Glance at the Georgia Bulldogs’ 2020 football recruiting class. Several familiar names appear atop the list: Jalen Carter, Kelee Ringo, Darnell Washington, Broderick Jones, Tate Ratledge, Jermaine Burton, Sedrick Van Pran, Kendall Milton, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Nazir Stackhouse, and Carson Beck. It comes as no surprise that this class ranked first nationwide. Now, scroll all the way down and look at the lowest-rated skill position player to commit to Georgia as part of that class: Ladd McConkey.
Andrew Ladd McConkey was just a three-star prospect out of Chatsworth, Georgia. He ranked as the 126th best player in the state and the 166th best receiver in the nation.
McConkey grew up a Tennessee Volunteers fan. He was a fixture at Neyland Stadium, where he donned the orange and white to support his favorite squad. That didn’t change as he developed into a prolific playmaker throughout his high school career.
As expected, Ladd rarely saw the field as a freshman at North Murray High School. His role expanded as a sophomore, where he finished as the team’s second-leading receiver with 388 yards and three touchdowns. Then, his junior year arrived.
With production lost at several positions on the team, McConkey was thrust into a Swiss-army role for the Mountaineers. In his third year, he kept his role as a rusher and receiver, but also played defensive back and returned kicks. He was even called on to punt in certain situations. This is when his true athleticism broke through on a larger scale.
However, he remained unsatisfied with his performance and his Mountaineers’ 6-5 record. To the rest of the state, Ladd was still just another athlete forced to fill roles for his lesser-known Class 3A program.
Following head coach Preston Poag’s son’s departure as team quarterback, Ladd was tasked with a new senior-season challenge: start as the team’s signal caller.
Unsurprisingly, he thrived. McConkey passed for 1,771 yards and 20 touchdowns to accompany 924 yards and 10 more scores on the ground. He also returned one kickoff and two punts for touchdowns and intercepted four passes, with three resulting in 6 points.
That impressive list of all-round dominance doesn’t even include the seven pass deflections, 17 tackles, and 22 punts that McConkey had as well.
Under his leadership, North Murray achieved their first and only 10-win season in school history, going 11-2 (with a stunning upset of No. 3 Calhoun in the process) and reaching the state quarterfinals.
Now there was no choice but to receive national attention.
In January 2020, just months before his high school graduation, Ladd received his first Power 5 offer: Georgia. He notched just one more, Vanderbilt, before signing with the Bulldogs in early February. His childhood favorite Volunteers made a late push, but the effort proved futile. Georgia had taken that leap of faith, and McConkey rewarded them for it.
On April 26, 2024, Ladd McConkey was selected in the NFL draft with the 34th overall pick by the Los Angeles Chargers.
The journey will not end here for the two-time national champion and 2023 Wuerffel Award winner. Qualms about his stature or his capabilities at the next level won’t hold weight anymore. The lowest-ranked skill position recruit in one of the best classes in college football history is now a National Football League player.
