Kirby Smart is at least in on the bit when it comes to hyping up your own team at SEC Media Days.

“Every room is great and unbelievable,” Smart joked with reporters. “That’s what we’re here to talk about today is every room is perfect and awesome.”

The reality is that won’t be the case entering this upcoming season.

Even for a program with as much talent as Georgia, the Bulldogs face plenty of uncertainty at key position groups. It’s part of the reason Georgia was not picked to win the SEC this season.

So with that in mind, it’s worth taking a look at how Georgia’s position groups look entering fall camp. From those that are actually in great shape, to those with significant questions.

Inside linebacker: It’s very close between this and the tight end room for the top spot. Both have veterans with a proven track record and high-upside young players waiting in the wings.

What tips the scales for this position is that the tight ends are a little more dependent on the players around them on the offensive side of the ball. CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson are capable of blowing up a play all by themselves. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Chris Cole and Justin Williams emerge as such this season.

Tight end: Allen earned First Team All-SEC honors, with Oscar Delp landing on the second team.

This group isn’t the same without Brock Bowers but if it were easily able to replace what Bowers did, Bowers would not be as great as he is.

Delp and Lawson Luckie will look to become more productive players. Keep an eye on sophomore Jaden Reddell, who could emerge as a key piece on the offense.

Defensive back: This was the lone position group to have multiple players make First Team All-SEC. KJ Bolden earned the nod at safety, while Daylen Everette was one of the selections at cornerback.

Those are the only two returning starters from the group, knocking it down a peg. Smart did dip into the transfer portal and add three players at safety, with Zion Branch emerging as the most likely instant impact addition.

The cornerback battle opposite Everette figures to be one of the most competitive on the team, as Daniel Harris and Ellis Robinson push to start. Those are two great options to have.

This group does have veterans in Joenel Aguero and JaCorey Thomas, who possess prior starting experience. There’s a lot to like about this group, even if it may not have the ceiling of the two above it.

Running back: The exact words that Smart used when discussing this group were “excited as hell.”

The Bulldogs return leading rusher Nate Frazier, who has the potential to be the best running back in the SEC. Should he improve his ball security, there’s an easy path to him becoming Georgia’s first 1,000-yard rusher since D’Andre Swift in 2019.

But two additions behind Frazier raise the ceiling of this group. Georgia nabbed Josh McCray out of the transfer portal this spring and welcomed freshman Bo Walker in the winter.

Despite neither having a carry in a Georgia uniform, they both should complement Frazier’s running style with their own physical running abilities.

Add in Cash Jones, Dwight Phillips Jr., Roderick Robinson and Chauncey Bowens and it’s a better running back room than Georgia had a season ago.

The potential for injury is something that must be watched, as it seems to be a constant concern for Georgia in recent years.

Wide receiver: Georgia led the country in drops a season ago. There’s a case to be made it was Georgia’s worst position group.

The Bulldogs went to great lengths to add talent at this position. Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch come from the transfer portal, while Talyn Taylor and CJ Wiley highlight five blue-chip freshmen.

Thomas and Branch will have to produce immediately to ease any further concerns with this group. But don’t overlook returnees Dillon Bell, London Humphreys and Colbie Young.

It’s fair to say none of those three had the seasons they hoped for in 2025. If they can all stay on the field, it should help improve this unit a good bit.

Quarterback: It speaks to faith Smart has in Gunner Stockton that the quarterback falls at this place on the list.

Of the four scholarship quarterbacks, he’s the only one to throw a collegiate pass. His last game against Notre Dame was also his lone career start.

Despite the inexperience, Stockton still attended SEC Media Days. Smart didn’t name him as the team’s starting quarterback but the Georgia head coach instead endorsed him as one of the key leaders.

How Stockton plays will go a long way in determining how this season plays out. But that Stockton has established himself as a critical leader bodes well for what Smart thinks of the fourth-year quarterback.

Outside linebacker: If we did this exercise after spring practice, this group might have been last.

But the addition of Elo Modozie bumps it up a tad. There’s been a lot of positive chatter around the Army transfer as he transitions to life in the SEC.

How Georgia uses Gabe Harris will be very interesting this fall, as he figures to bounce between outside linebacker and the defensive line. He has experience at both.

Georgia has big expectations for Quintavius Johnson, though he left the spring game and needed surgery to repair an ankle injury.

The Bulldogs have three promising freshmen in Isaiah Gibson, Chase Linton and Darren Ikinnagbon. All have great physical upside but it remains to be seen how much they’ll be able to help Georgia this year.

Defensive line: This list is not a ranking of position groups based on talent and potential, but rather how Smart feels about them.

And it’s undeniable that the Georgia head coach has concerns about his young defensive line.

Christen Miller was voted First Team All-SEC. The Georgia coach was complimentary about Xzavier McLeod.

Beyond those two, there are just a lot of unproven players in this room. That concerns Smart.

Jordan Hall and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye need to put their injuries behind them. Jordan Thomas, Nasir Johnson, Justin Greene and Nnamdi Ogboko have to give something as second-year players. And expectations are extremely high for freshman Elijah Griffin.

It’s early and this group has a long runway to improve. It’s safe to say that if this group finishes this low come the end of the season, it could be a long year for Georgia.

Offensive line: No group has more to prove this year than Georgia’s offensive line.

What had been a perennial strength sagged to a clear weakness at the end of the 2024 season. And that was with three starters who became top-100 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Georgia must replace all three of them this coming season. Earnest Greene is the only proven starter with this group, though Micah Morris, Drew Bobo and Monroe Freeling have all had positive moments.

What might really help this group is if some of the younger players progress and contribute. Be that Daniel Calhoun winning the starting guard spot opposite Morris or Gaston emerging as a contributor as a freshman.

Perhaps more than any other group on this list, including quarterback, this position needs to have a strong season.

If it does, one of Smart’s biggest worries will evaporate.