Kirby Smart looked down from the podium and frowned. Somebody had dared to ask a depth chart question.
“Here we go,” Smart said.
There was laughter in the room from reporters, keenly aware that head coaches don’t like announcing starters, especially more than four months away from a real game. So when Smart was asked after Georgia’s spring game Saturday whether the first-team offensive line that day would be the same one heading into the fall, he was predictably annoyed. He went into an explanation about why nobody should look too much into it, before finishing with an acknowledgment of the obvious.
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“You guys will predict all that,” Smart said.
Why, yes, we will. Georgia has now completed spring practice, and while there is still a long time between now and the season, there’s more to go on to predict what the team will look like come Aug. 31 at Vanderbilt. Yes, it’s dreaded depth chart time.
A disclaimer: These are my projections. They are based on watching spring practice and G-Day, talking to people and my overall sense of things. These charts include players who have not yet arrived, and they also project ahead on certain players. They are also based on some expertise: I don’t mean to brag, but last year I predicted that Deandre Baker would be a starting cornerback. Go ahead, take a moment to bask in awe.
So let’s take a stab this year.
Offense
Quarterback
Starter: Jake Fromm
Backup: Stetson Bennett
Overview: There’s no drama with the starter this year, not that there was last year, either, but now no one’s even trying to pretend. The main question is what happens if Jake Fromm has to come out. And right now, you’d still have to lean on the experience of Stetson Bennett rather than the upside of D’Wan Mathis.
That could change as Mathis gains comfort in the offense. And you could see him used in some Justin Fields-like packages – but after last year, the guess here is Georgia has grown weary of overdoing it with that. Or doing it at all. For now, Bennett offers knowledge of the offense, some moxie and some pretty decent ability, too. He has, by my estimation, a 75 percent chance of being the No. 2 quarterback when the season begins.
Tailback
Starter: D’Andre Swift
Backup: Brian Herrien
Overview: The wild card here is a huge one. Zamir White, if healthy, is good enough to push past Brian Herrien and become the 1B to D’Andre Swift’s 1A, a la the setup Georgia had the previous two years. (Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, Swift and Elijah Holyfield). But it’s not just a matter of White’s health; it’s also his confidence. Every tailback says that returning from knee surgery is more about the mental part than the physical part. And White has to mentally return to confidence in both knees.
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Herrien, meanwhile, is not to be discounted. He is slithery in the best sense, able to make plays in space while shaking tacklers, or even running through them, as he showed a few times in the Sugar Bowl. He’ll never be the bell cow, but he can make plays. So can James Cook, who looked like he put on some good weight this offseason. Georgia should again be deep at tailback.
Wide receivers
Starters: Jeremiah Holloman, Tyler Simmons and Demetris Robertson
Backups: Matt Landers, Dominick Blaylock and Kearis Jackson
Overview: Georgia is basically a three-receiver team now, hence the three starting positions. Demetris Robertson and Kearis Jackson are fighting it out for the third spot, which is slot receiver, but both will play. Matt Landers looks like a potential weapon but needs to be consistent. Dominick Blaylock, with his speed and hand-eye coordination, could immediately slide into the rotation as a freshman.
This was an incomplete position group this spring, so it’s a bit harder to project at this point. Besides Blaylock, there are five-star George Pickens and four-star Makiya Tongue, as well as Miami grad transfer Lawrence Cager, each a big receiver who can be an immediate factor if he picks up the offense and blocks well.
Tight end
Starter: Charlie Woerner
Backup: John FitzPatrick
Overview: Once Isaac Nauta turned pro and Luke Ford transferred, the top two spots became a certainty. At least to start the season. Freshmen Ryland Goede (who enrolled early but wasn’t healthy) and Brett Seither, and Tennessee grad transfer Eli Wolf will fill out the depth chart, and at least one of them will need to get serious snaps. The depth isn’t ideal, and overall the position group won’t be as good as last year. But Charlie Woerner is still a quality starter and John FitzPatrick, a redshirt freshman, looked good behind him.
