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Georgia Football: 3 bold predictions for the 2021 season

By Payton Wilkerson

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: A general view of Georgia Bulldogs players after winning against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: A general view of Georgia Bulldogs players after winning against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images) /
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Georgia football has high expectations for the upcoming 2021 season. With the number of starters returning to the team on offense and defense, this could shape up to be one of the most talented Bulldog teams in years.

Sixth-year head coach Kirby Smart has also assembled a great coaching staff to go along with the great players he has recruited to Athens.

Of course, the road to the College Football Playoff will not be an easy one for Georgia. The Bulldogs begin the season with a bang by taking on the juggernaut Clemson Tigers, a game that may decide if Georgia’s title hopes are legitimate this year.

Looking ahead, here are some bold predictions for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2021.

3. George Pickens will return by the Florida game

When news broke that star wideout George Pickens suffered a torn ACL during practice, Dawg fans everywhere were disappointed. Pickens was expected to play a big role in the 2021 offense for Georgia, and he had started to find a rhythm with quarterback JT Daniels.

In his 2020 sophomore year, Pickens had 36 catches for 513 yards and six touchdowns in eight games. He gained everyone’s attention as a freshman when he had 12 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor.

Obviously, you don’t want to rush Pickens and cause future injuries or hurt his NFL draft stock, but ESPN SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic told Mike Griffith of DawgNation we might see Pickens return this season:

"“I would say right now it’s more probable than doubtful that we see him play in regular-season games this year,” said Cubelic, who as a sideline reporter has seen his share of knee injuries and experienced a torn ACL himself when he was a player at Auburn. “That’s such a common injury in sports today that as long as things heal on track, and from what I heard he didn’t have any other damage to the knee, it was pretty much a clean ACL tear…You can do a lot of the conditioning before you get back to compete, your body can be ready once that thing gets healed up, so there are ways to make that happen.”"

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart also had this to say about a Pickens return in 2021:

"“Obviously, I think there’s a chance he’s back in ’21…We’ve had kids that have ACL injuries, I liken it to Divaad (Wilson). Divadd got his (ACL injury) when he first got here on the third day of spring practice. I think he was cleared to go somewhere around Florida week (end of October).”"

A return against Florida would not be out of the realm of possibility. Pickens tore his ACL in March, and with the Florida game being in October, he would have seven months of recovery time.

Again, you don’t want to cause further damage to his body or future, but can you imagine having Pickens back for arguably the biggest SEC game the Dawgs will have all season? This would be a massive advantage for Georgia considering the Gators would have zero film from this year to study and prepare for him on defense.

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