Georgia’s road to its Sept. 26 season opener at Arkansas took an unfortunate turn Wednesday afternoon as sophomore wide receiver Dominick Blaylock suffered a season-ending ACL injury during practice.

Blaylock’s ACL injury — which Smart said occurred without contact with another player — happened in the same knee he injured during last season’s SEC championship.

“It’s pretty unfortunate, but that’s what’s so special about Dom,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “I reached out to him right away and he said ‘Coach, I’m gonna be back. I’m going to be fine. I’m going to get through this. I’m going to push through it.’ He’s such a fiery competitor and I’m excited to see him get back.”

Blaylock finished with 18 receptions for 310 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games last season. He experienced his first injury amid the first quarter of the SEC Championship Game against LSU. After undergoing surgery in December, Blaylock worked his way back to return as the third-leading returning receiver for the Bulldogs before his 2020 plans were cut short.

“Dom worked as hard as anyone I have ever seen,” Smart said. “[Senior associate athletic director] Ron Courson, he’s probably had about 50 ACLs in his time here … and he’s never seen someone work as hard as [Blaylock] did. He likened it to what Nick Chubb went through. He did so much work, prepared so hard. … Dom’s got such a great family at home, and it just hurts for a kid like that.”

While Smart said the team will feel Blaylock’s absence, Blaylock had not been running many routes prior to the injury, so reps haven’t increased for other receivers since. Smart believes the wide receiver room will continue to perform and move in the right direction.

Smart observed how other receivers are responding to having more impactful roles during Georgia’s first scrimmage on Saturday. Although no receiver was “head and shoulders above the rest,” Smart said the offense is trying to build a depth chart among the freshmen and others competing.

“We hit a wall a little bit with some of the younger guys,” Smart said. “They didn’t show us much today. We didn’t have a lot of great vertical passing game, but Kearis, Matt, D-Rob, and George are consistent.”

Blaylock has received guidance from former players Thomas Davis, Malcolm Mitchell and even Zamir White who have lived similar stories to help keep his head in a positive place. 

“He has the right kind of mindset,” Smart said. “We’ve had some players who have really been injured a lot reach out and speak to him. It’s always good to hear someone who’s had success after these experiences.” 

Smart said other receivers are successfully beginning to shoulder the load during Blaylock’s absence and look forward to his return in 2021.

“Dom’s great, man,” Smart said. “He’s resilient. He’s going to fight. He’s a competitor and he’s a great kid to be around and we’re going to keep him around the team.”

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports