Injury Report/Opt-Out Update Ahead of Peach Bowl for Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs’ social media team released a hype video for the team’s Peach Bowl game against Cincinnati. The video included clips from practice that featured some impact players attempting to make a return on New Year’s Day.

The first notable contributor seen is safety Richard LeCounte. LeCounte was injured after the game against Kentucky in a traffic accident while riding his motorcycle. Despite missing three games, LeCounte was still selected first-team All-SEC, an indication of how good he was when he was on the field for Georgia.

LeCounte could have opted out of the game and declared for this spring’s NFL Draft, but it appears instead he will try to suit up for the red and black at least one more time. LeCounte has been active on social media this week, and nearly all of his retweets or tweets have been about how much he loves the university and how he wants to come back one more time.

The next Bulldog seen in the video is nose tackle Jordan Davis. Davis also missed time this year and is facing an NFL Draft decision. However, there have been rumblings of Davis potentially returning next season to try and help the Bulldogs push for a national championship. Playing in the bowl game is a good first step towards playing next season. It reaffirms his love for Georgia football and will have a bowl game fresh in his mind as he starts to weigh the decision of whether to declare pro or not.

Davis coming back would provide Georgia a monumental playmaker with an abundance of experience under his belt. He has been the primary reason for Georgia’s elite run defense the last few seasons, and a few have made the case for why Davis is the most impactful player for the Bulldogd defense.

Finally, running back Kendall Milton was also in the video. Milton came in as a true freshman and steadily climbed his way up the depth chart and onto the field, making waves as he did so. He suffered an MCL sprain against Florida and missed the next three games. At the time of his injury, he led the Bulldogs running back room in yards per touch and carry, providing a nice balance between the downhill abilities of Zamir White and the explosiveness of James Cook.

Each of these three players is key to what makes Georgia run effectively. Milton will obviously be back next year and is expected to be a big part of the offense. LeCounte and Davis are the biggest contributors on the team not named JT Daniels, and if they return, it would propel the Georgia defense back into the national spotlight.

Senior defensive back Mark Webb also made an appearance in the video following head coach Kirby Smart laughing at the idea of Webb not participating in the bowl game as previously reported.

Opt-Out List

OG Ben Cleveland
TE Tre McKitty
CB Eric Stokes
LB Monty Rice
OLB Jermaine Johnson (Transfer)
CB DJ Daniel

Outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari and LeCounte are expected to play.