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A Long Look at UGA's Roster Heading into 2019

January 21, 2019
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ATHENS - This is the time of year where folks start to wonder what college football teams will look like the following fall. 

The acceleration of the the recruiting calendar allows us to know more in the middle of January than we once did. The long and short of it is that there won’t be much surprise when the Dawgs are ranked in the top five - likely the top three when polls come out. 

Georgia will look very similar to what it looked like last season - particularly on offense - but there are still a few spots that will have to be determined. With all due respect to the coach talk we will hear over the next eight months from Kirby, most of the positions at Georgia taken up.

But there are a few spots where there are not obvious starters or backups returning in the fall. Of the 46 spots that make up the two-deep depth chart at UGA (11 starters and backups on offense and defense, plus an extra starter and backup in the secondary on defense = 46 positions) only ten spots are “open” - and only one of those is a starting spot… at receiver. 

As most Dawg Post subscribers know, I keep track of scholarships numbers. Because of that I can report that UGA is sitting at 83 scholarship players as of Jan. 21, 2019. That means Georgia could certainly add two players in the coming recruiting cycle, but could add three or four if there is further attrition. For instance, punter Marshall Long (injury) is presumed to still be on scholarship and is included in the 83 number, but he isn’t the starting punter at least in part because of the injury. It is rare the backup punter remains on scholarship for four years, so going beyond two new signees in the late cycle is probable. Long isn’t the only player who could be lost to attrition. 

On defense, Georgia will have to replace three major starters - D’Andre Walker, Jonathon Ledbetter and Deandre Baker - and have to fill in six backup spots that are not yet “obviously” filled.

Assumed Starters - 12
Assumed Backups - 7
Spots That need to be filled - 5

Jordan Davis, Julian Rochester and David Marshall should return or slide into the starting spots in 2019. But Tyler Clark could certainly have something to say about staring in 2019 as could Devonte Wyatt, Malik Herring and Michael Barnett. Travon Walker certainly looks the part of a player in the future, but he will have to get ready for college football over the summer. Juco DL Jermaine Johnson will be expected to jump into the rotation right away as well. 

At inside linebacker, Juwan Taylor and Natrez Patrick leave inside linebacker, but Tae Crowder and Monty Rice are slated to play as starting inside linebackers. Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall, and Quay Walker appear to be the other candidates to either fill in as backups or compete for starting a starting spot. 

At outside linebacker, Brent Cox and Walter Grant are penciled in as starting outside linebackers. Robert Beal is listed as a backup linebacker, but the other outside spot isn’t as clear as it relates to backup. Adam Anderson played quite a bit in 2018 and figures into the 2019 math. Azeez Ojulari played a ton in the Sugar Bowl (it is unclear if he will be a redshirt freshman in 2019 or a sophomore as he only played against MTSU, Tech and Texas). Nolan Smith, the country’s top prospect in the 2019, should also have a say in the outside linebacker spot. 

All told, the linebacker spot seems the most fluid of any spot on the roster. There are four assumed starters, but only one assumed backup. Only the third receiver spot, which doesn’t have an assumed starter or backup, is more fluid. 

At defensive back Georgia is stacked up with players. Baker’s departure means the Dawgs return three of the four starters from 2018. Who replaces Baker is a good question, but there’s a ton of players back there to sort through. 

J.R. Reed, Richard LeCounte and Eric Stokes return from starting most of 2018. Tyson Campbell also returns, but he was listed behind Stokes in the Sugar Bowl media guide. Mark Webb is a presumed starter at one corner spot, but doesn’t have a backup. He’s also listed as a backup to Tyrique McGhee at the star spot. 

Nonetheless, only one backup spot - behind Webb at corner - isn’t assumed. Also, Divaad Wilson, who played a ton in the Sugar, Chris Smith, Ameer Speed, D.J. Daniel, Lewis Cine and Tyrique Stevenson will have something to say about the crowded secondary at UGA. 

On offense, Georgia will have to replace some skill position players and the starting center. The third receiver spot doesn’t have an assumed starter or backup. Depth is a major concern at tight end, and the return of Zamir White is critical to the run game after Elijah Holyfield left for the NFL. 

Assumed Starters - 10
Assumed Backups - 7
Spots That need to be filled - 5

On the offensive line, the strength of the program, several starters return. Andrew Thomas, Soloman Kindley, Isaiah Wilson, Cade Mays and Ben Cleveland all return - likely to their starting spots. Mays can play a slew of different spots. Center is the most interesting spot. Trey Hill is listed as the starting center, but Jamaree Salyer could be the starting center as well… or a guard. Clay Webb, a natural center, might also enter the discussion at that spot. UGA has tons of options on the line. Frankly, so many that it's not worth the time explaining all of them. Evan when Thomas was out at left tackle last year Mays did perfectly fine replacing him. 

Tight end is probably the spot on the team where depth is the biggest concern. Georgia used “a lot” of two-TE sets last fall. Charlie Woerner returns as the presumed starter, but the backup is harder to know. We should assume it is John FitzPatrick because signee Ryland Goede is recovering from an ACL injury. Having only three scholarship tight ends makes it the thinnest spot on the roster. That one is recovering from injury is a concern.

At receiver Georgia will have to replace a lot of production. Terry Godwin, Riley Ridley and Mecole Hardman are gone to the NFL. That means Tyler Simmons, J.J. Holloman, and Demetris Robertson will have to catch the ball (for lack of a better term) and run with it. Holloman played behind and has a similar body type to Ridley. He came on strong last season, but had a not-so-great Sugar Bowl. Simmons is the best perimeter blocker on the team, and plays a lot as a result.

But Simmons is listed as a backup to Holloman. Those three players are the only true known entities at receiver coming into 2019. Kearis Jackson played in only four games - including a fair amount against South Carolina at the start of the year - but that’s not a lot of snaps for a season. The truth is that UGA needs Robertson to be the 5-star prospect he was coming out of high school… and have the sort of production he had at Cal. That’s hardly a lot to ask for from someone who has already done it in college. 

Tommy Bush and Trey Blount, who played in all 14 games and had three catches, will have to provide some depth at the spot. Meanwhile, 5-star signee Dominick Blaylock and Makiya Tongue are going to have to play some or a lot as well. Depth at receiver is not unreal, but the program has two 5-star players at the spot and eight top 300 players on the roster. So the depth might not be as stellar as last season, but the average player talent is better… slightly. 

At running back the Bulldogs return one of the top backs in the country, and could have the comeback player of the year in the league in Zamir White. Needless to say, D'Andre Swift is a star. UGA currently has five players on scholarship at running back with three of them being former Top 100 players. Brian Herrien, who didn’t have the accolades coming out of high school of the others on the roster, has proven his worth through three years of grinding for the Dawgs. 

If White returns to what he was in high school Georgia will have one of the best one-two punches at that spot in the country… perhaps “the” best one-two punch at that spot. James Cook, the other Top 100 back on the roster, is a change-up back who will likely get used more this year. 

At signal caller Georgia returns Jake Fromm, who has gone 23-5 over two years as the starting quarterback for the Dawgs. Fromm, also a top 100 prospect during his high school days, is the assumed starter, but his backup could be interesting. Justin Fields is gone to Ohio State - a talent hit to the program to be sure. Stetson Bennett returns to Georgia after a fall in junior college - a quick, six-month departure from Athens. It is assumed he will take many of the backup snaps this spring due to his knowledge of the Bulldogs’ offense as well as his actual experience playing college football. Meanwhile, Dwan Mathis flipped to Georgia on Signing Day in December and will fight with Bennett for the backup spot behind Fromm. 

 
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