Georgia football will open the season as the No. 1 team in both the AP and Coaches Poll. A big reason why is the team talent level, even after losing 10 players to the NFL draft this past year.

ESPN recently tried to capture just how many talented individuals are on this Georgia football team, as six Bulldogs landed among its top 100 players in college football. That was the most of any school in the country.

Georgia’s highest-ranked player was tight end Brock Bowers, who came in at No. 2 overall. The only player ranked higher was USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

Bowers has led Georgia in every receiving category for the past two seasons while scoring 24 touchdowns in the process. Being the best offensive weapon on the last two national championship teams go a long way in becoming one of the top players in the sport.

“Just the way he approaches practice and meetings and walk-throughs and everything, it really puts everything in a different perspective,” tight end Oscar Delp said of Bowers. “I think it pushes everyone in the room a little bit more.”

Georgia did place another player in the top 10, with defensive end Mykel Williams sliding in at No. 10. As a freshman, Williams finished with 4.5 sacks, the most on the Georgia team.

Another Georgia defender cracked the top-25, with inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson coming in at No. 24. He was one of two inside linebackers from Georgia to make the list, with Smael Mondon coming in at No. 41.

Mondon is dealing with a foot injury at the moment that has prevented him from being cleared to see the field. Still, expectations are high for Dumas-Johnson and Mondon as both return as starters.

“We were hungry. So fast forward to now, you know, you’ve just go to keep the same energy,” Dumas-Johnson said. “We’re really trying to do the same thing as we did last year. You know people are still, we like to say, doubting us. Just keeping that chip on our shoulder and growing.”

Defensive back Malaki Starks checked in at No. 40, followed closely by center Sedrick Van Pran at No. 42.

Georgia has plenty of players who could possibly make the list come the end of the season as well. Cornerback Kamari Lassiter, safety Javon Bullard, offensive tackle Amarius Mims and wide receivers Ladd McConkey and Dominic Lovett also come to mind as players who could crack the list.

Georgia was tied with Penn State and Ohio State for the most players on the list.

It does take more than talent though to win a national championship. Georgia understands that, having won the last two national championships. And while many contributors from those two teams return, Kirby Smart knows that this specific Georgia team hasn’t done anything yet.

“We’ve got an extremely long way to go as a football team,” Smart said after the first scrimmage. “I think so many people make an assumption off of last year’s team and their accomplishments. This team, number one, I asked them after the scrimmage and after we ran, what have you done to deserve anything you’ve gotten? And they’ve done nothing.”

Georgia begins its 2023 campaign on Sept. 2, when it opens with UT-Martin.