Georgia receivers Dillon Bell, Dominic Lovett committed to achieve excellence in 2024
They say championships are won in the offseason, and if that’s the case, Dillon Bell and Dominic Lovett are certainly doing their part. The two Georgia receivers have been hard at work in Houston, training with Mckinley Griffin of 369 Sports & Fitness.
The relationship between the players and trainer started when Bell was in high school. Griffin met both Dillon and his brother Micah (who spent his freshman season in 2023 at Notre Dame before transferring to Vanderbilt this spring) at a track meet. Both were outstanding athletes at The Kinkaid School and it was easy to take notice of what they were accomplishing.
At the time, the Bells were training with their father. However, when they went off to play at elite institutions for College Football, something more was desired. Dillon sought out Griffin after his freshman season, and the rest was history.
“He had a hell of an offseason and had some really good numbers last year. The focus was to transform his body, drop some of the body fat but also get faster,” Griffin said of the 2023 training with Bell. “After last season, he told me, ‘I’m bringing my buddy with me for offseason workouts,’ and that’s when he brought Dominic.”
Another offseason of work with Dillon gave Griffin further opportunity to shape the budding Bulldog star. Bell brought in 29 passes for 355 yards in 2023. He also added 157 yards on the ground, finding the end zone five times in total (with a sixth score on the season thanks to a trick play passing touchdown).
Meanwhile, Lovett arrived in Athens in 2023 as a transfer from Missouri and finished first on the team among wide receivers in a couple of categories. Trailing only first round pick Brock Bowers, Lovett caught 54 balls for 613 yards. The goal in working with Griffin this offseason was to build muscle mass while not dropping any speed. Based on the results, it seems both Bell and Lovett hit their marks.
“They were here for three weeks and came and saw me every day,” Griffin said. “Dominic and Dillon are two exceptional athletes. There’s nothing they can’t do. Anything I ask them to do, they do it. There’s not many things I have to example for them.”
“I really based their workouts based on what Georgia gives them to do in their offseason,” he added. “They’ll come and see me, send me the forms the coaches send them and I tweak it to my expertise and add a little bit to it.”
The excitement Griffin feels for their potential in 2024, Bell and Lovett feel it too. They understand what Georgia can accomplish with the combination of Carson Beck returning at quarterback and the weapons that surround him offensively.
“They understand that they have an NFL caliber quarterback that’s going to lead the nation in all these numbers. So, outside of them being great, they know that they have a first round draft pick that’s going to get them the ball, and that’s what they talked about every day,” Griffin said. “I asked Dominic why he came back. He said, ‘Because my quarterback’s the best quarterback in the country.’ I totally understand that. He said that after the Florida State game, Carson looked at him and said, ‘Come back,’ and Dominic said okay. Dillon was coming back regardless but was happy at the fact Dominic was staying too.”
“It was like captains speaking with captains, knowing that the job wasn’t finished yet. Unfinished business,” he continued. “They returned because they knew they’d be preseason No. 1, they understood the assignment, wanted to work towards that assignment and wanted to ball towards that assignment.”
Griffin is also aware that it’s a contract year per se for both of the Bulldogs. Lovett enters his final year of eligibility at the collegiate level. He has no choice but to go off to the NFL after 2024. Bell on the other hand will have a decision to make but has shown the potential to be a prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft should he choose to enter.
“They treat it as a business even when they’re not at school, and I love that because they understand in about nine or 10 months, they’re both going to be pros. They’re carrying themselves right now as if they’re in the NFL while they’re still in college,” Griffin said.
Lovett leaves Houston weighing about 185 or 186 pounds according to Griffin. It’s a weight that should help him take on a bigger work load this season. As for Bell, Griffin says he’s a “solid 215,” and ready to show his Deebo Samuel-like skillset once again this season.
Spending just a little bit of time with the two, it’s safe to say Griffin came away impressed. Not just physically but mentally too, the daily approach each took rubbed off on others in the gym. As Griffin said, the Bell and Lovett were captains of sorts in the gym, and he expects to see the work pay off this fall.
“They’re winners. They come from a program that wins,” Griffin said. “They don’t shy away from work. They demand perfection. If the reps are wrong, they want to do them over. If they did something that isn’t right, they want to fix it. If I tell them to get treatment, it’s the first thing on their list. They’re sort of captains when it comes to the gym here, and the accountability comes from both of them.”
“They are on everybody’s list to watch, but they’re very humble about it,” he added. “They don’t shy away from it, but they don’t boast and brag about it either. They just understand that this year, the job is bigger than any they’ve been at Georgia and they’re embracing that. Dillon told me he’s watched his friends become superstars, and it’s his time to become that player where people know who he is.”
It’s off to Athens now, and Bell and Lovett will be under the guidance of Georgia’s staff through the season. Still, Griffin will be supporting them from afar.
“I want them to live up to what people are saying they are,” Griffin said. “The preseason accolades, first and second teamers, they’ve got them already. People are telling them, ‘This is who you are, this what we’re going to do for you.’ I want them to live up to those expectations.”
“Stay healthy, excel on special teams, no dropped balls, let’s make the right choices,” he added. “The numbers are going to come on their own. There shouldn’t be a reason for them to come back to Georgia after this season.”
Bell, Lovett and the Bulldogs are about a month out from the start of preseason camp. Georgia opens the season August 31st in Atlanta against ACC favorite and a likely preseason top-15 team Clemson (12:00 p.m. ET, ABC).
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