So, he’s got a mea culpa going for him. Which is nice.
Late in the third quarter of No. 4 Georgia’s 52-7 blowout of rival Georgia Tech, George Pickens was involved in a wild scuffle with Tech defensive back Tre Swilling at the tail end of a nine-yard touchdown pass from Jake Fromm to Dominik Blaylock. As seen in the video, both Pickens and Swilling threw multiple punches in the melee, with the Bulldog wide receiver throwing the defensive back into the stadium wall at one point for good measure. Suffice to say, both players were ejected from the game.
Not only did the incident get Pickens tossed for the remainder of that game, it will also cost Pickens the first half of the SEC championship game against No. 2 LSU next Saturday as well.
While he certainly let his team down with his actions, Pickens has apologized to his teammates for the actions that will sideline one of the Bulldogs’ most talented receivers for a portion of the school’s most important game of the season.
“I think he has responded well,” Fromm, the UGA quarterback, said by way of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There was a moment (Sunday) where he apologized for his actions. You can definitely see him growing up an trying to realize that his actions affect more than just him. They affect the entire team.”
Pickens came into this weekend second on the Bulldogs in receptions (32) and receiving yards (457). He also leads the team in receiving touchdowns with five.
Pickens, who was suspended for the first half of today’s game for unspecified reasons, had one catch for a 41-yard touchdown before the ejection.
The loss of Pickens is magnified by the fact that leading receiver Lawrence Cager will miss the entire game because of injury. Additionally, leading rusher D’Andre Swift suffered a shoulder injury in the Tech game that will not likely impact his availability for Championship Saturday but could limit his effectiveness.