Offseason talk of the likelihood of back-to-back national titles for Georgia is putting the cart before the horse.
There are a lot of pieces that will have to fall into place for the Georgia program before such a discussion is even worth having, starting with replacing the 14 starters lost from the 2021 team with players who can perform somewhere near the same level as the national champions did.
That process began this week, as UGA opened spring practice for Kirby Smart’s seventh season as head coach. But, even after the spring drills are finished, and the April 16 G-Day Game has been played, and there’ve maybe been more additions or subtractions through the transfer portal, looking ahead to the College Football Playoff still will be premature.
Under the current system, the picking of the four supposedly best teams in the country for the playoff is an inexact science, at best, and Smart’s Dawgs wouldn’t have made it to this past season’s playoff — and a chance to win the national championship — if they hadn’t first won the SEC East.
Actually, just as important in UGA making it into the playoff, and having a shot at the natty, was the Dawgs finishing undefeated in the regular season, and going into the SEC Championship game ranked No. 1 in the country.
If that hadn’t been the case, the Dawgs might not have made it to Indianapolis, after losing rather badly to Alabama in the SEC title game. So, even those games against lesser opponents mattered, in the end.
Obviously, a program that just won the title is going to be in this year’s national championship conversation from the start, especially when it’s a program that recruits at the level Georgia does. Still, no program has managed to win back-to-back titles during the playoff era.
Even if Georgia were to be the first to do so, a lot of pieces have to fall into place, in order for the Dawgs make it to the big game, set for Jan. 9, 2023, in Inglewood, California.
A season that gets you to the playoff title game must be built block by block, with attention to detail and determination, and that’s the work Smart and his recently revamped coaching staff are undertaking in the 15 spring practices currently underway in Athens.
Being the “defending national champion” really means nothing, Smart noted at a press conference this past Tuesday.
“You don’t defend a title,” Georgia’s head coach told reporters. “You guys want it to be that way, but that’s not what we do. … We start completely new.”
Well, not completely new. While the Dawgs have a lot of star players to replace, particularly on defense, there’s a lot of talent returning from last year’s squad, plus some exciting newcomers.
However, Georgia does approach the 2022 season with “a lot of holes to fill,” as Smart said, and several questions to be answered. Besides replacing most of the starters on a defense that was one of the best in a generation, key slots also will have to be filled on offense and special teams.
“We’re certainly not deep enough at several positions,” Smart said, “but I’m not here to cry about it. I’m here to solve it and figure it out.”
Chief among the things he and his staff need to figure out is the defense, which lost key linemen (whose speed was the big story of the NFL Combine), linebackers and secondary players, and returns only three starters. It’s not easy to replace the likes of Jordan Davis, Travon Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall and Quay Walker.
That’s not to diminish the key defensive players who are returning. Top names among them are Nolan Smith, a team leader who could have moved on but chose to return because his mama wants a college diploma out of him, and Jalen Carter, who looks to become the new ringleader of Georgia’s defensive front. Other returning names on the defense to watch include team sack leader Robert Beal, Nazir Stackhouse, Christopher Smith, Dan Jackson, William Poole, national championship hero Kelee Ringo, Javon Bullard and injury-plagued transfer Tykee Smith.
Also, some of the younger talent has Georgia’s coaches excited, including defensive lineman Zion Logue, linebackers Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Xavian Sorey Jr. and Smael Mondon Jr., as well as defensive back MJ Sherman, linebacker Kamari Lassiter and, eventually, some highly rated freshmen, such as Marvin Jones, Mykel Williams, Malaki Starks, Jalon Walker and C.J. Washington.
Knowing Smart, I wouldn’t bet against this defense in the long run, but there is a good chance that the offense might have to carry much of the load early on.
Fortunately, the returning offensive talent looks to be up to the job. Of course, the veteran Stetson Bennett returns at quarterback and, barring injury, is expected to remain the starter. The real interest will be the battle to be his primary backup. While Carson Beck comes into spring practice in the second spot, Brock Vandagriff is expected to wage a strong battle for the job. Still, Beck, who threw the passes for receivers showing off at UGA’s Pro Day, can’t be counted out. And, freshman Gunner Stockton, who is an early enrollee, might figure into the equation later in the season. Odds are, all of those QBs won’t stick around after spring, though, with Beck considered the most likely to transfer if he doesn’t win the backup spot.
