FORT LAUDERDALE — While Florida State’s offensive depth chart has been decimated by opt-outs and transfers heading into Saturday’s Orange Bowl, the Georgia Bulldogs are facing some uncertainty as well.
All-America tight end Brock Bowers, who leads the UGA offense with 56 receptions for 714 yards and six touchdowns, was reportedly not seen coming off the Bulldogs’ team plane when it landed in Miami on Tuesday evening.
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That doesn’t necessarily mean he is not playing against Florida State, but Georgia head coach Kirby Smart acknowledged that he doesn’t know if his star receiving threat will be available.
“That’s up to Brock,” Smart told reporters. “Brock’s been with us the whole time, and he’s been doing all the things he’s got to do. But it’s more important, though, that he’s 100 percent healthy. The guy probably played earlier than he should have, and came out there and competed his butt off. He’s done everything he can for Georgia. He’s not 100 percent, so that makes that a little hard to do.”
Bowers missed several games this season due to an ankle injury, but he did play in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama and finished with five receptions for 53 yards.
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Smart sounded more encouraged about the availability of receiver Ladd McConkey, although he acknowledged that the junior standout also has been limited some due to injury.
McConkey, who ranks fourth on the team with 29 receptions for 456 yards and two touchdowns, also has missed time this season with an ankle injury. Like Bowers, he too played against Alabama, recording three catches for 38 yards. But Smart sounded more confident in his chances of playing against Florida State.
“Ladd’s been great. Ladd’s been practicing with us, working out,” Smart said. “Ladd wants to play. Ladd’s missed some games and hasn’t been able to play in some games. He’s still coming off of an injury from the SEC Championship Game that he was not 100 percent from. But he’s out there every day in practice. He’s taking reps, catching punts, he’s doing a lot of good things. He’s doing a lot of good things. We’ve had to hold him back some, but he’s practicing, doing a good job, getting good miles per hour. So I expect Ladd to be able to go.”
While Georgia hasn’t had nearly as many players announce intentions of opting-out of the Orange Bowl, the Bulldogs will be somewhat short-handed as well. According to reports, 18 UGA players have entered the transfer portal. One of those players, sophomore defensive end Marvin Jones Jr., has since announced that he is transferring to Florida State.
But Smart said he’s confident that the players who are healthy enough to play will do so.
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“Right now we’ve got our guys that are healthy playing,” he said. “Guys that are completely healthy and cleared to play have all said they are going to play. They’ve been practicing and doing everything. We do have guys dinged up and injured that have been trying to fight their way back. We’ll see if they can go or not in the game.”
Because Florida State has been hit by so many opt-outs since the Seminoles were snubbed by the College Football Playoff Committee earlier this month, Smart said his team isn’t really preparing like it would for a typical game. Instead of using a scout-team offense and defense to simulate FSU plays and players, the Bulldogs are essentially practicing against themselves the way teams do during the preseason.
“We’ve taken the approach that it’s not about them, it’s about us,” Smart said. “We don’t really know. But it doesn’t matter to us. Because we’re trying to play to our standard. We’re always trying to play to our standard. We’ve had a lot more good-on-good in practice. It’s probably been the best bowl practices in terms of not going against the scout team and going against each other. Because when you don’t know 100 percent what you’re going to see, you’re better off going against really good people.”
Along with Bowers, Georgia offensive lineman Amarius Mims was also not seen getting off the team plane, according to reports.
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