Ideally, George Pickens and Jermaine Burton would have treated Georgia fans to a show during G-Day at Sanford Stadium this past spring.

Pickens entered the spring as the Dawgs’ leading receiver in back-to-back years and, with JT Daniels behind center, had an opportunity to position himself as one of the top wide receivers in the country and a possible 1st-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Burton shone down the stretch last year, turning in one of the most prolific performances by a Dawgs wide receiver in Daniels’ debut against Mississipi State.

But injuries are impossible to predict.

Just over a week into spring practice, Pickens became the first major loss as he suffered an ACL tear, requiring surgery and putting most of his 2021 season in jeopardy. Burton rode off in a cart after hyperextending his knee a week later and ended up missing G-Day.

That shifted the spotlight a bit to true freshman Adonai Mitchell. And he delivered: 7 catches, 105 yards and a touchdown.

That’s a pretty good first impression to make on your team.

Mitchell, for his part, was one of the more under-the-radar recruits in the 2020 class, ranking 64th among receivers. A star at Cane Ridge High School outside of Memphis, he pledged to Ole Miss last April but flipped to the Bulldogs months later.

He has settled in nicely in the early going as he hauled in 2 catches for 42 yards against UAB. He cashed in with his 1st career touchdown Saturday against South Carolina and was the Dawgs’ top receiver with 4 catches for 77 yards.

The scoring catch he had came in the 2nd quarter. With the Dawgs already up 14-6, Daniels lofted a perfect pass to Mitchell, who beat Darius Rush and caught it in stride to stretch the lead to 21-6.

Not bad, AD. But it sounds like there’s more to come.

“Our coaches felt like, ‘If we’re going to go where we need to, he’s got to play.’ He’s earned it, he’s made plays, he’s a good football player,” Kirby Smart said after the win over the Gamecocks. “As he’s earned that, he’s made our team better.”

And with players like Pickens and Darnell Washington held out thus far this season and Kearis Jackson working his way back, it has given Mitchell more of an opportunity to “earn it.”

As for that recruiting ranking? That didn’t matter to the staff as they reviewed Mitchell’s game tape. Turns out, there’s another 3-star recruit that’s ended up with a pretty good career in Athens.

“(Our tape study spoke volumes) in the case of Jordan Davis, it spoke volumes in the case of Adonai Mitchell,” Smart said following G-Day. “We thought he was a really good player. We didn’t care what anybody else thought. He’s a good football player.”

Sure, there’s plenty of room to grow as there is for any first-year player. But Mitchell can add to his total on Saturday in Nashville against Vanderbilt, but after that comes a massive October that will truly define what this edition of the Bulldogs looks like.

“Talking about how he plays, he’s got great twitch and is going to develop to become a great young player,” Daniels said in the spring. “We’ve just got to let him take his time and learn the system and do his thing, and I think he’ll be a good football player.”

Mitchell appears to be catching on quickly and positioning himself to be another weapon in the Bulldogs’ offense arsenal. Maybe those 3 recruiting stars didn’t tell the whole story, after all.