ESPN names their biggest 'what-ifs' for Georgia football in 2025

USA Today

6 days ago

ESPN's Bill Connelly views the Georgia Bulldogs as a championship contender for this upcoming season, but there are some concerns for UGA that makes Connelly question if the Bulldogs can reclaim the title like they did in 2021 and 2022.
What are ESPN's biggest questions about Georgia entering the 2025 season?
Gunner Stockton's Performance
Head coach Kirby Smart brought Gunner Stockton to SEC media days and to the surprise of the college football world. Stockton started one game last year and much of the media still projects that there will be a quarterback battle in Athens, but it appears Stockton has a leg up in the competition over Ryan Puglisi.
In Stockton's first start he performed well himself unfortunately he took four sacks, including a game-turning strip sack against Notre Dame, but that was one of the toughest situations possible for a quarterback. Stockton's receivers were dropping and offensive line play was nonexistent during most of the game against an elite Notre Dame defensive. Stockton has an entire offseason to prep to prove himself as a reliable starter to play complementary football.
Wide Receiver Corps Improving
Last year, the wide receiver group had drop issues and finished with 36 drops (most in the nation). There were times when the group could not create separation from the opposing secondary.
This season, the veteran group consists of Dillon Bell, London Humphreys and Colbie Young, and Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas is a potential big-play target. The media is high on Zachariah Branch, a former USC star, that caught the attention of the college world as a freshman return man in 2023. However, he only had 823 receiving yards and three scores in two seasons. He needs to find a way to increase his production to match his talent level. Expect freshmen Tayln Taylor and CJ Wiley to get some playing time as well.
The eyes will be on this group if they can improve and be difference makers for first-year starter quarterback Gunner Stockton.
Can the trenches on both sides improve?
Kirby Smart is going to put out a smart and absurdly physical defense. A lack of disruption up front, the defense ranked ninth last season, their worst showing since 2017. And now, of the 11 players in the front seven who saw at least 200 snaps last season, eight are gone. There will be a lot of eyes on defensive lineman Christen Miller, who is looked at as a leader, and now No. 1 DL Elijah Griffin had a fantastic spring and is being compared to Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion Jalen Carter.
Meanwhile, the offensive line faces a major challenge after losing four starters, including two All-American guards. Four players with previous starting experience are back and the unit is stocked with former four- and five-star recruits, replacing that much production and experience will be difficult. This is especially notable given that both the offensive and defensive fronts were not as dominant last season as they have been in the past.
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