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Dillon Bell is returning to Georgia for senior season

On3 imageby:Jake Rowe•01/07/25•

JakeMRowe

Dillon Bell georgia
Nov 16, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Dillon Bell (86) runs against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first quarter at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Georgia’s receiver room got another boost on Tuesday when rising-senior pass catcher Dillon Bell announced that he’s coming back for his senior season. The Texas native made the announcement via Instagram. Bell turns down an opportunity to enter the NFL Draft early and potentially some suitors out of the transfer portal.

The 2024 season certainly didn’t work like Bell or Georgia wanted it to. Bell got a case of the drops after catching everything thrown his way up until the Texas game. He went on to drop a little over 13 percent of his catchable targets on the year while hauling in 43 passes for 466 yards and four touchdowns. He also had a score on the ground. He has scored 12 total touchdowns in his Georgia career while falling just short of 1,000 receiving yards.

Georgia has had some expected departures in the last few days in Jalon Walker, Mykel Williams, and Dylan Fairchild. Bell marks the return of a second potental key cog for the 2025 team in as many days as fourth-year defensive tackle Christen Miller announced his intentions to return on Monday.

In addition to serving as a weapon for the Bulldogs in the passing game the past three seasons, Bell has also helped out in the run game. In 2023, after Georgia suffered a rash of injuries at the tailback position, Bell lined up in the backfield for the Bulldogs dozens of times. While the drops have been an issue, he has also been one of Georgia’s most reliable contested-catch receivers the past two seasons.

Georgia has experienced significant attrition at the receiver position since the summer. Rara Thomas was dismissed from the team just prior to the start of preseason camp for a felony arrest related to a domestic assault.

He was the Bulldogs projected No. 1 at the X-receiver spot. Colbie Young was arrested a month into the season on a similar charge but his alleged victim later recanted her story. He was arraigned in December and pled not guilty. He has a trial date set for the end of this month.

With those two out, Young stepped in to play the X-receiver during the 2024 season after playing Z-receiver the first two seasons. The Bulldogs are also losing seniors Dominic Lovett and Arian Smith to the NFL Draft. Those were the team’s top two leading receivers in 2024 but they also combined to drop 16 passes.

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