Georgia back to defend long-awaited national title
The Georgia Bulldogs are the defending national champions. That is a statement that has not been true since 1981. However, that is finally the reality again in 2022.
After a magical 2021 campaign that was highlighted by an undefeated regular season, a 34-11 destruction of Michigan in the College Football Playoff Semifinals and a 33-18 vanquishing of Nick Saban and Alabama in the national championship, the Bulldogs are looking to continue their winning ways this fall.
Will that include repeating as national champions? That is statistically unlikely but far from impossible. In fact, Georgia is widely considered to be among the top three teams in college football this upcoming season. The other two — Alabama and Ohio State — are poised to pose a significant challenge to Georgia in those title hopes.
But the Bulldogs have the talent to be in serious contention. They return a total of ten starters split between the offense (seven) and defense (three), as well as their kicker.
One of those returning starters is senior quarterback Stetson Bennett, who will play his final season in Athens this fall. He will lead an offense that has the potential to be even better in 2022 than last season. The rest of the Bulldogs’ quarterback room is deep and very talented, led by Bennett’s backup in redshirt sophomore Carson Beck, redshirt freshman Brock Vandagriff and true freshman Gunner Stockton.
At running back, Georgia lost the one-two punch of Zamir White and James Cook to the NFL, but the talented duo of junior Kendall Milton and senior Kenny McIntosh hope to step up even more in 2022 and fill the production holes left by White and Cook. Junior Daijun Edwards and freshman
Branson Robinson are next in line to get carries.
While the Bulldogs lost uber-talented receiver George Pickens to the NFL and Jermaine Burton as a transfer to Alabama, they return everyone else in their wide receiver corps. The talented unit returns senior Kearis Jackson (the team’s leading receiver in 2020), sophomore Adonai Mitchell, redshirt sophomore Ladd McConkey, redshirt sophomore Arian Smith and 2019 breakout star junior Dominick Blaylock, among others.
The tight end room at Georgia is the best in the country, and it is not close. The unit as a whole is an absolute weapon. Freshman phenom and 2022 Walter Camp Preseason First Team All-American Brock Bowers returns for his sophomore season between the hedges, as well as junior Darnell Washington, who might be the best blocking tight end in the country to go along with being a reliable target for Bennett.
The big addition to the position is Arik Gilbert, who will play his first game snaps at Georgia this fall, after being away from the field in 2021. Gilbert won All-SEC Freshman honors at LSU in 2020. Freshman Oscar Delp will get some playing time as well.
The offensive line will be
very solid this fall despite the departure of Jamaree Salyer and Justin Shaffer to the NFL. The talented and deep unit returns three of five starters, headlined by junior tackle Warren McClendon and redshirt sophomore center Sedrick Van Pran.
Defense is where the Bulldogs lost a lot. Having an NFL Draft record five defensive players selected in the first round leaves some holes to fill without a doubt. Losing three other defenders in later rounds does not help either. They will still be very talented on defense, although not as experienced.
Despite the first-round NFL draft departures of Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt, the Georgia defensive line returns arguably its top NFL Draft prospect from the position from last year in Walter Camp Preseason First Team All-American junior Jalen Carter. Just ask the NFL scouts. Guys like Carter do not come around much.
The rest of the line positions will be filled out by either junior Zion Logue, redshirt-freshman Tyrion
Ingram-Dawkins, who had a great spring, senior Tramel Walthour or juniors Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse. Watch out for the class of 2022’s No. 4 overall high school football player in the nation (via the 247Sports Composite) in 5-star true freshman lineman Mykel Williams. He promises to be an absolute monster in Athens.
The linebacker room was arguably the hardest hit with losses this offseason, as 2021 Butkus Award winner Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall and Quay Walker are all off to the NFL. The return of seniors Nolan Smith and 2021 sack leader Robert Beal Jr. on the outside is a boon for the linebacker corps this fall.
Sophomore Jamon Dumas-Johnson is a shoo-in to be a first-year starter at one of the inside linebacker positions. Junior Trezmen Marshall looks to be the guy to take over the other position. Junior Rian Davis, sophomore Smael Mondon Jr., redshirt freshman Xavian Sorey Jr. and true freshman
Jalon Walker will all be in the rotation as well.
The secondary looks to be in good shape this year even with the key departures of first round safety Lewis Cine and sixth round cornerback Derion Kendrick. Redshirt sophomore cornerback and 2022 Walter Camp Preseason First Team AllAmerican Kelee Ringo returns for what should be his final season in Athens. Returning starting senior Christopher Smith has a stranglehold on the strong safety position, while former West Virginia star Tykee Smith, who dealt with injury in 2021, looks to wrestle away the free safety position from fellow junior Dan Jackson.
Senior William Poole will assuredly be the starter at the “star” position. The other corner spot opposite Ringo is up for grabs, but Georgia has a ton of young, talented guys vying for the position including sophomore Kamari Lassiter, redshirt freshman Nyland Green and a slew of first-year, blue-chip signees.
Freshman punter Brett Thorson will have to replace
star punter Jake Camarda, who was selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, but a Lou Groza Award preseason watchlist kicker in senior Jack Podlesny returns. While the kick and punt return positions are still up in the air, expect Kearis Jackson and McConkey to factor in a lot.
It would be easy for 2022 to be a letdown for the Bulldogs. It is not uncommon for players to be complacent after winning it all the season before. Do not expect Smart’s program to follow that trajectory. This team has the talent to defend their title, and with a manageable schedule by Southeastern Conference standards, the Bulldogs should be in serious title contention yet again this season.
Smart has awakened the monster at the University of Georgia. The program is finally reaching its true potential. They finally got over the hump in 2021. Can they successfully defend their title in 2022? That will become apparent this fall beginning with a Sept. 3 matchup against Oregon in Atlanta.