Kirk Herbstreit says Georgia must reload roster, maintain edge

Coming off back-to-back national championships, Georgia is in more than ideal position entering the 2023 season. However, the Bulldogs lost some production from those two title-winning squads, which is why ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit says the Bulldogs need to reload.

Herbstreit, who joined On3’s J.D. PicKell at the On3 NIL Elite Series on Wednesday, broke down just how much the Bulldogs have lost. Kirby Smart and Co. have about 60% of their production coming back, according to ESPN, and that number includes 70% of the defense from last year’s squad.

But what Georgia will miss, Herbstreit said, are the players who wanted to prove they could fill the shoes of the vaunted 2021 defense. That “chip on the shoulder” mentality was instrumental in last year’s success, which is another reason 2023 will usher in a new era.

“Well, they’ve lost so much,” Herbstreit told PicKell. “The culmination of the last two years is just a reality when you win that many championships back to back, which we haven’t seen in so long. And it’s not just the class from two years ago — with Nakobe Dean and that group when all those guys from the defense were first round. … I think then, a lot of those guys that stepped in last year, they had a chip on their shoulder and they were anxious to prove to people that, ‘We can still play defense even though we lost those guys.’ Now, some of those guys go, as well. So you’re really looking at a new wave. Stetson Bennett is no longer there, some new skill.”

Kirk Herbstreit: Kirby Smart channels Nick Saban by ‘avoiding complacency’

Last year, Smart and Georgia showed what they used for motivation. They pointed out preseason predictions which doubted the Bulldogs — helping them play with something to prove.

Herbstreit said that’s something Smart brought from his time under Nick Saban, and he fully expects something similar from the Georgia headman this year as his team looks to complete a rare three-peat.

“What I love is to Kirby’s credit, what he learned from Nick Saban is avoiding complacency, finding a way to get a team tweaked — kind of like, upset,” Herbstreit said. “People don’t believe in you. Like this year, he was talking about, ‘We tried to tell you guys, everybody doubted us.’ I’m like, ‘What were you, preseason [No.] 3, [No.] 2? No one doubted you.’

“But he, to his credit, he found way to get 18- to 22-year-old kids to buy into, ‘They doubt you, they don’t believe in you.’ You’re the defending champ. Everyone believed in them. He’ll find another way this year to get his team mad at the world. So give him a lot of credit for finding a way to kind of manipulate kind of the back-to-back defending champs, ‘You don’t have the guts to go three in a row,’ or whatever it’s going to be.”

Herbstreit: Georgia will always ‘have a team’ under Kirby Smart — but all eyes are on Carson Beck

That said, the talent is there as Georgia brought in the No. 2-ranked recruiting class in the nation from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. Another important question is how Carson Beck will perform now that Stetson Bennett is off to the NFL.

That’s what Herbstreit is watching the closest.

“He’ll have a team, as always, the way they recruit,” Herbstreit said of Smart. “But will it come together to make a run to get all the way to the end? The chemistry’s got to come together, which they’ve had for two straight years. And also, can Beck be that guy? We know about his talent, but now that it’s his turn — they lose a great leader and one of the best that we’ve seen in Stetson Bennett. So I want to see what Carson Beck can do.”