Being in the thick of the College Football Playoff hunt has become the norm for Georgia under Kirby Smart. Smart took the Bulldogs to the National Championship game in 2017 and won it in 2021 and 2022, but has come up short of the final four the last two seasons.
ESPN’s SP+ has Georgia ranked No. 4 heading into the spring and the network recently discussed each of its top playoff contenders where it had what some might consider as the coldest take possible for the Bulldogs’ biggest playoff obstacle.
Every college football team has holes to fill on its roster heading into the offseason. Whether it’s depth at a position or two or the need for a starter to emerge at a position, every program is dealing with something. After Georgia led the nation in drops by wide receivers and struggled to score in the first half last season, ESPN chose offensive improvement as the Dawgs biggest obstacle in 2025.
Offensive improvement. One specific area would be easier to zero in on this spring, but the reality is that Georgia ranked No. 102 in rushing yards per game (124.4), No. 132 with 35 drops by receivers and No. 117 with a 6.9 drop percentage. The Bulldogs also ranked No. 126 with 24 fumbles. All of those things halted promising drives and need to be corrected with four new starters on the offensive line, a new starting quarterback in front-runner Gunner Stockton, and transfer receivers who need to help drastically cut down on the number of dropped balls. The additions of USC’s Zachariah Branch and Texas A&M’s Noah Thomas should give the group an immediate boost, but this spring will start the acclimation and learning process. Georgia’s offense wasn’t bad last year, but it has to improve.
Fans are hoping the arrival of Noah Thomas from Texas A&M and Zachariah Branch from USC will allow everyone to forget the forgettable 2024 Bulldogs’ passing attack. The Dawgs have brought in seven transfer wideouts over the last three years. These two arrive with arguably the highest expectations to date. The underclassmen will have to step into significant roles quickly this spring. Talyn Taylor, CJ Wiley, Landon Roldan, Nitro Tuggle, and Sacovie White will be needed to improve a wide receiver group that underperformed last season.
Gunner Stockton returns at quarterback after stepping in at halftime to help Georgia win the 2024 SEC Championship and earning his first career start in the CFP quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame. SEC All-Freshman Team selection Nate Frazier returns for his second season after leading Georgia in rushing in year one.
Georgia returns just 11 players who started 50 percent or more games last season, including four starters from another team. For reference, Georgia returned 16 starters on its 2024 team, 13 starters on its 2023 team, 10 starters on its 2022 National Championship team, 14 starters on its 2021 National Championship team, and 10 starters on its 2020 squad. Georgia also has seven two-time returning starters, after having six last season.
As far as starters departing, as of now, Georgia loses quarterback Carson Beck, running back Trevor Etienne, wide receivers Arian Smith and Dominic Lovett, offensive linemen Xavier Truss, Dylan Fairchild, Jared Wilson, and Tate Ratledge on offense. According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, the Bulldogs return 41 percent of its production on offense (108th nationally). For reference, last year Georgia returned 76% of its production on offense (25th nationally). Helping in that regard is the fact that Georgia signed the No. 2 ranked recruiting class according to 247Sports, which should provide plenty of immediate production this fall.
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