Spring practice officially gets underway Tuesday for defending national champion Georgia, and the Bulldogs have plenty of work to do.
That includes getting used to new members of the coaching staff.
Tuesday’s first workout will include the debuts of new offensive line coach Stacy Searels, wide receiver coach Brian McClendon, secondary coach Fran Brown, and outside linebackers coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe, who will be getting their first on-field looks at their new players.
For head coach Kirby Smart, there’s plenty of evaluating to do before G-Day (April 16 at Sanford Stadium).
Georgia must replace some integral players who recently shined at the NFL Combine. While there’s still plenty of talent, in many cases it’s young, unproven talent, so look for Smart and his assistants to concentrate on fundamentals and development.
There are plenty of other questions that need to be answered, so let’s take a look at five areas we will be watching:
Plenty of opportunities at middle linebacker: Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Channing Tindall combined for 206 tackles last year. That’s a lot of production.
Finding individuals to fill those voids will be one of the most important chores for co-defensive coordinators Will Muschamp and Glenn Schumann.
Sophomore Jamon Dumas-Johnson certainly flashed as a true freshman with 22 tackles and an interception that he returned 20 yards for a touchdown against UAB.
Veterans Rian Davis and Trezman Marshall will never have a better opportunity than now. Coaches still think very highly of the pair, but both will need to show they can stay healthy to become the type of contributors everyone expected when they signed.
Second-year players Smael Mondon and Xavian Sorey are two other players to watch, with early enrollees Jaylon Walker and C.J. Washington also looking to impress.
Offensive line: Right now, only two starting positions appear to be set—right tackle with Warren McClendon and center with Sedrick Van Pran.
The rest are up for grabs.
Of the remaining three, left tackle would appear to be in excellent shape with Broderick Jones, who started four games last year and took over at the position during the national championship game when Jamaree Salyer replaced Warren Ericson at right guard.
Amarius Mims will also get looks, but the former five-star will be cross-trained at guard, where competition at both positions should be fierce. Mims is a natural tackle and will get his chance to prove it.
The fact Ericson was replaced by Salyer in the championship is certainly evidence that coaches want to see more success in the interior.
Tate Ratledge was the starter at right guard last year before suffering a Lisfranc injury. Ratledge’s recovery has been on schedule, although it's unlikely he’ll be allowed to see contact in spring. His status will be a question for Smart during Tuesday’s press conference.
Micah Morris, Devin Willock, Dylan Fairchild, Austin Blaske, Chad Lindberg, Jared Wilson, and Xavier Truss are the names expected to be locked in a scrum to see who fills out the depth chart at both left and right guard. Of the early enrollees, Earnest Greene appears to have the best chance of making a quick impression.
Quarterback pecking order: This year, it’s not so much about who wins the starting job. The question this year is how will the rest of the pecking order shake out? Stetson Bennett came back to be the starter, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t be when the Bulldogs open the season in Mercedes Benz Stadium against Oregon. Who backs him up? Well, that’s another story. To the surprise of some, Carson Beck is still a part of the team, and will be locked in a battle with Brock Vandagriff and early enrollee Gunner Stockton.
Beck entered last year as Georgia’s No. 2 before being surpassed by Bennett, while Vandagriff spent much of the year running the Bulldogs’ scout team.
Vandagriff has all the physical tools to be great and has been working hard all winter. He’ll look to show Monken and Smart just how much this spring.
Stockton, meanwhile, has jumped right in and is anxious to show that despite being a true freshman, he’s ready to be counted on now.
All eyes on Arik Gilbert: Gilbert has yet to take a snap after sitting out last year for personal reasons.
He’s back, and Georgia fans are anxious to see what he does.
After missing the season, Gilbert arrived back in January not in the best of shape, according to sources.
However, he’s been working hard, and apparently is getting back to where he was before leaving the program.
Gilbert is still listed as a wide receiver on Georgiadogs.com, but it still will be worth noting if he does get some looks at tight end, especially with Brock Bowers out for the spring following Labrum surgery.
Assuming he’s back to being the old Gilbert, that’s going to be another valuable weapon at Monken’s disposal.
We can’t wait to find out.
Filling out the secondary: As Georgia’s new secondary coach, Brown has plenty of work to do as he needs to not only find a trio of starters at star, cornerback, and safety, but he must find some depth.
We know Kelee Ringo will hold down one of the two spots at cornerback, but who will take the other side after the graduation of Derion Kendrick?
Sophomore Kamari Lassiter was impressive when he received opportunities, but Nyland Green is also back, as is Javon Bullard and early enrollee Daylen Everette.
However, Brown might not come up with a final solution until fall camp after touted freshmen Jaheim Singletary and Julian Humphrey arrive later this spring.
At safety, Lewis Cine moved on to the NFL, so that’s another spot that Brown will need to fill.
William Poole, who did an excellent job in the playoffs, is back, as is sophomore David Daniel. Early enrollees Ja’Corey Thomas and Malaki Starks are each getting early looks.
Having Chris Smith back at one of the safety spots is huge, as is the return of Tykee Smith, who could be a big help at star. However, Tykee will probably be limited from the contact perspective as he continues to work back from the ACL he tore last year against Auburn.
