USA TODAY International Edition
GEORGIA WILL CHALLENGE FOR CROWN AGAIN IN 2018
ATLANTA – The bad news: Two AllAmerican-caliber running backs are gone to the NFL. Ditto with the linebacker who spent the regular season as one of the best defensive players in the country.
But the good news for Georgia is the Bulldogs will bring back a sophomore quarterback who led them to the College Football Playoff as a freshman. Jake Fromm will return in 2018 for UGA, along with the head coach who could very well be building the next Southeastern Conference dynasty. Those are what you might call solid building blocks going forward. And there’s nothing like a taste of the big time to understand what it’ll take to get there again.
The Bulldogs will lose a lot, no doubt. The terrific tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel will move on to the NFL. The running back cupboard is far from bare, however.
D’Andre Swift, who rushed for 603 yards and three touchdowns on 77 attempts (entering the title game), will be a sophomore in 2018. Swift won’t exactly pick up where Chubb and Michel left off, but he did average a staggering 7.8 per carry, better than that of Chubb or Michel.
Butkus Award-winner Roquan Smith (124 total tackles) probably is headed for the pros, too. And while passing isn’t really the name of the offensive game in Athens, Georgia’s top two receivers (Javon Wims and Terry Godwin) are upperclassmen who could leave for the NFL.
But the biggest reason to be optimistic if you’re a Bulldogs fan involves what’s yet to arrive on campus. After college football’s first early signing day on Dec. 20, the Bulldogs are No. 1 in the composite recruiting class rankings compiled by 247sports.com. UGA already has locked up 23 total commits, including six five-star prospects. For context: Alabama signed 18 in the early period, but only one five-star.
Georgia’s haul includes Justin Fields, a dual-threat quarterback from Kennesaw, Ga., considered the No. 2 overall player in the 2018 class. (Trevor Lawrence, the top player in the ’18 class, is a pro-style quarterback headed to Clemson.) The Bulldogs also locked up the top running back in the country (Zamir White), one of the top offensive linemen (guard Jamaree Salyer) and the top outside linebacker (Adam Anderson).