ATHENS — Georgia football coach Kirby Smart likes the energy his team is bringing into fall camp, but the Bulldogs still have two key receivers on the mend.
Smart said receivers Dominick Blaylock and Kearis Jackson are not yet cleared for full-go as the team opens fall camp on Friday on the gated practice fields behind Butts-Mehere Heritage Hall.
“Dom is still not cleared 100 percent, he’s walking through, he’s jogging through,” Smart said of the talented third-year receiver, who suffered a torn ACL last fall. “But he’s not out there in a competitive environment.”
Smart said at SEC Media Days that Jackson, a team captain and the leader in the receivers room, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason and missed four or five weeks this summer.
“Kearis is still the same, he’s recovering and pushing himself back,” Smart said. “He has a very good understanding of our offense …. He’s not able to go full speed.”
Smart said Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint has recovered from the broken ankle he suffered last season and the sprained ankle that slowed him this summer.
Georgia receiver George Pickens, who underwent ACL surgery in March, is also still recovering.
The Bulldogs have lost six players at the receiver position to transfers over the past two years, so staying healthy at the position will be one of the keys to a championship run.
Sophomore linebacker MJ Sherman, who had offseason shoulder surgery, is also cleared for call camp, Smart said.
Defensive captain Nakobe Dean said earlier on Friday he has been cleared for all activity.
Smart said freshman offensive lineman Micah Morris, who also had surgery to repair a torn labrum, is also cleared for fall drills.