The five breakout players to watch on Georgia’s offense in 2019
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Georgia football offensive breakout players candidates for 2019
Georgia’s offense figures to be loaded in 2019, with the likes of Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift and Andrew Thomas all coming back. But the Bulldogs also have a number of promising pieces that could make the offense even more dynamic, if things break the right way.
Last week we wrote about which under-the-radar players could go on to have a surprise role in the offense in 2019. Today, we’re going to look at five guys who could go from well-known names among Georgia fans to potential stars in the coming season:
Zamir White: redshirt freshman running back
White is probably the player most Georgia fans are excited to see, whether it be on G-Day or for the season-opener against Vanderbilt on Aug. 31. The running back out of Laurinburg, NC was the No. 1 running back in the 2018 class.
But there is a reason to temper expectations with White. Since he played in his last game as a high school senior, he’s had surgery on both ACLs. ACL injuries aren’t as tough to come back from as they were 10 years ago, it does take some time to return to form.
Related: Zamir White is going to make Georgia football a lot more dangerous in 2019
White has a role to fill with Elijah Holyfield declaring for the 2019 NFL Draft. If White is healthy, which is still only an if at this point, he could have an excellent shot at becoming the fifth different Georgia running back in the last three years to rush for 1,000 yards.
Demetris Robertson: junior wide receiver
Much like White, Robertson had a lot of hype and intrigue surrounding him when he arrived at Georgia in the summer. Many thought he would give Georgia’s passing offense a jolt given his former 5-star status and his strong freshman season at Cal.
But for a number of reasons, Robertson was never able to make a real impact for Georgia in 2018. That may be due to him arriving with the the team in July, and part of it may be due to the fact that Georgia had a number of capable wide receivers in Riley Ridley, Terry Godwin and Mecole Hardman.
But all three of those pass catchers, along with tight end Isaac Nauta, will be elsewhere in 2019. With a full offseason to work with team, Robertson should be better equipped to be a go-to receiver for the Bulldogs.
And while 2018 was a lost season — he didn’t record a catch in the nine games he played in — Robertson still showed that he can be an explosive playmaker when he gets his hands on the ball.
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Dominick Blaylock: freshman wide receiver
Much like Robertson, Blaylock will have an opportunity to shine for Georgia next year.
It might seem a bit unreasonable to list an incoming freshman here, but Georgia hasn’t landed a wide receiver of Blaylock’s stature in a long time. Blaylock is ranked as the no. 5 wide receiver in the 247Sports Composite rankings. The last time Georgia signed a wide receiver who ranked in the top 5 — Hardman, Godwin and Malcolm Mitchell were all listed as athletes coming out of high school — was all the way back in 2009 when the Bulldogs signed Marlon Brown.
Related: The under-the-radar excellence of 5-star commit Dominick Blaylock
Blaylock had a monster senior season at Walton High School in Marietta, Ga. He then scored three touchdowns in the All-American game. He’s shown he’s one of the best players, regardless of position, in the 2019 recruiting cycle. And he’ll have a chance to show next year that he’s one of the best offensive players for Georgia.
Charlie Woerner: senior tight end
With Nauta off to the NFL, Woerner is going to have a chance to put up big numbers next year.
Despite only having 11 receptions this past season, Woerner has already played a ton. He might not be the straight-line athlete that Nauta is, but he’s still a very competent pass catcher.
Another reason why Woerner can have a breakout season is because new offensive coordinator James Coley has made the tight end an integral part of his offenses in the past. In his three seasons as Miami’s play caller and offensive coordinator Miami tight ends averaged 49 receptions per season. That’s compared to just a 35 catches per year for Georgia tight ends under Jim Chaney from 2016-18.
When you factor in his experience, as well as a change in scheme, Woerner could have a huge 2019 season for Georgia.
Trey Hill: sophomore offensive lineman
With four starting offensive lineman returning, as well as number of others with starting experience, it’s hard to identify just one as a breakout candidate on the offensive line. But we think Hill might be the guy.
A highly-touted 4-star prospect in the 2018 class, Hill earned some starting reps in his freshman season as Ben Cleveland and Cade Mays both went down to injury. But the spot were he might shine at in 2019 is actually center, due to Lamont Gaillard graduating.
Hill filled in for Gaillard during the Kentucky game this season. While there were some issues with the quarterback-center exchange, that’s about the only compliant you could have from Hill in that game as Georgia ran for 331 yards in the game. He’s got a chance to make what should be a great offensive line potentially even better in 2019.
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