ATHENS — Much has been made of Georgia’s wide receiver room entering the upcoming season.

London Humphreys is the lone wide receiver from last season’s team who caught more than 15 passes and returns.

Not just does Georgia have to replace Zachariah Branch and Colbie Young, but Cash Jones is gone as well. He was a key piece for the team’s third-down packages, taking the field in obvious passing-down situations.

“We were put in a pretty good spot having a guy like Cash to be able to do that role,” running back Chauncey Bowens said. “So it was kind of his role for the time he was here.”

As for who might fill that role, Bowens is competing with everyone in Georgia’s talented running back room this fall. The loss of Kentucky transfer Dante Dowdell removes one possible candidate.

Third-year running back Nate Frazier is expected to be the team’s leading rusher, something he’s done in each of the last two seasons.

Georgia would really like to see Frazier take on a larger role when it comes to catching passes out of the backfield.

“He’s becoming a weapon catching the ball out of the backfield,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “That’s been a big focus for him. All in all, he’s worked really hard this camp.”

Frazier caught 16 passes for 116 yards last season, scoring a touchdown in Georgia’s regular-season win over Ole Miss. He added another 12 as a first-year player back in 2024.

Over those same two seasons, Jones combined for 44 receptions. He was also a trusted pass blocker for Gunner Stockton and Carson Beck.

That’s just as big a reason why he was so often Georgia’s go-to running back on third downs.

Frazier hopes he’s earned the same level of trust entering 2026. He’s well aware of his history with fumbles, but he’s confident he’s put in the work to earn the necessary belief that he can be an every-down option for Georgia.

“It’s just a certain demeanor you have to approach the game with. I feel like after a couple of games during the season, I don’t feel like I had that switch,” Frazier said. “I feel like toward the end of the season, I just turned that switch on. One of the things for me is I want to start with that switch on now. I don’t want to waste no time. That’s really what it was for me. I just had to turn the switch on.”

If Georgia opts to lean more on Frazier in the passing game, it can reduce the amount of hits he takes by leaning on Bowens on early downs.

Both players battled injuries last season. Availability is going to go a long way in determining how big of a role the Georgia running backs carve out in the offense.

“It’s been a non-negotiable for me, especially after that season, just to always be doing something to improve my body,” Bowens said. “Whether that’s stretching, whether that’s cold tub, hot tub, every single day it’s always something that I’m trying to implement into my routine.”

Bowens hopes to break tackles this season, not individual standards.

As for Frazier, he acknowledges that he has things he wants to accomplish this season.

But it’s not rooted in specific statistical benchmarks. Even if he becomes Georgia’s version of Christian McCaffrey, it won’t mean much to Frazier if Georgia doesn’t win.

“My goals for myself personally, I put those to the side and I don’t worry about the team goals, because I know if we get the team goals done, my personal goals, they don’t happen,” Frazier said. “So if we do what we have to do as a team, then my personal goals don’t happen, it’s team first, then me.”

Georgia clearly needs better versions of Frazier and Bowens this season if the Bulldogs are to have a better ending to the season.

Neither was on the field for the biggest play of last season, as Georgia turned to Jones for its pivotal third down on its penultimate offensive possession of the season. Georgia ended up coming up just short on that third down, leading to a field goal instead of a touchdown.

In 2026, the goal for both is to make sure Georgia can execute in those critical situations. Preferably with one of them on the field.