WATCH: Why Georgia football staff early focus on Jamie Newman, receivers

ATHENS — Quarterbacks and receivers were likely where it all started for Georgia football coach Kirby Smart and his staff this week as they got their first in-person look at the team since winter workouts.

Jamie Newman is firmly positioned as the favorite to start, so it’s a safe bet Smart and his offensive coaches gave the Wake Forest transfer a long look during the workouts.

There will still be competition at quarterback, no doubt, just as there will at every other on the Bulldogs’ roster. Indeed, Georgia has championship depth that could prove to come in handy in what looks to be a unique season.

That’s especially true at receiver, where the Bulldogs added five scholarship freshmen, at least three of whom have already stood out.

The game plan might be limited at the start of the season with all the newness. Georgia also has a first-year offensive coordinator in Todd Monken.

But the talent to execute is there, and Newman proved himself a play-making quarterback of dual-threat capacity.

The early focus on Newman and the receivers is all about getting a feel for what the pass game and offensive personality could look like.

This week’s workouts marked the official beginning of a longer build-up to the season than usual, after the NCAA Division I Council approved a 6-week plan leading up to the scheduled season-opening game.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey released an official statement on fall semester eligibility that would seem to help pave the way for a college football season.

Sankey said the SEC presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to ensure players they would maintain their eligibility and remain in good standing with their respective schools if the chose not to play amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Power 5 leagues are expected to release uniform testing procedures and protocols soon.

The SEC, Big 12 and ACC have all indicated they will update their respective leagues’ status at the end of July.

College football fans are doing their best to stay optimistic there will be games this season, even as one social media phenomenon has been a somewhat pessimistic overtone from some levels of the media.

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