Part of the fun of spring practice for fans is trying to predict who will become “the next big thing.”

At Georgia, candidates are never in short supply.

That’s certainly true in the secondary, where the Bulldogs have two new five-star defensive backs in Ellis Robinson IV and KJ Bolden.

Due to attrition–players leaving early for the NFL and transfers–many wonder if Robinson and Bolden could see the field early.

“They’re first spring players, they’re talented players,” head coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday. “They’re everything they’re advertised to be in terms of being instinctual football players. They both learn well, they both have toughness.”

Teammates agree the potential is there.

That includes three-year Bulldog JaCorey Thomas who, as an older player, is trying to show Bolden the way.

“KJ’s a very good athlete. He’s very fast. He’s very athletic,” Thomas said. “I know coming up in this program, he’s going to be a very good player.”

Cornerback Julian Humphrey feels similarly about Robinson, who became a huge talking point with fans after an eye-opening week of practice in Florida for the Under Armour All-American Game.

Although Humphrey seemed to choose his words carefully, he acknowledged the freshmen have a lot to work with.

“He’s still young. He’s doing good in practice and everything,” Humphrey said. “I’m doing everything I can to lead him in the right way and push him every day.”

Smart said the two will have plenty of chances to show what they can do.

“I think both will contribute on special teams because they can run, hit, and tackle. I’m excited about those guys,” Smart said. “The expectation of the outside world is they’re going to set the world on fire. But we’ve got good players here. They’re going to compete with those guys and hopefully earn some playing time.”