Georgia Bulldogs true freshman stars could spark new trend for Kirby Smart as they lean on youth for 2025 college football season

Yahoo

07-07-2025

Georgia Bulldogs true freshman stars could spark new trend for Kirby Smart as they lean on youth for 2025 college football season originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
The 2025 Georgia Bulldogs are going to have to rely on several new starters on both sides of the ball and a ton of youth this season. Kirby Smart has commented on the lack of depth and difficulty in building the same classic monster rosters (for multiple off-seasons now) that were possible just a few years ago.
Over the years Kirby Smart hasn't been one to force many true freshman talents onto the field unless they were absolutely ready (like Malaki Starks a few years back). Now, a handful of incoming true freshman stars could spark a new trend at Georgia, potentially forcing their way into action early. If that does happen, who will those stars-in-the-making be? Let's dive in.
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Elijah Griffin, Five Star DL
This is the easiest answer among all the incoming true freshman for Georgia. Elijah Griffin is near perfectly rated recruit, a top five overall player in the nation, and the number one defensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class.
Griffin has already been impressing this spring since arriving in Athens this past January. Whether its teammates, coaches, or media talking about Griffin, the reviews are always glowing.
Christen Miller is locked in as one of the starting defensive tackles up front. Jordan Hall, Xzavier McLeod, and a few other veterans may get the nod over Griffin initially to start this fall. However, there's a good chance that Griffin works his way into the number three interior defensive lineman spot, if not number two alongside Christen Miller (who should be an early draft pick next spring). He's just too powerful, too technical, and too big, to leave off the field for long.
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Talyn Taylor, Four Star WR
The Georgia Bulldogs have had a difficult time developing and getting the most out of their high pedigree wide receivers for several years now, but Talyn Taylor could be the exception.
Arian Smith and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint never put it all together consistently. Dillon Bell has done alright, but he still drops too many passes and doesn't run an extensive route tree. Tyler Williams and Anthony Evans disappointed greatly from the 2023 class. Nitro Tuggle was only in Athens for one year last season, and now he's already gone.
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The disappointments have been frequent at wide receiver, but Talyn Taylor truly looks different. He's been an absolute stud on the 7-on-7 circuit for years now. Then last season he finally put it all together in full 11-on-11 as a senior, racking up over 1,600 yards and 24 touchdowns in 14 games. His route running and ball skills already look like the best of any Georgia WR recruit in the last five years.
It might be tough to steal a starting spot this season for him, but he could easily become the first man on behind Dillon Bell or Zachariah Branch given his versatility and athleticism.
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CJ Wiley, Four Star WR
If it isn't Talyn Taylor breaking through among the true freshman wide receivers it's likely going to be CJ Wiley. He's an absolutely ripped and ready X wide receiver from day one. At 6'4", 210 pounds with arrogant hands, Wiley projects to compete alongside Colbie Young and Noah Thomas as the go-up-and-get-it perimeter threat.
Wiley doesn't have anywhere near the experience of the two seniors, but his ceiling is obviously higher than either Young or Thomas. He's more agile, faster, and seems to have better ball tracking than either of his X receiver competitors for Georgia. Don't be surprised if he's earning significant looks midseason and cashing in with every opportunity.
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Isaiah Gibson, Five Star EDGE
Isaiah Gibson was one of the most highly coveted defensive recruits in the nation for several years prior to his finalized five star status for several reasons.
For starters, he's a physical force at 6'4", nearly 260 pounds already who plays with strength, aggression, and finishes hard on every single snap. But one of the best reasons that so many teams wanted him is that he's an absolute dawg on the field. He's a vocal leader, a trash talker, and one who can actually back it up with his play.
Georgia fans and his teammates are going to immediately gravitate towards him, loving everything he does for the Bulldogs. That kind of personality and talent mix almost always finds its way onto the field early. And frankly, after losing seven of their top eight pass rushers from a season ago (over 1,700 pass rush snaps gone), Georgia may not have any choice but to get him on the field early and often this year.
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We'll be back with more Georgia Bulldogs coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to see why Talyn Taylor could break the chain of disappointing high pedigree wide receivers for Georgia just take a look at some of his senior season highlights below.
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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.