The Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a miraculous 29-1 record over the last two seasons in which they became the first back-to-back national champions in the CFP era. Heading into 2023 Georgia is not a contender… They are the kings. They will continue to sit atop CFB until someone is able to dethrone them. You are number one until you’re not. With that being said though, Georgia once again has multiple questions to answer regarding personnel. Between the portal and the draft, Georgia lost another super talented group filled with leaders.
Offense
Key Losses: QB Stetson Bennett, RB Kenny McIntosh, WRs AD Mitchell, Dominick Blaylock, and Kearis Jackson, TE Darnell Washington, OTs Broderick Jones and Warren McClendon
The Georgia Bulldogs lost RB Kenny McIntosh to the draft this past April. Despite the Georgia RB room being strong both at the top and depth wise, it is interesting to note that McIntosh in his own way is a major loss. Over their past two Championships Georgia has been lucky to have major receiving threats in the room in James Cook and McIntosh. These guys were dangerous out of the backfield or out wide. Despite having a lot of good runners in the room in 2023, it just feels like the Bulldogs are missing that receiving threat back. Someone could definitely step up, but for now it feels like that is where McIntosh is going to be missed the most.
The Dawgs lost WR AD Mitchell to Texas via the portal. Mitchell, who missed most of last season due to injury, was Georgia’s WR1 pre-injury. Mitchell was a big time playmaker who caught a TD in each of the four CFP games he was featured in over the last couple seasons. Unless you’re a Dawgs fan, you probably don’t know who Dominick Blaylock is. Despite only being a situational player last season, several of his catches came at the right time in crucial moments… and the same can be said about returner/WR Kearis Jackson. Luckily for Georgia most of their big contributors from last year are back: Ladd McConkey, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Arian Smith, and Dillon Bell. Not to mention the freshman and two of the SEC’s top WRs from 2022, Dominic Lovett and RaRa Thomas, who came in via the portal. The Bulldogs WRs should be just fine heading into 2023.
TE Darnell Washington in some ways may be one of the biggest losses for the Dawgs. 6’7”, 265 and blocks like an offensive tackle. Georgia has several highly touted TEs in the room, including “unicorn” Brock Bowers, but none with a similar skillset to Darnell. Bowers is Bowers, but finding a TE2 like Darnell may not happen again for a long time… if ever.
At Offensive Line, the Dawgs retained all three IOL starters: Tate Ratledge, Sedrick Van Pran, and Xavier Truss. The only missing member of the IOL is Devon Willock who’s life was tragically taken in January’s horrifying car wreck(R.I.P). Both tackle spots will need to be replaced as both Broderick Jones and Warren McClendon were drafted in April. Georgia luckily already has their man at RT in Amarius Mims. Mims, who entered the transfer portal last offseason, decided to come back and wait his turn. He saw time this past season when McClendon went down, and he should be ready to lock down the right side this year. Broderick Jones is a tough player to replace. A big athletic tackle, Jones showed a lot of what he was capable of despite still being a pretty raw talent. Jones gave up 0 sacks in 2022, was a tough run blocker in the box, and moved well enough to pull and get out in front of outside runs and screen passes. Whether it’s Earnest Greene or Austin Blaske taking over in 2023, they have huge shoes to fill.
Finally and certainly not least, probably the biggest loss over the last couple seasons for the Dawgs is QB Stetson Bennett. Bennett, a former walk-on and JUCO player, leaves one of the most memorable legacies in Georgia history. Not only did Bennett lead Georgia to their first National Championship in 41 years, but he led the Dawgs to the first back-to-back titles in the CFP era. Despite what Kirby Smart and co are saying, we believe that the QB battle is over and Carson Beck will be leading this team in 2023.
When Beck got playing time last season he played well. When you watch Georgia’s spring game, Beck picked the starting defense apart the whole first half. But one question still remains… Does Carson Beck have Stet’s “it” factor? Can Beck travel to Neyland Stadium and take down Tennessee on the road? Could Beck bring the team back like Stet did against Ohio State? With minimal playing time in 2022 it’s hard to tell. All eyes will be on Carson Beck this year.
Defense
Key Losses: DL Jalen Carter, EDGEs Robert Beal and Nolan Smith, CB, Kelee Ringo, S Christopher Smith
The Dawgs defensive line has helped carry this defense and this team over the last few seasons, and rightfully so when you see the names: Jordan Davis, Travon Walker, Devonte Wyatt, and Jalen Carter. All four ended up being first round picks. Carter, debatably the most dominant of them all, was just drafted in April. The question now is who’s going to be “the guy” on the defense front. The simple answer is Sophomore DE Mykel Williams; however, Georgia seems to always have a guy at DT, so who’s that guy?
The answer would’ve been Sophomore Bear Alexander, but he transferred to USC. Georgia has a lot of experience at DT with Seniors Nazir Stackhouse, Warren Brinson, and Zion Logue. Many believe that Stackhouse is the next game changer on the inside, but it doesn’t feel, right now at least, like he’s comparable to Carter or Davis. We all know Georgia is going to rotate their DL guys, but lacking a typical Georgia “X-Factor” could hurt up front. They could look to freshmen Jordan Hall and Jamaal Jarrett to show flashes of being the next game changer.
The OLB/EDGE room is another room that takes a massive hit. Robert Beal was never an “elite” level player, but he knew his role and did it well. The Dawgs unfortunately played without leader Nolan Smith down the stretch in 2022, and Junior Chaz Chambliss stepped up in his absence. The biggest loss from this room is going to be the leadership of Beal and more importantly Smith. Smith both before and even more so after the injury was the heart and emotional leader of not just the defense but the team as a whole. From a production standpoint the Dawgs are going to need Chambliss and the rest of this super young OLB room to step up.
The secondary, which seemed to be a bit of an achilles heel for the Dawgs down the stretch(2nd half LSU and Ohio State) lost two major contributors from the last two seasons in Kelee Ringo and Christopher Smith. Smith, the pretty obvious leader and captain of the secondary(in our opinion) despite never truly getting the recognition he deserved, is a major loss.
This secondary is young and fairly inexperienced. It seems like 2022 STAR Javon Bullard is being asked to kick back to safety in Smith’s absence, while Senior Tykee Smith will be asked to take over the STAR position(which for context is arguably one of the most important positions on their defense). Dan Jackson who was a big contributor in 2021 should be healthy after an unfortunate 2022 injury. At CB, Kamari Lassiter played like a CB1 last year and should be ready to take yet another step up this year. It’s the CB spot opposite him that has many worried. Replacing Ringo is no easy task and whether it’s Sophomore Daylen Everette, RS Sophomore Nyland Green, RS Freshman Julian Humphrey or Freshman AJ Harris… or a committee of them, there are big shoes to fill.
The Georgia Bulldogs have lost an immense amount of talent over the last two years, but the bigger loss is going to be all the leadership gone: Nakobe Dean, Nolan Smith, Chris Smith, Stetson Bennett, Jalen Carter, just to name a few. The team needs players to step up not just between the whistles, but as leaders. Sedrick Van Pran seems to be all that’s left of the leaders over the last two years. Leadership played a major factor in this program and the next wave needs to step up if they want to continue their reign over the college football landscape.
Whereas the Dawgs last two teams have been filled with “veterans” everywhere the Dawgs have a young team heading into 2023. Their star-studded 2023 recruiting class could even find themselves making a huge impact in all three phases building the foundation for the future. However, with every passing moment, the target on the Bulldogs back continues to grow… How will Coach Kirby Smart and team answer the questions in 2023?