Kirby Smart Calls Upon George Pickens to Lead More For Georgia
George Pickens is a player that Georgia fans are extremely excited to see in Todd Monken's new offense in Athens. The rising sophomore put the world of college football on notice in his final game of the 2019 season. With 12 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown, Pickens let the rest of college football know exactly what Georgia fans have long known, the young man is special.
Though in his second year, with the loss of Dominick Blaylock and a rather inexperienced wideouts group, Kirby Smart and the Georgia staff need Pickens to grow up, and do so quickly in order to lead this group of immensely talented wideouts group.
"George [Pickens]is a talented player. In terms of leadership, it starts from within and it starts with him. He’s got to do a great job of making sure he’s handling all the things he’s got to do on and off the field. George is growing up, as all players do, and we need him to grow up faster, we need him to lead more. He’s certainly a talented player, but sometimes that can be a disease at Georgia that affects you, and you have to be careful of that. What makes George great is his love for the game, and you just can’t let that be a weakness. You have to make sure it’s a strength."
Sure, Georgia has guys like Demetris Robertson and Kearis Jackson in that wide receiver room that are elder statesmen in college football, but neither of them is going to have the attention on them like Pickens. It's Pickens that will be talked about in every opponent's defensive meeting room on Monday leading up to a matchup with Georgia. It's Pickens' skin that opponents will attempt to get under on Saturdays.
Yes, Georgia needs to identify a starting quarterback and they will need to have one of either JT Daniels or D'Wan Mathis assert themselves as the leader of this offense, but it's Pickens that will be a constant in this offense no matter who the signal-caller is. It's Pickens that will have the passing offense ran through him. And it's Pickens that will need to perform and carry himself like a professional in 2020 for this Georgia offense to truly be special.
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