Georgia’s 85 for 2021

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Georgia’s 85 for 2021

Friday August 6, 2021

As Georgia begins preseason camp today, I like to get my head around the composition of the team, and this format helps. The impact of the transfer portal and the exceptions made for the pandemic have made it tough at times to keep up with who’s coming and going, but things have settled down now. Georgia welcomes 20 true freshmen and three transfers to complete its 85-man roster.

Georgia’s personnel issues (if you can call it that) stand out in a format like this. At defensive back, there are as many newcomers as upperclassmen. You can see why the transfers of Tykee Smith and Derion Kendrick were so important. Brini, Speed, and Poole had all seen playing time but had yet to claim a starting job heading into their final season. The other options at cornerback were all largely unproven freshmen. We’ve penciled in Kendrick as one starter, and Smith would be considered a starter at star in a nickel defense. That still leaves one spot up for grabs (not to mention the rest of the depth chart), but you’re not as terrified about playing someone like Ringo or Kimber as you’d be if they were paired with someone much less experienced.

It’s a similar story on the offensive line. The return of Salyer and Shaffer for their senior season saves Matt Luke from dipping deeper into a 10-man pool of true and redshirt freshmen. Truss could still figure in the left tackle picture, and it would be encouraging to see the 5 starters come from among the 7 linemen with at least two years’ development in the program. Still, the offensive line tilts very young with 10 of 17 players as true or redshirt freshmen. The depth of the line and the flexibility of coaches to deal with injuries depends on this talented but raw group.

The hopes for a high-performing offense will lie with a young fleet of receivers and tight ends. There are no seniors among the group. With Pickens out indefinitely, Jackson and FitzPatrick are the only upperclassmen among the tight ends and receivers. This roster shows how Georgia is set up for a couple of exciting seasons with Gilbert, Burton, Arian Smith, Adonai Mitchell, and others having several years’ of eligibility remaining.

We also see how the team’s recruiting needs align with what’s going on out on the recruiting trail. The anticipated early exit of Daniels creates the need for depth at quarterback, and Georgia has a commitment from Gunner Stockton. Lovasea Carroll’s move to defensive back created a gap at tailback, and Branson Robinson will help there. Davis and Wyatt returning on the defensive front is huge for 2021, but they’ll leave a big hole next season especially if Travon Walker exits. Georgia has two defensive line commitments for 2022 and is on the hunt for more. Kirby Smart won’t be caught again without talent in the defensive back pipeline, and there’s a big group of seniors due to leave after this season. The same is true at linebacker where four seniors will depart and both juniors could be early exit candidates.

It almost goes without saying these days that the bulk of the roster (54 of 85) is freshmen and sophomores. Smaller senior classes are the norm with transfers and early draft entrants taking their toll on the roster. The team isn’t as young as it looks, though. 24 of the 54 freshmen and sophomores have redshirted, giving them at least one year of development in the system. All but four of the incoming true freshmen enrolled for spring semester. There’s no substitute for game experience, but coaches won’t have to worry about acclimating a large group of newcomers when preseason camp opens.

(Players are listed alphabetically by class. Possible Day-One starters in a base formation are in bold – just a best guess. [R] indicates a player who has redshirted. A star(*) indicates an early enrollee.)

	ELIGIBILITY REMAINING
	4 Years	3 Years	2 Years	1 Year
QB (4)	Brock Vandagriff * Carson Beck [R]		J.T. Daniels	Stetson Bennett
RB (5)		Daijun Edwards Kendall Milton	Kenny McIntosh Zamir White	James Cook
TE (5)	Brock Bowers *	Darnell Washington Ryland Goede [R] Brett Seither [R]	John FitzPatrick
WR (11)	Jackson Meeks * Adonai Mitchell * Ladd McConkey [R] Justin Robinson [R] Arian Smith [R]	Jermaine Burton Arik Gilbert Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint Dominick Blaylock [R]	Kearis Jackson George Pickens
OL (17)	Dylan Fairchild Amarius Mims * Micah Morris * Jared Wilson Austin Blaske [R] Broderick Jones [R] Cameron Kinnie [R] Chad Lindberg [R] Tate Ratledge [R] Sedrick Van Pran [R]	Warren McClendon [R] Xavier Truss [R] Clay Webb [R]	Owen Condon Warren Ericson	Jamaree Salyer Justin Shaffer
DL (14)	Marlin Dean * Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins * Jonathan Jefferson *	Warren Brinson Jalen Carter Nazir Stackhouse Zion Logue [R] Tymon Mitchell [R] Bill Norton [R]	Travon Walker Tramel Walthour	Jordan Davis Devonte Wyatt Julian Rochester
LB (13)	Chaz Chambliss * Jamon Dumas-Johnson Smael Mondon * Xavian Sorey *	MJ Sherman Rian Davis [R] Trezman Marshall [R]	Nakobe Dean Nolan Smith	Adam Anderson Robert Beal Channing Tindall Quay Walker
DB (14)	Javon Bullard * Lovasea Carroll * David Daniel * Nyland Green * Kamari Lassiter Jalen Kimber [R] Kelee Ringo [R]		Lewis Cine Tykee Smith	Latavious Brini Derion Kendrick William Poole Christopher Smith Ameer Speed
Spec (2)	Jared Zirkel [R]			Jake Camarda
	33	21	14	17

Quoteable

"Everyone is different, but the smartest decision you can make as a prospect is to stay in state if you are from Georgia. If a guy comes from Parkview, Thomson, or anywhere, the best thing that he can do is to be a Dawg. Everybody will know you, and it is such a big thing to play for the University of Georgia."

Chicago Bear LB Danny Verdun-Wheeler