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Published Jan 20, 2023
Could Georgia have the fastest wide receiver group?
Blayne Gilmer  •  UGASports
Staff
Twitter
@BGilmer18

Kirby Smart has been on a mission to pack as much speed as possible into the Georgia skill positions on offense.

Georgia's receiving corps in 2023 will possess as much, if not more, speed than any in college football. Every team has fast wideouts, but how many have three bonafide track stars?

Arian Smith, CJ Smith, and Anthony Evans III all have verified 100 meter times of 10.2 and under. That is world-class speed. For reference, Fred Kerely won the 2022 100m world championships with a 9.76 at the age of twenty-eight.

Arian Smith has been injured often during his Georgia career, but when healthy and available has been incredibly explosive. In fact, ridiculously so. Smith has twelve career receptions. Those receptions have resulted in an average of 32.2 yards. Four of those receptions have been touchdown receptions, including the 73-yard strike from Stetson Bennett in the semifinals of the college football playoff this season against Ohio State.

Georgia will look to Smith as a consistent threat to take the top off opposing defenses in 2023.

CJ Smith redshirted in 2022. Smith had meniscus surgery after his senior season in high school. However, Smith showed flashes of his potential in the spring of 2022 and posted GPS speeds of upwards of 22 miles per hour. Smith saw limited action during his true freshman season and didn't record any receptions. Smart and the Georgia offense will have the luxury of utilizing Smith this upcoming season after the Apoka, Florida, native learned the system during his first year in Athens.

Anthony Evans III was committed to Arkansas when Georgia first began to pursue him in the spring of 2022. Bryan McClendon and Todd Monken offered Evans on an unofficial visit to Georgia's spring practice. McClendon built a strong rapport with Evans but originally lost out on the commitment from Evans to Oklahoma. Ultimately Georgia flipped Evans and signed him as an early enrollee in December of 2022. Evans averaged 14.8 yards per reception in high school and had seventeen total touchdowns.

Georgia also has an abundance of receivers that run a verified 4.4 40-time or under. While they might not be track and field stars, Missouri Transfer Dominic Lovett, incoming freshman Yazeed Haynes, redshirt freshman Cole Speer, and redshirt junior Ladd McConkey, all have laser-timed 40-times in the 4.39 - 4.46 range.

Add all of these speedsters to tight ends that can really run in Brock Bowers and Oscar Delp, and Georgia has an impressively fast offensive arsenal.

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