USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Preseason Top 5

1. Georgia, 2. Michigan, 3. Alabama,

4. Ohio State, 5. LSU has three teams in the top five and six teams overall in the preseason poll.

The program has lost another parade of starters to the NFL. Ten were drafted this past spring, three in the first round, to give Georgia a record 25 picks in the past two years. Among the notable losses are quarterback Stetson Bennett, creating an unfinished offseason competition, and defenders Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith and Kelee Ringo.

Along with a new quarterback, the offense has a new coordinator in Mike Bobo, who held the same position from 2007-14 and spent last season in an analyst role before the departure of predecessor Todd Monken to the NFL.

But the Bulldogs have already proven themselves more than capable of reloading personnel and overcoming any staffing changes; this marks the second year in a row Smart has replaced one of his top assistants, following former defensive coordinator Dan Lanning’s move to Oregon after the 2021 season.

“I think we have a very strong culture among players and coaches and everything,” said tight end Brock Bowers. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job of blocking out the outside noise and focusing on ourselves and focusing on the stuff that we can get better at personally.”

Given all of Georgia’s advantages — talent, coaching, experience, confidence — the one issue that could knock the Bulldogs’ from atop the FBS is a lack of focus.

“For teams like Georgia, it’s not going to be a talent issue from year to year. It’s going to be a leadership and focus issue,” Jones said. “You have to take it one year at a time. If you think about building on something or doing something again, that’s not going to get you where you want to go.”