Kirby Smart is embracing the questions when it comes to his 2025 football team.

He knows plenty will wonder about quarterback Gunner Stockton and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Georgia has plenty of holes to fill from a team that 13 players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The bulk of those picks came on the offensive and defensive lines. Georgia had three players taken from each unit. Defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse and offensive lineman Xavier Truss, who each started every game for Georgia, also signed as undrafted free agents.

Who replaces those key figures is where Smart is most curious to see how his team responds.

“We got a new team, new energy, young,” Smart said in an interview with Paul Finebaum. “We lost a lot of offensive and defensive linemen, like eight or nine, really good offensive, defensive linemen. When you lose those, you either replace them with guys that are vets or you replace them with youth and fire, passion and energy. And that’s what we’re counting on is having guys that have fire, passion and energy and play really hard.”

On the defensive line, Georgia doesn’t have a ton of veteran options. Christen Miller is the only fourth-year player in the room. Jordan Hall is entering his third year in the program, but those are the only two defensive linemen with at least two seasons at Georgia.

The Bulldogs have recruited very well along the defensive line, with former 5-star prospects Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and Elijah Griffin waiting to make an impact. Those two will have to show some fire, passion and energy that Smart longs to see from his young players.

On the offensive side of the ball, Georgia is in a little bit better shape. The Bulldogs have four players with starting experience back. Drew Bobo, Earnest Greene and Micah Morris are all veterans at this point, while Monroe Freeling played significant snaps a season ago.

The offensive line though was a major issue for Georgia last season, in large part due to injury. This group is going to have to stay healthy and improve if Georgia is to have a better season than it did in 2024.

Smart knows this team has something to prove. While Georgia won the SEC in 2024, it was a grind of a season and the Bulldogs lost their first and only playoff game.

How the 2024 season ended has definitely shaped how the upcoming 2025 team is viewed by those in the national media.

Smart sees his team every day. He’s been building it up since the hours following the loss to Notre Dame to end last season.

While questions may persist, about the quarterback, offensive line and defensive line positions, the Georgia head coach still feels good about what the 2025 team can accomplish.

“Our team is going to be a really good team,” Smart told Finebaum. “I’m excited about it. I appreciate all your questioning of it because it just gives me a little extra.”