ATHENS — Georgia’s offense will have more questions than answers when college football returns, but the hype is already building for the future.

ESPN ranked the Bulldogs’ offense No. 6 in its “top 25 future offense power rankings.”

This, even though UGA coach Kirby Smart recently said “we don’t really know what we have” at quarterback.

RELATED: Kirby Smart assesses Georgia QB situation entering 2020 season 

Fact is, Georgia’s SEC title hopes — and College Football Playoff hopes, for that matter — rest largely on the shoulders of Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Jamie Newman.

The Bulldogs have redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis and true freshman Carson Beck on the roster at quarterback, with Brock Vandagriff a 2021 commitment.

Still, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has dropped Georgia’s future offense ranking from No. 3 in 2019 to No. 6 for this season looking forward.

UGA was ranked ahead of Alabama last season.

The ESPN top 25 future offense power ratings also gave UGA a 2020 future QB ranking of No. 11.

The ESPN article attempts to draw parallels to where LSU was at before Joe Brady designed an offense for Joe Burrow.

“Georgia boasts enough talent to be an elite offense,” the pay site article states. “The Bulldogs just need the right play caller — and perhaps quarterback — to get over the hump.”

ESPN also points to George Pickens, Zamir White and Dominick Blaylock as keys to Georgia ending its national title drought.

Pickens and White are surely keys, along with James Cook, Kenny McIntosh, Matt Landers and an incoming class of talented receivers.

Blaylock, however, suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the first quarter of the SEC Championship Game in December and his status is less clear.

The recovery period for a torn ACL is typically six months to a year, but for skill position players utilizing dynamic movements, it often takes longer for them to regain complete form.

Kirby Smart provided an update earlier in the offseason indicating Blaylock was working hard to rehabilitate, but expectations should remain reasonable.

For all of the offensive hype — and Georgia fans will gladly take it — they key to the Bulldogs’ title hopes this season rests on an experienced defense.

Georgia brings back nine of 11 starters off its Sugar Bowl team, and if it’s as stingy as last season, the offense might be geared more toward proficiency in addition to producing explosive plays.

Indeed, Smart said this spring he didn’t anticipate a change to Georgia’s core philosophy, even if things will in fact look different.

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