Georgia’s offense will be under a new direction next with Todd Monken taking over for the now-departed James Coley.

He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience at both the NFL and college levels. The last time he was an offensive coordinator at the college level, he played a key role in leading Oklahoma State to a 12-1 record and near appearance in the national title game.

And he’s also coming to Georgia with massive expectations. Many of the national media pundits who are now weighing in on the new coordinator hires seem to agree that Monken has the unenviable task of pulling the Bulldogs’ offense into the modern era.

Smart had received a lot of criticism for his “man-ball” philosophy. Monken’s vertical passing offense will be a stark contrast to what the Bulldogs have done recently.

And ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg thinks that the move by Smart could be what leads Georgia to a national title.

“Kirby Smart’s hiring of Monken could be the move that pushes Georgia over the top,” Rittenberg wrote. “At the very least, Georgia is acknowledging what it takes to win the national championship in an era where passing records are broken annually.”

The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel also echoed what Rittenberg had to say, as he said Monken is the ” ideal choice to help bring Georgia’s offense out of the stone ages.”

As far as scoring offense goes, Georgia ranked 49th in that category last year, as the Bulldogs averaged 30.8 points per game. The four playoff teams ranked No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 in that category. If Monken is able to get more points out of an offense that won’t return Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift and Andrew Thomas.

To replace some of those names, Georgia brought in graduate transfer Jamie Newman. He comes in from Wake Forest, where he threw 26 touchdowns last season while rushing for 574 yards and six touchdowns.

The strongest attributes of Newman’s game is his deep ball, which Monken figures to get the most out of in his scheme.

But like Monken, the national media seems to expect Newman to also help modernize Georgia’s offense.

“Quarterback Jamie Newman needs to be a wake-up call for a far-too-conservative Bulldogs offense,” ESPN’s Alex Scarborough wrote. “Jake Fromm did all he could in his three seasons as the team’s starting quarterback, but he couldn’t change the plays that were called.”

Newman will have the chance to play with some talented playmakers, such as George Pickens and Zamir White. Those two both had strong games in the Sugar Bowl for the Bulldogs and each figure to be dangerous weapons as they get better in the offseason.

The Bulldogs are also drastically upgrading their wide receiver position. The Bulldogs brought in four 4-star wide receivers in the 2020 signing class. Georgia will hope to get freshman contributions as it did from Dominick Blaylock and Pickens this past season.

The Bulldogs will get a chance to display their new offense on starting on Sept. 7 when they open the 2020 season against Virginia.

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