Georgia added another impressive haul with its recruiting class of 2022. With 29 additions that placed third in the Rivals rankings, the Bulldogs will be set for many seasons down the road. At the same time, this is a team that just won a national championship with plenty of talented players returning. And many of those players were a part of the equally-as-successful 2020 and 2021 recruiting cycles.

While some players such as tight end Brock Bowers, receiver Adonai Mitchell, receiver Ladd McConkey, center Sedrick Van Pran and cornerback Kelee Ringo received a ton of playing time as true and redshirt freshmen, there were quite a few that either redshirted or saw minimal reps as freshmen.

With that in mind, here are five rising sophomores poised to make a significant jump in 2022.

LG Tate Ratledge: The 2021 season should have been the time for Ratledge to make a significant jump. The former five-star who sports an amazing mullet started the season-opener against Clemson and was expected to have a huge campaign. But in the opening game against the Tigers, Ratledge suffered a season-ending foot injury on the Bulldogs’ fifth play. He was forced to redshirt and will once again be a sophomore this season.

Ratledge won the left guard job outright last offseason. There’s no reason to think he won’t be able to do that again. At 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, Ratledge offers tremendous size along the interior. He also moves well with great athleticism and should prove to be a great anchor. Assuming he stays healthy, Ratledge should finally see his sophomore leap this coming year.

LB Smael Mondon Jr.: Georgia has to replace perhaps its best-ever trio of inside linebackers in Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall, and Quay Walker. That won’t be an easy task whatsoever. At the same time, Mondon is a talented linebacker who had the luxury of learning behind a star-studded crew during his first year on campus. At Alabama, numerous players leave for the NFL and the next man steps up accordingly the year after. Georgia will certainly hope the same applies with Mondon.

Mondon recorded 10 tackles and notched his first career sack against Charleston Southern this past season. Mondon will be in line for a much bigger role and should be able to capitalize on it.

LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson: Dumas-Johnson is the other sophomore inside linebacker who will be tabbed to step up in Dean, Tindall, and Walker’s absence. Dumas-Johnson appeared in 14 games and received a considerable amount of game experience as a rotational linebacker. During his time on the field, Dumas-Johnson recorded 21 tackles and two sacks.

Dumas-Johnson also recorded an interception that he returned for a touchdown against UAB. Like Mondon, Dumas-Johnson was able to learn a lot of valuable information from a star-studded crew. Mondon and Dumas-Johnson will now be able to take what they learned and apply it as the top two inside linebackers on the roster.

CB Kamari Lassiter: Ringo, the star corner who clinched the national championship with a pick-six, will continue to have one side of the field locked down. The other starting cornerback will come down to an open competition between Lassiter, Nyland Green, and the incoming freshmen.

Lassiter figures to have an early lead based on the second-team reps he saw this past season. In spot duty, Lassiter recorded nine tackles, one interception, and two pass deflections. Whoever gets this starting spot will have big shoes to fill, as Derion Kendrick played a crucial role in 2021. When asked at the Senior Bowl, Kendrick said Lassiter was someone he thought would make for a great potential replacement.

“I like Kamari Lassiter. He’s a great player, physical,” Kendrick said. “Even though he’s a little undersized right now as far as weight, he’s a great player. He can play man, he can play zone; he can tackle.”

LT Broderick Jones: Jones has waited patiently for extended playing time during his career at Georgia. As a redshirt freshman, Jones appeared in every game and made a handful of starts when Jamaree Salyer was injured. Entering his redshirt sophomore season, Jones will expect to have the left tackle position all to himself.

The 6-foot-4 and 315-pound former five-star prospect came to Georgia with big expectations. This season it’s likely he’s able to realize them.