ATHENS — Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch still look a little out of place in the Georgia wide receiver room, even after having spent spring practice with the team.

Last Thursday was their first fall practice with the team. But in the time since, both Thomas and Branch have shown why they were prized and necessary additions to the Georgia wide receiver group.

Thomas is the tallest player at the position, listed at 6-foot-6. But his height doesn’t just limit him as a jump ball merchant, as he’s got some impressive wiggle to his game. At Georgia’s first practice last Thursday, Thomas was able to make senior cornerback Daylen Everette miss in coverage.

“He’s a real good player,” Everette told reporters at SEC Media Days. “I like going against him. Me and him, we go back and forth maybe like every day that we have 7-on-7 stuff. He’s just one of those guys, like, where he can do a lot.”

Thomas has gotten off to a strong start during fall camp, impressing in the handful of practices the Bulldogs have had to this point.

He’s validated why Georgia made him such a priority in the transfer portal last offseason. He reunited with James Coley, who previously worked with him at Texas A&M before becoming Georgia’s wide receivers coach in 2024.

Part of the reason Kirby Smart brought Coley back to Athens was that Georgia needed to overhaul its wide receiver room. Coley inherited a group that led the country in drops last season.

In his final season at Texas A&M, Thomas led the Aggies in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in 2024.

At Georgia, he gives quarterback Gunner Stockton a legitimate outside pass catcher. Something he was greatly lacking in his start against Notre Dame.

“He’s been great. He brings a great positive energy,” Stockton said of Thomas. “When he came up during spring, he didn’t complain or like do anything. You know, he just came up and worked. He’s done a great job so far …. He’s one of the best and I can’t wait for him to play.

As Thomas gets more comfortable at Georgia, his personality has begun to come out more. Teammates praise his humor, while Kirby Smart noted he was taking positive steps as a leader.

While Thomas brings a towering presence to the Georgia practice field, Branch is notable for his smaller stature and shiftiness. He’s on the small side in the Georgia wide receiver room, listed at 180 pounds.

Branch does look noticeably bulkier compared to when he first arrived in Athens this spring from USC.

Branch, whose brother Zion plays at safety, brings a much-needed speed element to the Georgia team. The Bulldogs have to replace leading receiver Arian Smith from last season, whose top attribute was speed.

That speed is going to have to make an impact on the Georgia offense. There’s an expectation it will, as ESPN’s Bill Connelly named Branch among his 40 most important players in college football this season.

“The returning receiving corps has decent experience, but Branch was a tantalizing but frustrating figure at USC,” Connelly wrote. “A former top-10 prospect, he’s a dynamic return man, but he managed only 823 total receiving yards at 10.6 per catch in two seasons. Can he give Stockton both a reliable set of hands and the occasional chunk play?”

Much will be made of what Branch brings to the Georgia passing offense. But it won’t be the only area where he helps the team, as he is expected to be the team’s top punt and kick returner. As a freshman at USC in 2023, Branch returned a punt and a kick for a touchdown.

The Bulldogs bring back Colbie Young, Dillon Bell and London Humphreys from last season, along with tight ends Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie. Stockton should have plenty of capable options to distribute the football to.

But if the Georgia passing offense — and wide receivers specifically — are to change the narrative around them, Thomas and Branch are going to end up being the key agents of change.

Based on the start of fall camp, Thomas and Branch seem to have made strong first steps in that regard.