Georgia’s Lawrence Cager posts that he will miss SEC Championship game

“The energy in Sanfiord Stadium is undoubtedly electric,” Cager wrote. “I wish it didn’t come to an end like this and if I could go back in time to the beginning and do it again, there isn’t another school I would rather choose. Thank you DawgNation for all the great moments this past year. My boys know that we going to get that SEC Champ and I’m still with them even if I’m not on the field. Big Dawgs always going to shake back!”

Cager suffered what has been reported as a “serious ankle injury” in practice Wednesday. He had played in no more than one half of the past five games -- sitting out two completely, including the last one against Texas A&M -- because of a chronic shoulder injury.

Still, coach Kirby Smart expressed optimism about Cager possibly returning for this Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech at noon at Bobby Dodd Stadium or Dec. 7 against LSU in the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But that was before this latest setback.

Georgia has yet to release any information on the injury sustained Wednesday.

Cager’s message indicates he will be sidelined for a while. Should the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs beat LSU on Dec. 7, their next game would be in the College Football Playoff semifinals Dec. 28. Otherwise, they would be in a bowl game on or around New Year’s Day.

There also is the concern of Cager’s professional future. He certainly had proved his worth to UGA during his short time in Athens. Despite missing so much playing time in the past six weeks, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound wideout from Baltimore, Md., still leads Georgia with 33 receptions for 476 yards and four touchdowns.

With Cager out of the lineup, the Bulldogs’ increasingly have turned to freshman George Pickens to fill the void. Pickens ranks second on the team with 32 catches for 457 yards and four touchdowns. Pickens is listed as Cager’s backup at the “X” receiver on Georgia’s depth chart.

The Bulldogs also will be looking for more production from Matt Landers, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound sophomore. In what was anticipated as a breakout season, Landers has only six catches for 54 yards so far this season.

There’s no question that Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm is going to miss Cager. According to research by ESPN, Fromm has completed 73.3 percent of his passes for nine touchdowns and one interception with Cager on the field. That’s a 190.1 passer rating. Without Cager on the field, those numbers drop to 45.7 percent for five touchdows and two interceptions, or a passing rating of 107.2.

Fromm has completed just 46.3 in Georgia’s last three games and the Bulldogs have not scored more than 27 points in the six games since Cager was first sidelined with the shoulder issue in the first half of a loss against South Carolina.