Although the Dawgs lost George Pickens to the NFL, and had a couple of unexpected losses to the portal from the wide receiver corps, there’s still a lot of returning talent at that position, led by AD Mitchell, Ladd McConkey and Kearis Jackson. Also in the mix are Dominic Blaylock, Arian Smith and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, and transfer Arik Gilbert, who took last season off, will be another target, though he also likely will be used as a tight end.
Speaking of tight ends, Georgia remains stacked at that position for the long run, but likely starters Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington both will miss spring drills because of offseason surgery, which will give newcomer Oscar Delp a chance to make his case for playing time.
Running back also is well stocked, despite the departure of Zamir White and James Cook. Backs Kenny McIntosh, Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards return, and, there are a couple of freshmen, Branson Robinson and Andrew Paul, for additional depth.
The offensive line is unsettled right now, but the three returning starters (Warren McClendon, Warren Ericson and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger) are likely locks, and former starter Tate Ratledge, hurt in the Clemson game last season and still not quite back yet, is likely to be another. Broderick Jones also has some starting experience, and Amarius Mims, Micah Morris and Devin Willock are among those competing for a spot.
On special teams, starting placekicker Jack Podlesny returns, but the punting and kickoff jobs are open, and backup PK Jared Zirkel may take the latter. As for punter, the likely favorite is Australian import Brett Thorson.
We’ll also have to wait to see how the staff upheaval that was part of offseason changes in Smart’s program will play out. Georgia lost its defensive play-caller, though co-defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann returns and is joined by Will Muschamp, who filled various jobs last year. New coaches also are in place for receivers, the offensive line, outside linebackers and defensive backs — though a couple of them are familiar faces in Athens, as Bryan McClendon and Stacy Searels worked for Mark Richt a few years back. (Another Richt guy, Mike Bobo, is back in an off-field offensive analyst capacity.)
Still, with Todd Monken remaining offensive coordinator, and Smart, as always, keeping an eye on defensive matters, there’s a comforting measure of stability.
Another thing that could factor again into Georgia’s 2022 prospects is injuries. Besides Bowers and Washington, quite a few other players will miss spring drills, including an exciting freshman arrival, defensive lineman Bear Alexander.
But, this is nothing new for the Dawgs. What’s been overlooked about Georgia’s 2021 season, amid Alabama’s incessant whining about how injuries cost them the national championship, is that the Dawgs dealt with beaucoups injuries throughout the year, particularly at wide receiver. However, Georgia’s young players stepped up, and the coaches schemed around the personnel losses. Thus, are championships won.
Meanwhile, one of the intangibles that the Dawgs will face is figuring out how to handle following up a natty. Along those lines, the program has continued the “skull” sessions it initiated last season. Said Smart: “We’re trying to figure out what this team’s identity is, completely independent of the previous year.”
Warren Ericson put it like this last week: “I’m not gonna lie; it was a little strange first, coming in. It’s something special. Now, we have to come in and realize, ‘OK that’s in the past.’ We have to look forward to this next season. And just focus all our efforts into that.”
Of course, Christopher Smith conceded, “When you think about it, it’s hard to forget last year. It was a pretty special year. We did a lot of special things.”
But, he said, “we know we got to be able to look forward, and on to the next, because nothing that we did last year is going to carry us to this year. We have to put in the same work that we put in last year, to build that chemistry, just like what we did with those guys last year. We lost a lot, and we gained a lot, a lot of great players … so we have to be able to just mesh and come together to be able to do what we did last year.”
As Ericson said, striving for the top is nothing new at Georgia. “We’re able to be like, ‘We did that once, let’s do it again. Let’s keep going. Let’s build off what we accomplished so far.’”
If he’s right, that’s when those discussions about Georgia winning back-to-back national championships will be worth having.
