ATHENS — When you recruit as well as Georgia does on an annual basis, you’re going to be bringing in some of the top recruits in the country. The Bulldogs did so once again in the 2025 recruiting cycle, landing nine recruits who finished the cycle as top-100 overall prospects.

Last season, running back Nate Frazier, safety KJ Bolden and linebacker Chris Cole all carved out real roles for themselves in their first seasons at Georgia. All three were named to the All-SEC Freshman team in 2024.

Given the holes Georgia has on its roster entering 2025, the Bulldogs are going to need some of those newcomers to step in and play right away.

Below are 6 newcomers who because of their own ability and the depth chart ahead of them, have a chance to come and contribute on either side of the ball.

Wide receiver Talyn Taylor

Wide receiver is a major position of need for the Bulldogs. Georgia led the country in drops and has to replace Dominic Lovett and Arian Smith off of last year’s team.

Taylor is the first 5-star wide receiver the Bulldogs signed since George Pickens in the 2019 class. Pickens led Georgia in receiving yards in his freshman season.

Georgia won’t expect Taylor to do that, but given where the position is at the moment, he’s got an opportunity to make an early impact at Georgia. He’s already enrolled at Georgia and the early reviews have been very good.

Taylor is very polished, which should only help him push for early playing time.

Wide receiver CJ Wiley

While Taylor is a refined route-runner who can play all over the field, Wiley is a pure X receiver. Something Georgia didn’t have for much of last season.

Wiley was a big reason Milton High School won back-to-back state titles, consistently proving to be a tough cover.

Georgia did bring in Noah Thomas from the transfer portal and could see Colbie Young come back into the fold as well following the resolution of his legal issues. They could also both provide an outside presence for the Georgia offense.

But neither is all that more experienced in Georgia’s system than Wiley. And as Kirby Smart often likes to say, if you’re old enough, you’re good enough.

Tight end Ethan Barbour

Georgia’s tight end room is loaded, with Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie returning for another season. Georgia also has Jaden Reddell waiting in the wings to step into Benjamin Yurosek’s role.

But don’t be surprised if Barbour pushes for playing time. He’s one of two tight ends Georgia signed, with the other being Elyiss Williams.

Williams was the No. 1 ranked tight end in the 2025 signing class, but Barbour may be better positioned to push for playing time.

Of the names listed, Barbour feels like he faces the toughest climb. But we’ve seen freshmen tight ends come in and play well immediately and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Barbour do so.

Defensive lineman Elijah Griffin

Rarely do defensive linemen come in and play right away. The Bulldogs have brought in 5-star prospects like Jordan Hall and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye in recent cycles and yet they haven’t been able to crack the rotation early.

Knowing that, we still include Griffin here. He is a rare talent. He’s the No. 1 defensive lineman in the country for the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Georgia also has a really need on the interior of its defensive line with stalwarts Warren Brinson and Naz Stackhouse moving on to the NFL.

We don’t expect Griffin to come in and dominate right away, but there is an opportunity for him to play as a rotational piece on the defensive line early. Griffin has as high of a ceiling as any prospect in this class.

Yet because of the situation on the defensive line, he’s got a chance to play in a meaningful way for Georgia as a freshman.

One of Isaiah Gibson, Chase Linton and Darren Ikinnagbon at outside linebacker

Following the transfer of Damon Wilson, Georgia is very thin and inexperienced at outside linebacker.

That gives Gibson, Linton and Ikkinnagbon an avenue to play early. Not all of them will do so and there will be a big physical jump from high school to the SEC.

Georgia has Gabe Harris and Quintavius Johnson and will very much pursue the transfer portal in the April window to find additional help.

However, if one of the above players can make a quick impact during spring practice — which is expected to start and end before the transfer portal opens — maybe Georgia will be able to reconsider how big of a need outside linebacker is.

Inside linebacker Zayden Walker

Walker isn’t likely to make an impact at inside linebacker. CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson are back, while Chris Cole and Justin Williams will look to make a leap in year two with the program.

But Georgia has to replace 29 of its 37 sacks from a season ago. Walker is more of a natural athlete and is the next in the long line of Georgia linebacker signees that played on the edge as a high school recruit before moving to inside linebacker in college.

Walker was compared to Jalon Walker at times during the recruiting process. Those are lofty comparisons to throw around, but Walker first made an impact at Georgia with his ability to rush the passer.

Zayden Walker is far from the finished product Jalon Walker was in 2024, when he won the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker. But there’s a role that the freshman from Ellaville, Ga., could carve out early in his time in Athens.