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Georgia football raised the bar so high for itself with back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022 that going 11-3 last season didn’t quite measure up — even after winning an SEC championship and making an appearance in the College Football Playoff.
The Bulldogs open spring practices Tuesday in hopes of making another run in 2025, still considered among the top tier programs in the sport with the likes of Texas, Ohio State, Penn State.
Much of the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class has joined a program that returns nine starters from the Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame in the CFP quarterfinals, saw 12 scholarship players transfers and brought in six through the portal.
“The glue staying together nowadays looks different than it used to,” coach Kirby Smart, entering his 10th season, said before the Sugar Bowl. “A 98% retention rate was pretty normal ten years ago, and now 70% retention rate will probably get you in the top of the country. And we’re trying to coach and develop our players better than anybody, and keep our players together, and make sure they believe in the system they’re in. And I think we’ve done that as well as anybody.”
Here are five storylines to watch this spring:
New weapons energizing Bulldogs offense
Georgia’s dropped passes were a season-long issue last year, including one by Dillon Bell on a deep ball in the Sugar Bowl.
The Bulldogs lost three of their top four pass-catchers in Dominic Lovett, Arian Smith and running back Trevor Etienne, but the addition of Southern Cal transfer Zachariah Branch and Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas could bring more big plays. The return of Colbie Young, sidelined for much of last season due to an arrest, would bring even more depth.
Bell is back for his senior season after having 43 catches for 466 yards and four touchdowns last season and tight ends…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/five-storylines-keep-tabs-georgia-080133684.html
Author : Athens Banner-Herald
Publish date : 2025-03-11 08:01:00
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