The former Norcross Blue Devils standout had five catches for 43 yards, while matching last season’s total with three receiving touchdowns in No. 9 Georgia’s 43-35 victory over No. 5 Ole Miss.
Luckie entered the game with five catches across the first six games of the year, but he assumed the role of quarterback Gunner Stockton’s favorite receiver in a win that bolstered the Bulldogs’ chances of returning to a fifth straight Southeastern Conference championship game.
“This guy, man, he speaks up at every meeting,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said of Luckie. “He loves the place. His dad played here. He never complains. He just keeps on working. He’s got some of the best toughness in our program. He probably statistically wasn't having the year he wanted to have, but he never pouted. He never complained.”
Luckie, who hadn’t found the end zone since October 12, 2024 against Mississippi State, caught an 11-yard score in the second quarter Saturday, before a 3-yard touchdown reception in the third and a go-ahead 7-yarder in the fourth to seal Georgia’s third straight win.
The soon-to-be 21-year-old’s father, Mike, and uncles Dustin and Miles were all Bulldogs, while Lawson’s brother Carter — a senior defensive lineman at Norcross — committed to Georgia in May and will suit up in Athens next fall.
Following his second score, Luckie pointed to his family in the front row, who sat with younger brother Cannon, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and microcephaly — and later FOXG1 Syndrome.
“It’s everything. That’s why you play,” Luckie said of playing in front of his family. “You play to be able to make your family proud, be able to score a touchdown, go blow a kiss to your mom and your little brother. That’s what dreams are made of. That’s what I wanted to do when I was a little kid.”
Although not related by blood, Luckie would probably refer to Stockton as another brother. Luckie was a vocal advocate of Stockton as the then-first year starter took over for Carson Beck in last year’s SEC title game against Texas.
“They’re great friends,” Smart said of Luckie and Stockton. “Lawson’s the one that had the quote last year in the Texas game. He said, ‘I hope you believe in you as much as I believe in you.’ And they’ve got a great rapport with each other. And I think that helped.”
The duo helped Georgia total a season-high 510 yards and rally from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit, outscoring Ole Miss 17-0 in the fourth. The Bulldogs rose to No. 5 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 release, their highest ranking since falling to Alabama on Sept. 27. Georgia still doesn’t control its own destiny in terms of returning to Atlanta in December, as Texas A&M and Alabama are each undefeated in conference play and don’t see each other in the regular season.
But if Georgia can make Saturday’s impressive offensive performance a habit, the Bulldogs will be back in the College Football Playoff.
“The ball gets spread out in our offense,” Luckie said. “That’s what makes it so beautiful. Today it happened to be me and I was just fortunate enough to make the play when it came.”
Smart and company will now enjoy a bye week before heading to Jacksonville to face Florida. Georgia then plays at Mississippi State before finishing its conference play with a highly anticipated home meeting with Texas. For now, Smart’s team will try to continue to build its identity on toughness and grit.
“I just told the guys, that’s a culture win,” Smart said. “You don’t win that game if you’re not physically tough, mentally tough. We call it hard to kill. The one thing we are, we’re hard to kill. We w... Click here to read full article
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