Georgia Bulldogs

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Justin Scott-Wesley enjoyed his first taste of success in Georgia’s last game. But asked Thursday evening to name a potential breakout performer, Bulldogs offensive coordinator Mike Bobo selected the sophomore receiver as a player to watch this fall.

“He had a great spring,” Bobo said at the UGA Days event in Augusta, “one of our most improved receivers.”

Scott-Wesley entered the lineup in the Bulldogs’ Capital One Bowl win against Nebraska only after Malcolm Mitchell left the game with a concussion sustained while returning a kick.

To that point in his first season as an active college player, Scott-Wesley had caught passes only in mop-up duty against Florida Atlantic and Georgia Southern. But he hauled in three balls against the Cornhuskers -- including two long passes that pushed the ball into Nebraska territory, one of which was a 31-yard gain on Georgia’s go-ahead touchdown drive at the end of the third quarter -- and concluded a career-best performance with 67 yards.

That performance propelled the young receiver into spring practice, Bobo said.

“I think the confidence level he gained from playing in the bowl game when Malcolm Mitchell went down with a concussion, he caught three passes -- two big third-down conversions -- and him making those plays in a game gave him confidence to carry over into spring ball and get better and make that next step,” Bobo said.

Blessed with sprinter’s speed -- in fact, the former Georgia high school record-setter will compete in the 100-meter dash for Georgia’s track team on Saturday evening at the SEC championships -- Scott-Wesley was a project for the Bulldogs’ coaching staff when he arrived on campus in 2011. Bobo credited receivers coach Tony Ball for molding an SEC-ready receiver out of a player who initially had much to learn about the finer points of his position.

“He can absolutely fly, but he was not a football player,” Bobo said. “He was very raw, and coach Tony Ball does an outstanding job with our receivers and coaching the little things and the details and has really refined this guy’s game to where I think he’s going to have a breakout year.”

Scott-Wesley made some noise last spring, as well, but barely dented the receiver rotation until the very end of the season. He concluded his redshirt freshman campaign with six catches for 135 yards and one touchdown, so it’s far too early to say that another strong spring means he has arrived.

However, Bobo points out that it was a sign of progress -- which is exactly what he wanted to see from a developing player in the spring.

“That’s what you’re looking for and really looking for in the whole offense is taking that next step,” Bobo said.

Editor’s note: Over the next two weeks, we’ll take a closer look at each of Georgia’s position groups at the end of spring practice. Today we examine the wide receivers:

Returning players/stats: Malcolm Mitchell, Jr. (nine starts, 40 catches, 572 yards, 4 TDs); Michael Bennett, Jr. (three starts, 24-345, 4 TDs); Chris Conley, Jr. (three starts, 20-342, 6 TDs); Rantavious Wooten, Sr. (15-187, 2 TDs); Rhett McGowan, Sr. (one start, 12-150, 1 TD); Justin Scott-Wesley, So. (6-135, 1 TD); Blake Tibbs, RFr. (redshirted in 2012)

Newcomers: Tramel Terry, Fr. (ESPN No. 89 overall prospect, No. 9 athlete, enrolled in January); Jonathon Rumph, Jr. (ESPN No. 7 junior college prospect, No. 1 juco wide receiver, enrolled in January); Reggie Davis, Fr. (ESPN No. 294 overall prospect, No. 45 wide receiver, expected to enroll this summer); Uriah LeMay, Fr. (No. 48 wide receiver, expected to enroll this summer); Rico Johnson, Fr. (No. 122 wide receiver, expected to enroll this summer)

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ATHENS, Ga. -- By the time Michael Bennett returns to active competition, his role within Georgia’s receiving corps will be extremely different.

He’ll no longer be the up-and-comer within a group that has veteran leaders at the top of the depth chart. He’ll be the veteran leader.

Bennett was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver when he suffered a season-ending knee injury on the final play of the team’s Tuesday practice preceding its Oct. 6 visit to South Carolina. Led by seniors Tavarres King and Marlon Brown, other receivers produced adequately in Bennett’s absence -- five different Bulldogs totaled at least 68 receiving yards in a game after Bennett’s injury -- but the redshirt sophomore wideout admitted it was painful for himself and other injured players to watch as the Bulldogs pushed toward their second straight SEC East title without them.

“We wish we could be out there, but we’re just glad our team’s doing great without us,” Bennett said recently while speaking to reporters for the first time in two months. “That just shows the depth at receiver and at those other positions, too. That’s really great. So yeah, it’s real frustrating.”

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Georgia is just one win away over a struggling Auburn team from returning to the SEC championship game. But the Tigers have played the spoiler role in the past for the Bulldogs and Georgia has not exactly cruised on the road. DawgNation joined ESPN’s Athens affiliate 960 The Ref to talk about that and more. Some of the topics discussed:

• Who steps up to fill in for the injured Marlon Brown?
• What is the latest on Robert Nkemdiche after his visit to Georgia?
• Where does Georgia project in the bowl game scenarios?
• Can Auburn spoil Georgia’s SEC title hopes again?

Listen to the radio show here.

The news that Georgia had lost another top receiver to an ACL injury caused a collective groan in Athens, Ga., on Sunday night. Mark Richt announced that Marlon Brown’s career for the Bulldogs came to an end when X-rays revealed that the senior would need surgery to repair his knee.

Brown was finally having the type of season that had been expected of him ever since the Bulldogs beat out the Tennessee Volunteers for the 6-foot-5 receiver in a contentious recruiting battle in 2009. Leading the team this year with 27 catches, Brown was second in receiving yards with 469 and had four touchdowns.

