Greg McElroy gives preseason breakdown on Georgia

ESPN’s Greg McElroy recently put out his preseason top 25, and as he said, “it shouldn’t require a whole lot of explanation” why he’s got the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 1.

“Part of it has to do with the schedule, part of it has to do with the fact that they’ve won consecutive National Championships. It’s difficult for me to justify putting anyone else is the No. 1 line that’s not named the Georgia Bulldogs,” McElroy said on his Always College Football podcast.

Breaking it down on both sides of the ball, there’s a lot to like. Georgia returns three of its top five pass catchers from last season including the top two – tight end Brock Bowers (63 catches, 942 yards, seven touchdowns) and wide receiver Ladd McConkey (58 catches, 762 yards, seven touchdowns). On top of that though, the Bulldogs went to the transfer portal and added two players that led their respective SEC squads in receiving last season – Dominic Lovett (Missouri) and Rara Thomas (Mississippi State). Add in the fact that the backfield has talent and the offensive line is expected to be one of the nation’s best, and it’s easy to see why McElroy, or anyone else, would be high on Georgia.

The Bulldogs do have to replace Heisman Trophy finalist Stetson Bennett at quarterback but do so with someone that impressed in the spring. Carson Beck, who played in seven games last season and threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns on 26-of-35 (74.3%) passing, seems to have the upper hand over his competition – Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton – and is likely to get the first crack at it this fall. Beck threw for 211 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-18 passing with the first team during the spring game under the direction of new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.

“Stetson Bennett is gone, but I think Carson Beck is going to be really good,” McElroy said. “I also said that about every other quarterback competition. I’m not worried about Ohio State. I’m not worried about Alabama. I’m not worried about all these other schools that have quarterback ‘competitions.’ I’m not really worried about Georgia’s either. I look at how the offense might change a little bit. I think they might be a little bit more of a pass happy attack, tending to be a little bit more traditional drop back, more traditional back to the defense play action.”

“They have excellent weapons. This is the best set of weapons that Georgia has had in Kirby Smart’s tenure. You go out and get some real, real difference makers in the transfer portal,” he continued. “Dominic Lovett last year at Missouri was one of the best in the SEC. Rara Thomas had great top end speed, great explosiveness for Mississippi State last year. He’s going to be a featured guy as well, but we also know they have Ladd McConkey who’s a ridiculous route runner and has great top end speed in his own right and they have arguably the most dynamic weapon in all of College Football in Brock Bowers. Put him at running back, put him at tight end, flex him out to wide receiver, it doesn’t matter. Put him anywhere and you can’t cover him. The guy is going to get his on a week to week basis, especially in the passing game.”

Flip things over to the defensive side of the football, and McElroy is ready to push back a little bit. Many believe that Georgia’s 2023 unit could be better than last year’s 2022 group that ranked No. 5 in the nation for scoring defense (14.3 points per game) and No. 10 in total defense (296.7 yards per game). Why would they say that? Well, it’s because of what returns.

The top three tacklers from last year’s team are all back. At inside linebacker, that’s Smael Mondon and Jamon Dumas-Johnson, both of whom are preseason candidates for the Butkus Award and All-American status. Go back another level on the defense and you’ve got guys like Malaki Starks, Javon Bullard and Kamari Lassiter who contributed greatly to Georgia’s success last season.

For a second straight season though there are multiple first round picks to be replaced on the defensive side of the ball. In 2022, Travon Walker, Jordan Davis, Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt and Lewis Cine were all selected on day one of the draft as a part of a record-breaking class. The losses of Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Kelee Ringo, Christopher Smith and Robert Beal on top of that is part of the reason why McElroy wants to hit the pause button.

“I’m having a little bit of a difficult time understanding where the Georgia fans are coming from saying, ‘Hey this group has a chance to be better this year.’ I don’t agree with that at all. What is the likelihood of having a better defense than you had in 2022 and 2021? You might be, and I hope you are, but this automatic, ‘This guy is better than that guy. This guy is better than that guy,’ I’m not willing to go that far,” McElroy said. “I look at the defensive front, and I think about Jalen Carter, I think about Jordan Davis, I think about Travon Walker, all these guys on the front the last couple of years that were absolute game wreckers. It’s a little bit more difficult to identify in 2023.”

“I like Zion Logue. I like Nazir Stackhouse. I like Tramel Walthour. I love Mykel Williams and think that when we fast forward to season’s end, Mykel Williams will be a household name. But it’s not as deep as it was a year ago,” he continued. “If you have some freshmen that come in and just take over games, great. That’s awesome, but I can’t make that assumption right now. I think the defense could take a step back, but I don’t think the offense skips a beat this year.”