This Bailey's catching on quickly for No. 9 Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. - Sean Bailey is used to the question: Hey, are you one of those Bailey brothers?

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For the record, no, Sean isn't related to those OTHER Baileys: Champ, Boss and Ronald, all of whom played at Georgia and, in Champ and Boss' case, went on to the NFL.

But it might be time to make the latest Bailey an honorary member of the Bulldogs' first family of football.

Filling the void left by the departure of Georgia's top two receivers, the slender junior grabbed four passes for 78 yards - including a pair of touchdowns - against Boise State.

Yes, the Bulldogs still have guys who can catch the ball.

"Sean is the No. 1 receiver right now," coach Mark Richt said. "He's always been a smooth route-running guy, but he's stronger and he blocks with more of an attitude. From a knowledge point of view, he rarely makes a mistake."

Those are encouraging words for Bailey, who heard all that off-season talk about Georgia's apparent weakness at receiver.

"Definitely," he said. "That was one of the big things that motivated us at the end of the season. That got us through the mat drills, through spring practice, through all the workouts this summer."

Not that there wasn't reason to be skeptical. After all, the Bulldogs lost Reggie Brown and Fred Gibson, who combined for 102 catches, 1,661 yards and 13 TDs a year ago. Bailey (14 catches, 224 yards, three TDs) was the only returning receiver who reached double figures.

But the No. 9 Bulldogs showed plenty of depth at receiver in the 48-13 victory over Boise State.

Senior Bryan McClendon had four receptions. Kenneth Harris, a redshirt freshman, hauled in a 40-yard touchdown with the first catch of his career. True freshman Mohamed Massaquoi grabbed two passes for 47 yards. Sophomore T.J. Gartrell had a 16-yard catch.