HOOVER, Ala. – When wide receiver Jeremiah Holloman was dismissed from the Georgia football program back in June, what was already considered a depth-challenged position for the Bulldogs was made even thinner.

One look at the roster will tell you that.

Of the returnees, senior Tyler Simmons is the team’s leading receiver, and he caught just nine passes a season ago. The team lost Mecole Hardman, Riley Ridley, Terry Godwin, and tight end Isaac Nauta to the NFL Draft.

The Holloman situation obviously didn’t help matters.

On June 21, head coach Kirby Smart dismissed Holloman from the football program after university police investigated accusations against the wide receiver stemming from an incident that occurred after G-Day in 2018 when an ex-girlfriend of the former Bulldog said he hit her in the face.

The girlfriend reported the incident in June this year. UGA police interviewed Holloman, who also talked to Smart before his release on the 21st.

Holloman spoke with police on June 6.

“We were made aware early in June, this June, that there was an incident,” Smart said. “Once we were, we took action and removed him from the team. Very unfortunate. I wish JJ the best.”

So what next?

According to Smart, Holloman’s dismissal doesn’t really change anything as far as he’s concerned.

“It’s just probably a little more glaring now, because one of the guys with a lot of touches is now gone,” Smart said. “But we were facing that issue anyway with a lot of touches leaving when it comes to catching the ball.”

Still, Smart is hopeful there's enough talent to get the job done.

Smart will lean on grad transfer Lawrence Cager from Miami, along with touted freshmen George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock.

Others include Simmons, Demetris Robertson, Matt Landers, and Kearis Jackson.

“The receivers we’ve got have got to give us the ability to get some easy throws and catches,” Smart said. “We’ve got to be creative offensively and not make it really hard on Jake (Fromm) to get the ball out to those guys. We’ve got to get them some confidence.”

Smart believes having an experienced quarterback like Fromm at the helm will help.

“I think he's in a position to do that. He's certainly earned that right to be the leader of those receivers,” Smart said. “I think a lot of those receivers understand exactly what he wants. He's able to convey that in a positive way. Jake has an aura about him. He rubs off on people. He has a positive energy that he rubs off on the other wideouts.”

Fromm agreed.

“We’ve had a good summer,” Fromm said. “We’ve all been working on getting our timing down, and I like what I’ve seen. I think we’ll be fine.”

Smart’s fingers are crossed.

“I think he's kind of embraced this challenge now with this young group of receivers to grow those guys,” Smart said. “You know, a lot of those guys have been waiting in the wings for quite a while, because of the three guys we had last year: Mecole, Riley, and Terry. There are some other guys training and developing that whole time, and they're ready to jump into the forefront.”