receptions in one season by Mitchell and Massaquoi are tied for fourth in school history.