He's back: Georgia football wide receiver George Pickens returns against Georgia Tech
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ATLANTA — A little over eight months since George Pickens sustained a torn ACL that left doubt about whether he would ever play for Georgia again, the star wide receiver returned to play for the Bulldogs Saturday in the first quarter.
Pickens made his 2021 debut with a surgically repaired right knee against rival Georgia Tech. He was in on the first Georgia drive and ran a route on a running play.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Hoover, Ala., native is back just in time for the Bulldogs’ postseason that will include an SEC championship game with Alabama next Saturday and more than likely a national semifinal game on Dec. 31.
Pickens tied for the team lead last season with 36 catches for 513 yards and led with six touchdown catches. A year earlier, he topped the Bulldogs with 49 catches for 727 yards and eight touchdowns and was Sugar Bowl MVP.
Pickens was injured in Georgia’s fourth spring practice on a non-contact play. His return met the timeline outlined by an orthopedic surgeon that spoke to the Athens Banner-Herald this spring.
Coach Kirby Smart said after the injury that there was a chance Pickens would play this season.
“George is a hard worker,” Smart said then. “I know he will bring the same work ethic to rehab that he shows in practice every day.”
Smart didn’t publicly address when Pickens may return, but did provide updates as Pickens took one small step after another from running routes at the start of practice without defenders, working on the scout team and then this week moving up to work with the second and third team offenses.
“He’s got to his percentages on his knee, on his testing,” Smart said after last week’s win against Charleston Southern. “He’s got jumps, he’s got cybex, he’s got about 15, 16 tests he does, and when he hits a certain percentage, we think he’ll be able to get cleared.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football star wide receiver George Pickens makes season debut
