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Georgia now has 'a lot of answers' within its 2025 WR corps

On3 imageby:Jake Rowe•about 8 hours•

JakeMRowe

Colbie Young Georgia
Sep 7, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Colbie Young (8) gets a lift from teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The 2024 season saw Georgia struggle to find a decent level of consistency and the reasons seemed many. The Bulldogs couldn’t run the ball effectively and they struggled to protect the passer more so than recent years. The quarterback play was spotty through the middle portion of the year, too.

Georgia also could not seem to catch the football consistently, especially early in games. The vast majority of the Bulldogs NCAA-leading 31 drops (per Pro Football Focus) took place in the first half of games. They averaged less than five points per game in the first quarter and less than 12 points per game in the first half due in large part to said drops.

That was just a few months ago and already things look much different. Georgia brought in a group of five freshmen who play the position plus a pair of transfers in Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch. Colbie Young, whose absence last season became a much bigger deal than most would have predicted, is also back. Again, it’s not the same.

“What’s good about that group right now is there’s some depth there, some competition. You’ve got the young ones who practice one day right now and I’m like, oh man, these guys, they look good,” Smart said on 92.9 The Game on Thursday. “They look like they can help us. Then we got some old ones from Dillon (Bell), Colbie (Young), Cole Speer, a lot of the older guys out there that I’m like, man, these guys look good. (Zachariah) Branch and Noah (Thomas) are there. There’s just a lot of competition. There’s a lot of answers.”

The loss of Rara Thomas last preseason and then Young a few games into the year had a ripple effect. The rest of the wide receiver room struggled because of it. Bell had to move to X-receiver, a spot he hasn’t played much. Arian Smith was forced into a heavy load at the Z-receiver spot even with his issues dropping the routine catches.

The 2024 group deserves a ton of credit for the plays it did make, especially in big moments. While the offense did not succeed, at any point, in finding consistency Smith, Lovett, Bell, and London Humphries all played significant roles in winning an SEC title. The case can also be made that had the group been more reliable, the heroics wouldn’t have been necessary.

Thomas and Branch are expected to be difference makers right away. Bell will get to play a role that is more tailored around his skill set, too. Then there’s the freshmen group, one that includes a five-star in Talyn Taylor and a highly-regarded four-star in CJ Wiley.

Smart is similar to most coaches in that he likes to play veterans who know exactly what to do. He seems to have a strong group of experienced players at receiver but he also knows that Georgia can’t afford to put all of its eggs in just a few baskets.

“We’ve got to figure out what the new guys do best and we’ve got to bring the freshmen along now,” Smart said. “We can’t wait until halfway through the season and get them going. These freshmen are going to be talented players.”

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