ATHENS, Ga. — The head coach is the same. Both of his coordinators are back. So is the starting quarterback, now the face of the program.
But as Georgia begins spring practice this week, plenty is new. That wouldn’t be newsworthy in college football, with its natural turnover now super-sized by the transfer portal. But it takes on significance for the program widely expected to be the preseason No. 1, with the coach now assuming the unofficial mantle as most accomplished in the sport and entering a season that will be unlike any before.
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An expanded SEC, and with it a different scheduling format, will impact Georgia. An expanded College Football Playoff should very much impact Kirby Smart’s team. And the specter of Nick Saban has been removed, although Alabama has not.
And now Texas looms along with a rejuvenated Ole Miss, all on that Georgia schedule. That leads into the first item on things that are different for this program as it takes the field Tuesday:
Urgency
Failing to three-peat, or even make the Playoff, didn’t send the program into panic mode. The predominant feeling within the program is the team had a bad day at the worst time — you know which day — but that it was still one of the best teams in the country.
Still, not getting a ring — national or SEC — stung enough to put some spring in offseason workouts. And it wasn’t the only factor.
Think back to this time last year and all the talk about Georgia’s weak schedule, especially at the start of the season. Maybe it was no accident the team stumbled around the first month, trailing South Carolina at halftime and having to rally to win its first road game, at Auburn in Week 5.
This year, the narrative has flipped. Coaches talked about this year’s “brutal” schedule before last year even ended. Clemson as the opener in Atlanta is a start. This may not be the Clemson of 2021, but it’s still Clemson, not UT Martin or Ball State, last year’s first two opponents.
Then the schedule has a steady string of road landmines: Kentucky (Sept. 14), Alabama (Sept. 28) and Texas (Oct. 19). There are home games that could get tricky — Auburn (Oct. 5) and Tennessee (Nov. 16) — and the Florida game … well, let’s see something out of the Gators first, but the point stands.
All in all, there’s a genuine need to start the season at full throttle and stay there. Smart publicly may dispute this and say there was urgency last year. The consistency in approach every year is important to him. But privately, and subconsciously, the increased urgency would be hard to dispute.
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It’s not quite at the 2021 level. But it’s ramped up from last year.
Coaches (some of them)
When receivers coach Bryan McClendon left for the NFL last month it left one less potential crack along the lines of “Remember when so-and-so was here? … Oh wait he still is.” Smart could not abide this, so he brought back James Coley, who replaced McClendon for the second time.
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There are three other new faces — actually new — on the full-time staff: Josh Crawford (running backs), Donte Williams (cornerbacks) and Travaris Robinson (safeties and co-defensive coordinator). So two on each side of the ball, enough to introduce some new ideas, not enough to mess with the feng shui. (Harmony and balance in the space environment, for those needing that definition.)
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Impact players
Georgia has 28 new scholarship players enrolled this spring: 22 from high school and six transfers. (Tight end Ben Yurosek, who will see significant snaps, has to finish at Stanford before grad transferring.)
This being Georgia, nobody is expected to come in and be the savior of the program, especially the freshmen, where there isn’t a guaranteed starter. But a few could make pushes at need positions.
Five-star Ellis Robinson was one of the nation’s top recruits and plays cornerback, where Georgia lost Kamari Lassiter. But that’s a tough spot for a freshman to start right away, as Tyson Campbell found out.
KJ Bolden, another five-star, joins a safety position that lost Javon Bullard, but there are other veteran options there. So Bolden’s development this spring bears close watching.
There are too many other highly touted recruits to list. Georgia did sign the No. 1 class, after all. But one more: Ryan Puglisi won’t be the starting quarterback or even No. 2, but does he make Georgia people very optimistic about the future of the position, even without the quarterback who flipped to Nebraska?
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As for the transfers, the eyes will mainly be on offense: Trevor Etienne was imported from Florida to be the veteran running back, making him the best bet to start against Clemson. Three receivers should all be part of the rotation: Colbie Young (Miami) as the tall and physical option, a la Javon Wims during Coley’s first stint; London Humphreys (Vanderbilt) and Michael Jackson II (Southern California) as speedy, dynamic options.
On defense, safety Jake Pope (Alabama) will try to get in the starting mix, while Xzavier McLeod (South Carolina) initially is depth on the defensive line and potentially more.
New veteran starters?
Georgia returns 16 of 22 starters from the Orange Bowl, although a few of them may have to compete for a spot. A few of the names and spots to watch this spring:
• Jared Wilson will have to struggle to not replace Sedrick Van Pran as the center.
• Right tackle is also open, and sophomore Monroe Freeling, a former five-star prospect, has the early lead. But sixth-year senior Xavier Truss looms.
• Joenel Aguero is looking to nail down a first-team spot, either at nickelback, replacing Tykee Smith, or at safety.
• Junior linebacker Jalon Walker may be one of the most talented players on the defense, but he doesn’t have an obvious starting spot: Inside? Outside? Pass-rush specialist?
• Jordan Hall, yet another sophomore, may have trouble breaking through as a starter with the veterans back. But could he be too good not to play significant snaps?
• Roderick Robinson II, a sophomore running back, could push Etienne or show he can be the No. 2, which is basically a co-starter.
There are more names to mention and more spots to follow, so this could go on for a while. That makes this spring fascinating on a day-to-day basis, especially with how the September schedule looks. But also with the transfer portal opening again after spring, even if it’s not to other SEC schools.
The business of finding the identity of this year’s team isn’t waiting until the games begin. The process is ramped up in 2024, and the spring will be a big part of that process.
(Top photo of Carson Beck: Doug Murray / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)