Brown's injury came a month after Georgia lost its then-leading receiver, Michael Bennett, to an ACL injury also. Tall and aggressive, Bennett was also the Bulldogs’ best downfield blocker.

With these two weapons out, where will Aaron Murray turn?

At 6-3, Chris Conley is UGA's lone receiver on scholarship who is taller than 6-1. Conley is willing to do the grunt work at which Bennett excelled -- and his grasp of the game belies his sophomore status. Conley can easily step into Brown’s role and be the big target that Murray needs over the middle. So far this season, Conley has seven catches for 84 yards and one touchdown.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has made greater use of the tight ends in recent games. However, right guard Chris Burnette also was injured against Ole Miss -- and Murray was sacked five times by the Rebels. If Burnette, who Richt said is day-to-day, cannot play against Auburn on Saturday, then Arthur Lynch and Jay Rome might be counted on for pass protection rather than running routes.

Another option for Murray could be redshirt freshman Justin Scott-Wesley. Although not a tall receiver like Brown, the 5-11 speedster is a track star who runs on the Bulldogs’ track team during the offseason. Brown is not known for his speed and Scott-Wesley can stretch the field in ways that Brown could not. On his only catch this season, Scott-Wesley streaked up the sideline for 43 yards before he was brought down. Georgia could also turn more to former walk-on Rhett McGowan. The 6-foot junior has received increased playing time and often returns punts. McGowan has five catches for 62 yards.

ATHENS, Ga. -- Such is life in football that when a player is injured, his teammates can’t afford to dwell on his absence for too long and the next man in line must step in to take his place.

For the first time this season, Georgia’s players dealt with such a scenario on Wednesday when they learned that Michael Bennett -- the team’s leading receiver with 24 catches for 345 yards and four touchdowns -- will miss the rest of the fall after tearing his right ACL at the end of Tuesday’s practice.

“Michael getting hurt was just a very sad thing,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt, whose fifth-ranked Bulldogs face No. 6 South Carolina on Saturday. “We were having quite a good practice yesterday. It was the very last play and I was thinking what a good day it was, what a good practice it was and then that happened.”

Bennett was blocking cornerback Devin Bowman when his knee buckled and popped audibly. Although he was able to walk off the practice field as coaches and teammates gathered for the end of practice, a post-practice MRI confirmed the UGA training staff’s fears that Bennett would miss the rest of the season after already surpassing his 2011 production in the first five games of 2012.

“I saw him go down, but then he got up and started walking and everybody thought it was going to be all right,” senior receiver Marlon Brown said. “I told him to call me that night and he called me and told me what happened. It just [stinks] for him.”

Although Richt said Bennett’s absence will be costly because of the toughness and work ethic he helped instill in the team, he and the Bulldogs can take solace that receiver is one of the deeper positions on the roster. Brown (68) and Tavarres King (61.4) both rank in the top to in the SEC in receiving yards per game. And other wideouts like Malcolm Mitchell, Rantavious Wooten and Chris Conley have performed well in big games.

Richt said Mitchell -- who spent most of his time at cornerback this season prior to Saturday’s win against Tennessee after totaling 665 receiving yards last season -- will continue to be available on defense. And he is not ready to burn freshman Blake Tibbs’ redshirt yet, either.

“I think we’re still going to be fine,” Richt said.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Michael Bennett’s season-ending knee injury comes at the worst possible time for No. 5 Georgia, which faces No. 6 South Carolina and its powerful defense on Saturday.

Bennett had come into his own as a sophomore, leading the team with 24 catches, 345 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Those totals stood fifth in the SEC in receiving yards, tied for sixth in receptions and tied for second in touchdown catches, so the Bulldogs coaches clearly must readjust their passing attack without one of their most important pieces.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo can at least take comfort in the knowledge that Bennett plays one of the deeper positions on the team. The redshirt sophomore wideout and seniors Marlon Brown (17 catches for 272 yards and three touchdowns) and Tavarres King (16-307, 3 TDs) all had similar receiving numbers. Bennett is seventh in the SEC with an average of 69 receiving yards per game, while Brown (68 ypg) is eighth and King (61.4) is 10^th.

With King and Brown still available as the top receivers, the question now becomes which receivers will play increased roles in Bennett’s absence.

Junior Rantavious Wooten (six catches, 99 yards, 1 TD) and sophomore Malcolm Mitchell (6-74) already figured to play a great deal. Chris Conley (4-46) would probably be the next player in receivers coach Tony Ball’s pecking order, while Rhett McGowan (2-26) and Justin Scott-Wesley (1-43) could also contribute more significantly.

True freshman Blake Tibbs might also have a chance to play with Bennett unavailable. Tibbs has not played yet and seemed bound for a redshirt, but injuries to Brown and Wooten allowed Conley to play after sitting out the first several games of last season.

Georgia is first in the SEC in total offense (536 yards per game), second in scoring (48.2 points per game) and fourth in passing offense (287.2 ypg), so losing Bennett is a significant blow entering Saturday’s game against a strong South Carolina defense that has been somewhat vulnerable against the pass. The Gamecocks are seventh in the SEC in pass defense, allowing 211.2 yards per game.

The Bulldogs have the pieces in their receiving corps to absorb losing Bennett for the rest of the season, but this is an inconvenient time for Bobo, Ball and the offensive personnel to have to reshuffle a lineup that has been so productive thus far.