Five juniors to watch

Georgia’s rising class of sophomore’s figure to play multiple key roles for the Bulldogs, but so does the upcoming junior class.

The Bulldogs start spring practice Tuesday afternoon.

Last year, we saw many of Georgia’s second-year players take sizable steps forward. Now, many are ready to become honest-to-goodness stars in the SEC.

You could probably ask 50 Georgia fans to pick their top five rising juniors and get 50 different answers due to the talent level being that deep, as many in the talent pool have already earned starting roles.

Here we go.

One can certainly make the argument that Clark was Georgia’s most valuable defensive lineman throughout the Bulldogs’ playoff run and arguably at the top at his position for the Bulldogs’ all year.

Clark became extremely difficult for opposing offensive linemen to handle one-on-one. Just ask Notre Dame.

The Americus native led all of Georgia’s defensive linemen in tackles last year with 41, including 2.5 sacks for losses of 14 yards. Based on what we saw, Clark has the potential to become one of the top defensive linemen in the SEC and will look to use the spring as a jumping off point for what could be an outstanding 2018 campaign.

A lot of people forget that last year was Hardman’s first as a fulltime wide receiver after playing cornerback his freshman year.

Even in high school, Hardman played multiple offensive roles for Elbert County due to his immense talent, and as he began to get more comfortable, fans started to see what the fuss was all about.

Hardman is electric with the ball in his hands, catching 25 passes for 418 yards and four touchdowns, numbers that certainly should rise this upcoming fall.

He also averaged over 25 yards on 20 punt returns and brought back 23 punts for almost 12 yards per attempt. While he didn’t bring back any for scores, look for that to change very soon.

Ridley has shown flashes his first two seasons with Georgia but between opportunity and injury, has yet to really get on track like some predicted he would.

The talent is certainly still there.

Kirby Smart routinely praises Ridley for his attitude and work ethic, and now in his second year working with quarterback Jake Fromm, it’s conceivable that his numbers will jump considerably this fall.

Ridley caught 14 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns last year, including a season-high six receptions for 82 yards in the championship against Alabama. Perhaps, that was a sign of things to come in 2018

Rochester deserves unbelievable credit for getting himself in the condition he now finds himself in. Overweight and not in the best of shape when he first arrived, Rochester has dropped in the neighborhood of 40 pounds since he’s been at UGA.

That being the case, he’s earned more and more trust from head coach Kirby Smart.

This fall, Rochester is being counted on to play an integral role as the main replacement for the graduated John Atkins at nose tackle.

McGee is a favorite of Smart due to his toughness and ability to play a couple of different positions (cornerback and Star) in the secondary.

With the graduation of Malkom Parrish, McGee has a chance this spring to earn a starting role opposite Deandre Baker after breaking up six passes (second behind Baker).

He also picked off a pass on the game’s first play at Tennessee.

Others to watch

DE David Marshall, RB Elijah Holyfield, TE Isaac Nauta, TE Charlie Woerner, RB Brian Herrien, DL Michail Carter, WR Tyler Simmons, K Rodrigo Blankenship, LB Tae Crowder, DL Michael Barnett.