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Left tackle
Starter: Andrew Thomas
Backup: Cade Mays
Overview: Not going out on a very long limb with the starter here. Cade Mays, meanwhile, could be a super-sub, available to be the top backup at four positions. That’s assuming Mays isn’t starting, which at this point is not a safe assumption.
Left guard
Starter: Solomon Kindley
Backup: Jamaree Salyer or Justin Shaffer
Overview: Solomon Kindley started every game at left guard last year and was there throughout the spring, but the depth behind him still makes him only the probable starter. There’s Mays as well as Jamaree Salyer, who, if he continues his ascent, will force Sam Pittman to start him somewhere.
Center
Starter: Trey Hill
Backup: Warren Ericson or Jamaree Salyer
Overview: This was a quiet spring for the center position, and that’s a good thing. Trey Hill, now a sophomore, began and finished the spring as the first-teamer, and the media never really saw anybody else getting first-team reps. You still wonder if Salyer could become a factor here, but first Hill would have to falter.
Right guard
Starter: Ben Cleveland, Cade Mays or Jamaree Salyer
Backup: Ben Cleveland, Cade Mays or Jamaree Salyer
Overview: This is the one open spot, and it should still hold some drama entering the summer, even if Ben Cleveland was the starter for the G-Day game. Smart, in his annoyed answer to the question that led this story, said the Bulldogs weren’t going to sub between teams during the game, which was why they stayed with the same first-team group throughout. Cleveland should be encouraged that he’s reclaimed his spot, but just as we mentioned with Kindley, with the group that Pittman has recruited, you can never feel comfortable. (We haven’t even mentioned Clay Webb, an interior lineman who as a five-star early enrollee would be an immediate factor for most teams, but isn’t yet for Georgia.)
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Right tackle
Starter: Isaiah Wilson
Backup: Cade Mays or Jamaree Salyer
Overview: Even on a line filled with other massive people, Isaiah Wilson still stands out as massive. He also enters this year with more experience and has a chance to push for All-SEC recognition. And even he has to be careful not to coast, with Mays and Salyer ready to pounce behind him.
Defense
Defensive end
Starter: David Marshall
Backups: Malik Herring and Devonte Wyatt
Overview: There actually isn’t a huge gap between these three. David Marshall gets the edge because of his experience, assuming he’s fully hilled from the foot injury that cost him most of last season. Malik Herring and Devonte Wyatt both came on near the end of last year. This isn’t a spot that pops with superstars yet for Georgia, but it’s a solid group.
Defensive tackle
Starter: Tyler Clark
Backups: Julian Rochester and Travon Walker
Overview: Travon Walker was not with the team this spring, but he’s another five-star who could figure in the rotation right away and see his snaps increase as the season goes on. Tyler Clark and Julian Rochester are a pair of seniors coming off so-so years. Each has the ability to be really good but needs consistency.
Nose tackle
Starter: Michael Barnett
Backup: Jordan Davis
Overview: All hype aside – backed up by how Jordan Davis played the latter half of last season – Michael Barnett was actually working first team later this spring. Both will still play a lot. Barnett offers a veteran presence, while Davis is a bigger body, and if Davis continues the upward trajectory, he should get the majority of the snaps.
Jack (outside) linebacker
Starter: Nolan Smith
Backups: Azeez Ojulari, Adam Anderson, Robert Beal
Overview: Before this spring began, I pointed out that no newcomer was guaranteed a starting spot. Well, I hold to that. No one’s guaranteed a starting spot. But I’m moving two of them to projected starters at outside linebacker based on how the spring went. We saw two veterans (Robert Beal and Brenton Cox) get arrested and another (Walter Grant) temporarily moved to tailback. We also saw two hyped newcomers see a lot of first-team work.
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Nolan Smith, perhaps the nation’s top high school recruit in the 2019 cycle, has great pass-rushing skills. He’s going to see a lot of snaps regardless of whether he starts. Azeez Ojulari, who redshirted last year after a high school ACL tear, also had a good spring and deserves more attention as the summer approaches. Adam Anderson, meanwhile, has been overshadowed but is a former five-star recruit who could reemerge anytime.
