Five Georgia storylines heading into preseason camp

Georgia’s first practice of preseason camp will take place on Thursday. The Bulldogs have been in “camp mode” for a few days now but they officially take the field and get to work on August 1 with the season set to begin 30 days later vs. Clemson in the AFLAC Kickoff game (12 p.m. ET on ABC.)

The good news for Georgia fans is if they want to cram information and get acquainted this before practice begins, there’s one more day. Start right here as DawgsHQ lays out five storylines we’ll be following throughout preseason practice.

Georgia youngsters…

It has been a long time since we’ve heard this much about this many Georgia true freshmen before camp begins. Now it should be noted that this is the largest early enrollee class in school history, so that might have something to do with it.

But we’re hearing good things about guys who just arrived over the summer. On offense, Georgia could have as many as three freshmen pitch in starting with wideout Sacovie White , a guy Kirby Smart mentioned at SEC Media Days. White had a strong spring and a fantastic summer. Nate Frazier , a summer arrival, will also have a chance to earn playing time and he, too, has been terrific this summer. Those who’ve seen him in action say he’s every bit as good as Georgia thought it he would be. The third one is Jaden Reddell . While Georgia is pretty deep at tight end right now, Reddell might just be too gifted to keep off the field. He’s a snap or two away from a big role in the offense.

Defensively the list of potential contributors is of similar length but the impacts might be greater. KJ Bolden has a chance to win a starting job at safety. The same could be said, to a lesser degree, for Ellis Robinson at cornerback. Georgia also had a pair of freshmen on the defensive line who could pitch in. Joseph Jonah-Ajonye had a really good spring and picked things up quickly per our sources. Keep an eye on Nasir Johnson, a summer enrollee, as well. Johnson has a lot to learn but I’ve been told as recently as Monday that the Dublin native has that rare combination of size, athleticism, and flexibility.

The wideout pecking order…

With Rara Thomas likely on his way out at Georgia, at least that’s the way it appears right now, the Bulldogs have to shuffle a little before preseason camp begins. Smart likes for his receivers to learn all three spots but based on what we’ve heard, Colbie Young and Dillon Bell will probably be the primary X-receivers (split ends) in this offense. Bell can play Z-receiver (flanker) and in the slot at need be, so those two will probably get on the field together.

Arian Smith and London Humphreys will get a ton of the reps at Z during preseason camp. Smith also has experience at X and in the slot, but Young and Humphreys will be a little more limited in the offense considering they’ve been on campus less than nine months.

That’s a strong top four and you might even hear a little about Dominic Lovett , who has played some outside receiver at Georgia and Missouri, getting some work out there as well. These guys have one of the best quarterbacks in the country throwing to them, so getting comfortable and staying healthy are of utmost importance this preseason.

The Georgia D-line needs some good fortune…

I’ve been bullish about Georgia’s defensive line all offseason. When compared to the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Bulldogs took a step back in 2023 but still had one of the top 10 defensive fronts in College Football. A bounce back makes a lot of sense here because Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson are back for super senior seasons with everything on the line. UGA is also returning a pair of young but talented contributors in Christen Miller and Jordan Hall .

The latter, however, is already dealing with an injury. He has a fracture in his lower leg that will cause him to miss the start and a significant chunk of camp. That’s where the good fortune comes in. Georgia has some young, very talented players waiting in the wings but it would love to avoid having to rely on more than one or two of those guys. With Hall’s injury as the backdrop, UGA’s defensive line health is something to keep an eye.

Mykel Williams and his new role…

We’ve talked about this quite a few times over the past few months and we’ll probably be talking about it throughout the season. Williams is still working with the defensive line and refers to Tray Scott as his position coach, but he’s also going to be spending more time at outside linebacker in his third and likely final season at Georgia.

According to sources, Williams will still put his hand on the ground and play some defensive end. With that said, his snaps as an interior defensive lineman where he plays inside the offensive tackle, especially on first and second down, will be limited. Williams will spend more time in a two-point stance and will see more true EDGE snaps in 2024. He did it in Georgia’s shellacking of Florida State in the Orange Bowl and it worked out quite well.

Georgia position battles…

There are more of these than you might think. I know when I started writing them down, I came up with quite a few. So let’s get started. The backup jobs at quarterback and, to a lesser extent, running back are up for grabs. Gunner Stockton has a big leg up on Jaden Rashada entering camp and Roderick Robinson has an even bigger leg up as the No. 2 running back. Still, the competition for both of those spots is ongoing.

Then there’s the left guard job where Micah Morris and Dylan Fairchild could probably both be considered starters. Each will play a lot and each will probably get multiple starts. Right tackle is also up for grabs with Xavier Truss , a sixth-year super senior, trying to hold off the ultra-talented Monroe Freeling .

Georgia is very role-based in the front seven of its defense so there aren’t any straight-forward battles to be found there. The secondary, however, has a couple. The cornerback job opposite of Daylen Everette is ongoing. Julian Humphrey , Daniel Harris , and Ellis Robinson are duking it out. Humphrey and Harris have more experience and enter camp a step or two ahead of the true freshman.

As previously mentioned, KJ Bolden has a legit shot to win a starting job at the safety spot opposite of Malaki Starks. He’s locking horns with experienced senior walk-on Dan Jackson and JaCorey Thomas , a third-year sophomore whose arrow seems to be pointing up since this spring.

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