Georgia signed the No. 2 ranked recruiting class in the country for the 2025 recruiting cycle. The class is filled with 5-star prospects and potential early contributors for Georgia.

Georgia though almost always recruits at an elite level. The Bulldogs signed the No. 1 ranked class in the 2024 recruiting cycle, yet saw only KJ Bolden, Nate Frazier and Chris Cole emerge as reliable contributors on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Kirby Smart knows he’ll need to get more out of this group of newcomers.

The Georgia head coach said as much in a recent interview with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic of WJOX.

“I mean, you got to have your young guys ready,“ Smart said. ”I told our staff one of the most critical things we can do in spring is get the 33 newbies, which that could be a freshman, that could be a portal, but there’s 33 new guys that are going to be in our depth chart somewhere, and we don’t know which one we’re counting on. So how do we get those 33 guys ready faster than our opponents?"

Georgia’s 2025 roster will have 38 newcomers in total, as the Bulldogs signed 28 recruits in the 2025 recruiting cycle, while adding 10 players via the transfer portal.

Most of those players were able to go through spring practice, as 24 members of the recruiting class were enrolled in the program. Six of Georgia’s 10 transfer additions were also on campus, with Zachariah Branch and Noah Thomas already making an impact at wide receiver.

The Bulldogs used the spring transfer portal to add players at running back, offensive line, defensive line and outside linebacker.

There are pros and cons to bringing in so much talent. There are a lot of new players on the roster, which leads to plenty of inexperience.

But with so much annual roster turnover — Georgia had 13 players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft while another 16 left via the transfer portal — Georgia has no choice but to load up on new faces every year.

“You’re thinner now,” Smart said. “The drop-off is greater between you lose one starter and it’s like, whoa. Because most of the guys that were backups were gone in the portal.”

Among the freshmen, defensive lineman Elijah Griffin, running back Bo Walker, defensive back Dominick Kelly and tight end Ethan Barbour have made strong early impressions at Georgia.

As for the transfers, seeing as how most already have some form of college experience, Georgia will be counting on Branch, Thomas, running back Joshua McCray and outside linebacker Elo Modozie to help play key roles in their first year at Georgia. For Thomas and McCray, this will be their only season at Georgia.

Georgia does a better job than most at acquiring talent, be it via the recruiting ranks or transfer portal. In this day and age of college football, Smart knows it is no longer just about bringing in talent, but also about developing it faster than the competition.

That challenge will become an annual one for Georgia, given how much turnover the Bulldogs experience every single year. Especially when paired with the national championship expectations that Georgia always faces.