Georgia football team hopes long break allows injured players enough time to heal

Georgia coach Kirby Smart is hoping four weeks between the top-ranked Bulldogs’ win over then-No. 14 LSU in the SEC title game and facing fourth-ranked Ohio State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl may be enough time to get two key starters back from injury.

Receiver Ladd McConkey hurt his knee late in the first half against LSU in the SEC Championship Game and didn’t return, while offensive tackle Warren McClendon also exited in the second quarter against the Tigers with a knee injury and was replaced by Amarius Mims.

McConkey and McClendon haven’t practiced since, and Smart doesn’t know — or at least isn’t saying publicly — when the two starters could join their teammates on the football field to prepare for the Buckeyes (11-1).

“I don’t know when exactly we’ll get those guys back,” Smart said on Tuesday. “They’re not practicing yet but we’re still 16 or 17 days away [from facing Ohio State].”

McConkey is second on the team with 51 receptions — one behind tight end Brock Bowers — for 675 yards and five scores, which is also one behind Bowers for the team lead. McConkey also is used in the running game, where he has rushed for 120 yards and two scores on just six carries, an average of 20 yards per attempt.

McClendon has been a staple on the offensive line. He’s a three-year starter and a major reason why quarterback Stetson Bennett has been sacked just seven times in 13 games this season.

If McClendon is sidelined against the Buckeyes, Mims will take his place.

Bennett’s role could be consumed by several players, as his absence will give Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (27 catches, 303 yards, 2 TDs), Kearis Jackson (19 catches, 265 yards), Dominic Blaylock (14 catches, 207 yards, TD) and Dillon Bell (19 catches, 169 yards, 3 TDs) more playing time.

“We’ve been practicing. Not specifically for Ohio State, we’ve been practicing stay in shape and making sure our guys are ready, sharp physically and ready to do things,” Smart said.

Five-star freshman linebacker Marvin Jones Jr., who has provided depth and played on special teams covering kicks, missed the 50-30 win over LSU with an ankle injury. He’s also yet to be a full participant in practice, but that could change at any time, Smart said.

“He’s been doing a ton of conditioning and practicing with us on the side,” Smart said. “He’ll be able to start practicing with us soon if not Tuesday.”

Georgia’s top linebacker, Nolan Smith, is out for the season with a pectoral injury, which has led to expanded roles for outside linebackers Robert Beal and Chaz Chambliss.

Ohio State appears to have a much bigger injury situation, except it is much clearer.

The Buckeyes will have 35 days to prepare for Georgia since Ohio State hasn’t played since losing to Michigan 45-23 on Nov. 26.

While Georgia doesn’t know if McConkey, McClendon and Jones will be able to play, Buckeyes receiver Jaxon Smith Njigba and running back TreVeyon Henderson have both said they won’t play in the College Football Playoff due to injuries.

Smith-Njigba, who entered the season as one of the country’s best at his position, played in the Buckeyes’ first three games — totaling three catches for 43 yards — before suffering a hamstring injury against Notre Dame on Sept. 3. He will prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft.

“It was frustrating for him, mostly,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said on Tuesday. “I mean, nobody was more frustrated than Jaxon. Nobody wanted to play more than Jaxon. I know that. But, yeah — it was tough this year, not having him. We had a lot of the offense kind of designed around him and had to adapt as time went on and hopefully get him back, but it never quite got to where he was comfortable playing.”

Henderson has missed the past four games rushing after rushing 571 yards and six touchdowns on 102 carries — an average of 5.3 yards per attempt — in the Buckeyes’ first eight games while playing with a fracture and torn ligament in left foot. He’ll undergo surgery on Friday and return for his junior season in Columbus.

“I have to have surgery on my foot because it’s gotten that bad,” Henderson told The Columbus Dispatch. “I’ve just been making it worse going back out there. I went through a bunch of different cleats to try to push through it, but the pain was crazy. I really don’t know how I was able to push through it in the games I did play in.”

He’s been replaced atop the depth chart by Miyan Williams, who has rushed for 817 yards and 13 touchdowns on 125 carries — an average of 6.5 yards per attempt. But he was held to 34 yards and eight carries in a loss to Michigan in the final game of the regular season.

Chip Trayanum, who started the season at linebacker, has converted to running back to bolster the Buckeyes’ depth. He rushed for 83 yards on 14 carries against Michigan.

Ryan Day also said freshman Dallan Hayden, who has rushed for 510 yards and five scores on 102 carries in nine games, will also get more playing time against the Bulldogs.