georgia football roster takeaways

The roster turnover part of January has officially come to an end, so we now have a better idea of where things stand with regard to Georgia’s roster as it enters the start of the 2023 season.

Of course, looking at the current roster lets you know more changes will be coming. The Bulldogs already sit at an unofficial count of 85 scholarship players. That’s before at least seven more players arrive this summer. Offensive tackle commit Jamal Meriweather is expected to sign with Georgia next week while tight end targets Duce Robinson and Walker Lyons are set to announce their decisions on Wednesday.

This Georgia roster will change once again. And while we won’t predict which players will transfer out, there are some position groups that are worth watching in terms of any future roster movement.

Can Georgia football stay at three quarterbacks?

The transfer portal window reopens on May 1. The position most worth watching for Georgia is the quarterback position, but for reasons different than usual. Carson Beck will enter spring practice as the favorite to win the starting job, but it would come as a pretty sizable shock if Kirby Smart went out and declared Beck the victor in the competition before Georgia’s first game against UT-Martin.

Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton are expected to make this a fierce competition, one that very well could drag into the season given Georgia’s weak slate to start 2023. With the Bulldogs only having three quarterbacks on the roster at this point, they’re at a depth deficit not seen since the 2019 season at the position.

If one of them were to get the sense they could not win the quarterback job and transfer, that would leave Georgia in a real bind at the position. Following D’Wan Mathis’ brain surgery, Georgia had just two scholarship quarterbacks in 2019 in Jake Fromm and Stetson Bennett. Georgia was hesitant to run Fromm, given the lack of available options Georgia had at quarterback.

We saw last season how important Bennett’s mobility was for this offense, with him scoring 10 rushing touchdowns. Beck may not be the same caliber of athlete but he’s capable of using his legs, as are Vandagriff and Stockton.

Georgia very much wants to keep all three quarterbacks. It believes all three have starter potential. But only one can and given how we saw so many quarterbacks enter the transfer portal over December and January, it will be interesting to see how active the quarterback market is in the second transfer portal window.

Georgia football in a much better spot at wide receiver

For the second-straight offseason, Georgia saw a starting-caliber wide receiver transfer to another program. This time it was AD Mitchell, who will now suit up for the Texas Longhorns.

One big difference however with the wide receiver room compared to last year when Jermaine Burton left for Alabama is that the group is in a much better shape under wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon.

From a pure numbers standpoint, Georgia has 13 scholarship wide receivers on its roster for the 2023 season. That was just 11 last season. We saw quickly injuries whittled that down and the impact it had.

Georgia has both experienced players in the room in Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint as well as upside players in Arian Smith and Dillon Bell. There are also five newcomers to be excited about, with Georgia adding Dominic Lovett and RaRa Thomas from the transfer portal and signing Tyler Williams, Yazeed Haynes and Anthony Evans.

The Bulldogs do also have star tight end Brock Bowers back, but with no Darnell Washington and a younger tight end room in 2023, Georgia should be more reliant on its wide receivers in this coming season.

For once, Georgia may have the physical bodies able to handle those demands at this position.

Offensive line and defensive backfield are worth watching for portal attrition

The two positions from a pure numbers standpoint that Georgia has the most scholarship players are the offensive line and the secondary. Both have 15 players on scholarship for this spring and are set to make multiple additions to the position with more summer enrollees.

Naturally, that puts those two spots as the ones most likely to see more attrition. Georgia saw just one player from each position transfer during the December and January window, with Jacob Hood being the lone offensive lineman to enter the transfer portal, while Jaheim Singletary was the only defensive back to do so.

Georgia brings back plenty of starters at both positions as well, meaning playing time will be at a premium for both spots. Assuming Amarius Mims takes up one of the tackle spots as he did in the College Football Playoffs, only one of the tackle spots on the offensive line will be open.

In the secondary, the safety spot opposite and Malaki Starks and the cornerback position on the other side of Kamari Lassiter are the two open heading into the offseason.

The Bulldogs are bound to see some talent depart the program, especially with both spots having veterans who may not be starting. It should not come as a surprise to see Georgia have some players leave the program at either of these spots, given Georgia is expected to be over the 85-man scholarship limit.

Can Georgia football stay at three quarterbacks?

Georgia football in a much better spot at wide receiver

Offensive line and defensive backfield are worth watching for portal attrition

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