Sam (outside) linebacker
Starter: Jermaine Johnson
Backups: Walter Grant, Brenton Cox
Overview: Jermaine Johnson, the nation’s top junior college prospect, did nothing to tamp down the hype. He has pass-rushing skills, was seen dropping into coverage Lorenzo Carter-style, and has a couple years of JUCO experience. Now, don’t write off Walter Grant or Cox. But Cox needs to get it together off the field, and Grant’s work at tailback was not a great sign for his overall future on defense.
Mike (inside) linebacker
Starter: Monty Rice
Backups: Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall
Overview: Nakobe Dean has a chance to be special, and the coaches are not bringing him along slowly. He was getting playing time early on G-Day for the first team, the latest indicator he’s being thrown in there to see what he can do. Will his playing time come at the expense of Monty Rice, who when healthy can be a difference-maker on defense? Well, it’ll come at the expense of somebody.
Will (inside) linebacker
Starter: Tae Crowder
Backup: Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker
Overview: Tae Crowder and Rice started on G-Day, with Dean getting early action. But don’t forget about Channing Tindall and Quay Walker, who were pushing as freshman third-teamers last year, before two seniors (Natrez Patrick and Juwan Taylor) moved on. Georgia could stay with a committee, as it did last year. But whereas last year it was because the Bulldogs didn’t have two healthy and certain starters, this year it would be more because of having too many healthy players who are good enough to start.
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Cornerbacks
Starters: Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes
Backups: D.J. Daniel, Tyrique Stevenson, Mark Webb, Divaad Wilson
Overview: Whereas before this spring Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes were penciled in as starters just because that’s the way it finished last year, now it seems written more in pen. They were out there on G-Day and looked good; Stokes wasn’t highly recruited but just has a knack for making plays (a la, ahem, Deandre Baker), and Campbell seems to have shaken off his rough rookie season. D.J. Daniel and Tyrique Stevenson, a pair of newcomers, were the main backups this spring and make for solid options with upside.
Star (nickel back)
Starter: Mark Webb
Backups: William Poole, Tyrique McGhee, Divaad Wilson
Overview: My sense is this spot is wide open. Mark Webb was the first-teamer on G-Day, with William Poole coming in as the dime back. Divaad Wilson was working with the second team as the nickel back. Tyrique McGhee, meanwhile, started last year at this spot and could always re-enter the discussion.
Free safety
Starter: Richard LeCounte
Backup: Otis Reese
Overview: Richard LeCounte’s performance on G-Day, when he racked up eight tackles, was encouraging. He still has a long way to go to please Smart, and Otis Reese looms behind him. But there’s also risk with Reese, who is bigger but not faster than LeCounte, and who doesn’t know the position as well. The bet here is still on LeCounte, but he won’t be on a long leash.
Strong safety
Starter: J.R. Reed
Backup: Lewis Cine
Overview: J.R. Reed is the anchor of the secondary and perhaps the entire defense. Lewis Cine — whose name apparently is pronounced like “scene” rather than like the movie theater — showed good tackling ability on G-Day. We may see him being groomed as Reed’s heir apparent. But also don’t rule out Christopher Smith, a speedy sophomore.
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Kicker
Starter: Rodrigo Blankenship
Backup: Jake Camarda
Overview: The kid with the specs will go for the Georgia record book this year, as his coaches mull his eventual replacement. Walk-on Brooks Buce will get a look, and the team wouldn’t mind having a separate placekicker and punter. But Camarda was originally recruited as a placekicker, and he nailed a 49-yarder on G-Day.
Punter
Starter: Jake Camarda
Backup: Bill Rubright
Overview: Georgia actually hasn’t had a consistent punter for a while. The solution is to just not punt, and that might be a viable solution with Georgia’s offense this year. But on the off-chance a punt is needed now and then, Camarda does have a big leg, and he’ll be called upon.
(Photo: Lauren Tolbert / UGA Athletics)
