ATHENS — Georgia freshman receiver Craig Dandridge was one of the most talked about players in offseason workouts, but those close to the program were wanting to see what would happen once the pads went on.

Was Dandridge tough enough to make an impact once the hitting started and he was confronted with elite defensive backs in 11-on-11 scrimmage situations?

Dandridge has been through one fall scrimmage, and he’ll be going through another this Saturday looking to prove his worth.

UGA coach Kirby Smart isn’t tipping his hand on what’s happened behind the closed practice gates, but sometimes the less Smart says about a player, the better.

“Craig’s great,” Smart said, asked on Wednesday to assess the national Top 100 recruit out of Cambridge High School.

“Craig’s continuing to work and get better and continues to work day in and day out. He’s a pleasure to work with.”

The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder arrived at UGA with quite a resume, having caught more than 50 passes for more than 1,100 yards last season while running a 10.84-second time in the 100 meters in high school.

The athletic ability and football skills are all there, and now it’s only a matter of Dandridge believing in himself, according to junior receiver Sacovie White-Helton.

“Craig is definitely very, very explosive,” White-Helton said on Wednesday. “He, as of right now, he’s one of the top freshmen right now doing what he needs to do, and we all believe in him.

“I think it comes down to confidence for him, allowing him to tell himself, ‘Hey, I’m good to go. I’m out here for a reason, and I’m at this school for a reason.’ His confidence is through the roof, and if he keeps that throughout the season, he’ll have a really good year for us.”

The former AJC Super 11 pick is as competitive as they come, according to his high school coach, Tyler Jones.

“That’s one of the things that makes him different, he’s such a competitor, (and) he doesn’t like to lose,” Jones told DawgNation during Dandridge’s recruiting process.

“I’m pretty sure he’s said in an interview once or twice that he’s going to talk [on the field] because he wants to compete. He wants to push guys to be better. But he’s got that internal fire.”

Dandridge has had his moments, but standing out among a crowded — and hungry — room of receivers will require more than just a competitive mindset.

Results, UGA offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said, is what it’s all about in Georgia football camp, and one imagines Dandridge will need to do better than making three catches on eight targets -- as he did in the G-Day Game -- to earn more opportunities in the regular season.

“We call it competitive excellence,” Bobo said earlier in fall camp when previewing the Bulldogs’ 2026 offense. “When the opportunity presents itself to make a play, make those plays. A lot of times you can’t script those in camp.

“You’re installing, offense is installing, defense is installing, but opportunities are going to come your way. When that opportunity comes, you make that play for the offense to be explosive.”

Smart indicated on Wednesday that receiving opportunities are still up for grabs in a pass-catching corps that lost five of its top six targets from last season.

“I wouldn’t say anybody in the room is dominating by any means,” Smart said. “There’s young players that are coming on fast. By young, I mean first and second year. Then there’s older players who are leading well and doing a tremendous job for us.”

Here’s a look at what Dandridge accomplished in high school his junior and senior seasons combined, as compiled by DawgNation recruiting writer Jeff Sentell: