Preston Poag had the night planned. The North Murray, Ga., football coach looked ahead at the Georgia Bulldogs’ schedule to see when Ladd McConkey had a free weekend. He convinced the then-Georgia receiver to skip out on a planned hunting trip. The occasion called for it: North Murray was going to retire McConkey’s jersey number.
But two weeks after Poag nearly moved McConkey to tears by telling him of the honor, the receiver called his former coach with a request. He pleaded to not have his jersey retired.
There are plenty of other great players at the school that could deserve the honor, McConkey told him.
“Shut the crap up and get your butt here,” Poag responded.
Even as his star outgrows his small hometown in northern Georgia, McConkey has maintained his humble nature with the Chargers, who the 22-year-old rookie leads with 30 catches for 376 yards and four touchdowns entering a road game against the Cleveland Browns (2-6) at 10 a.m. PST Sunday.
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After his 111-yard receiving, two-touchdown effort against the New Orleans Saints — a game in which he became the first Chargers rookie since Keenan Allen in 2013 to have 100 yards receiving in a game — McConkey smiled shyly when the faintest whiff of praise was directed toward him. He was simply happy to get into the end zone and make plays for his team.
His teammates were ready to sing his praises instead.
“Beast,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “Dog. Y’all seen him. … Ladd that guy.”
As the Chargers (4-3) looked for replacements for longtime stars Allen and Mike Williams, McConkey quietly has turned himself into one of quarterback Justin Herbert’s most sure-handed targets.
McConkey, a second-round selection who was the ninth receiver taken in last April’s draft, is third among rookie wide receivers in yards receiving per game.
If McConkey reaches the century mark Sunday, he would join Allen as the only Chargers rookies to record back-to-back 100-yard receiving games.
Rewatching the film of McConkey’s plays against the Saints, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh was struck by the way the receiver seemed to look one place and then catch the ball in another. It reminded him of former Carolina Panthers star Steve Smith Sr.
“They have a subtle way of catching it,” said Harbaugh, who was the Panthers scout team quarterback when Smith was a rookie. “They catch it like just a couple feet away from where they’re looking. It’s pretty cool.”
The receiver puts up big numbers by perfecting the smallest details. From the first days of training camp, Herbert noticed how precisely McConkey broke in and out of routes, how he positioned his body to prevent defenders from undercutting him and how he actively grabbed the ball when it came in his direction.
With skills that are hard to teach, McConkey is what Herbert called, “a friend to the quarterback.”
“He’s natural at it,” Herbert said.
McConkey always has had “the it-factor,” Poag said. The former North Carolina State quarterback and pitcher coached him as early as 9 years old when McConkey, despite his small stature, was untouchable against even older opponents.
He played receiver, running back, defensive back, punter and kick returner for North Murray, a school in northern Georgia about 15 miles south of the Tennessee border. As a senior, he led the Mountaineers to Georgia’s Class 3A quarterfinals for the first time as their starting quarterback.
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Still, major colleges were slow to believe McConkey could be a legitimate prospect. Coaches loved his film then side-eyed the slight build of a 5-foot-11, 165-pound receiver in person. Even after he got interest from Georgia, coaches from smaller schools doubted he would ever play for the Bulldogs, asking Poag what would happen when a big SEC defender lined up against him.
“They won’t touch him,” Poag said confidently.
McConkey helped Georgia to two national championships, catching five passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns in the Bulldog’s blowout title win over Texas Christian in 2022 in SoFi Stadium.
Now catching the passes and scoring touchdowns in the same stadium, McConkey has made the transition to the NFL look seamless. He modestly shrugged at the suggestion, however, saying there are still “bad days that y’all don’t see.”
He credited the coaches at Georgia for preparing him to face the rigors of the NFL.
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“I feel like coach [Kirby] Smart and everybody at Georgia kind of prepared me for this,” McConkey said. “We practiced hard at Georgia, we take game reps at practice, so now it’s just transitioning over here and continuing that, but taking it to another notch.”
Haunted by some of the same minor injuries that interrupted his college career, McConkey has nursed a hip injury for the last three weeks as the Chargers have struggled to keep their receiver room intact.
The team is hoping to get Quentin Johnston (ankle) back soon after a two-game absence. Signed as the veteran leader for the new-look group, free agent D.J. Chark Jr. went on injured reserve with a hip injury that turned into a lingering groin injury.
While he toiled in the training room to return to the field, Chark, 28, watched with pride as the Chargers’ young receivers experienced their first breakthrough moments. After McConkey’s signature moment, Chark can’t wait to get in on the fun.
“I think the sky’s the limit for him,” Chark said.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.