ATHENS — Zykie Helton has been one of the stars of spring practice for Georgia.

The offensive lineman has driven rave reviews from players on both sides of the ball, along with head coach Kirby Smart.

But being that Helton is just a freshman, Smart still has to clarify how to pronounce Helton’s name.

“I’ll correct you like he did me,” Smart told reporters. “It’s Za-kai. Z is a lot easier way of saying it.”

Helton is far from the only freshman introducing himself to the Georgia team. The Bulldogs signed the No. 6-ranked recruiting class in last year’s cycle. And while that’s a bit down from what Georgia usually brings in, it’s still better than most freshman classes.

Last year, Georgia got immediate contributions out of Dontrell Glover, Elijah Griffin and Juan Gaston. With the Bulldogs having to replace a number of key contributors from last season, Georgia will have to once again rely on its incoming freshmen to provide contributions.

Offensively, Georgia will look to lean on its pass catchers to produce. The Bulldogs have to replace four of their top five wide receivers from last season, in addition to tight end Oscar Delp.

Kaiden Prothro was Georgia’s highest-rated offensive skill player, finishing the cycle as the No. 38 overall prospect.

Prothro has the skills of a wide receiver but the body of a tight end.

“He’s a talented pass catcher,” Smart said of Prothro. “He’s a large target. He has some twitchiness and quickness to get away from press and get off of press, and we’re gonna keep trying to figure out what it is all those guys do best, and where they are in their progression.”

Prothro is one of three tight ends Georgia signed in the 2026 recruiting cycle. The Bulldogs also signed three wide receivers, adding Craig Dandridge, Ryan Mosley and Dallas Dickerson.

Of the three, Dandridge was the highest-rated after a stellar career at Cambridge High School in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Smart expects Dandridge to struggle initially, as is the case with almost every freshman. He’s no longer the biggest and baddest player on the field as he makes his transition to Athens.

“He hasn’t been asked to go out there, and the kids that are three and four years older than him go over there and dominate them, but he’s made some plays in the passing game. And that’s typically where a freshman, you can find a skill set that a guy has that can run and catch.

Smart praised Dandridge’s positional versatility, as the freshman has the ability to play in both the slot and on the outside.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive lineman Valdin Sone has quickly emerged as a standout.

He’s the most physically impressive of the five defensive linemen Georgia added in the 2026 recruiting class. While he’s still trying to learn the intricacies of the Georgia defense, he’s got some abilities that just cannot be taught.

“Yeah, no, he’s twitchy,” Griffin said of Sone. “He kind of reminds me of me first coming in. He probably faster than me, too. He’s very fast. Really big guy, too. But he’s just going through the process as well. And I just tell him all the time, just keep stacking days, man. You’re going to be OK.”

There’s a natural inclination to want freshmen to be ready to go as soon as possible. But everyone’s development curve is different. It wasn’t until the end of last season that Zayden Walker and Rasean Dinkins emerged as contributors for the Georgia defense.

Smart knows it’s on him to get the players ready to go for the upcoming season. Georgia has routinely leaned on freshmen, as the program likes to say that if you’re old enough, you’re good enough.

Even with an older team in 2026, the ask for Georgia’s group of freshmen is still the same.