WATCH: Georgia Bulldogs are putting in work in the weight room
It may be the offseason, but there’s no time to rest for the Georgia Bulldogs. Kirby Smart’s team was working hard this week in the weight room as they come off of back-to-back national championships with an even bigger target on their back and pursue a third in a row.
Players seen include defensive lineman Zion Logue, linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, wide receiver Arian Smith and others. Stars from the National Championship Game Javon Bullard (two interceptions, one fumble recovery, Defensive MVP) and Brock Bowers (seven catches, 152 yards, one touchdown) also make appearances pumping iron.
“If you don’t want to work, do not come to the University of Georgia,” Logue said with sweat dripping down his face. “I repeat, if you don’t want to work, don’t come here.”
According to Athlon Sports, Georgia brings back 13 starters from last year’s team that went a perfect 15-0. That includes the likes of tight end Brock Bowers, wide receivers Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and a trio of offensive linemen (Xavier Truss, Sedrick Van Pran, Tate Ratledge) on one side of the ball while the defense has returnees at every level: defensive linemen Nazir Stackhouse and Tramel Walthour, linebackers Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon and defensive backs Kamari Lassiter, Javon Bullard and Malaki Starks. It doesn’t even account for last year’s sack leader Mykel Williams at defensive end, a spot he’s projected to take even more snaps from Walthour this year than he did last.
Georgia also added a trio of transfers in wide receivers Dominic Lovett (Missouri) and Rara Thomas (Mississippi State) plus defensive back Smoke Bouie (Texas A&M). That only adds to the talent that Kirby Smart and company have accumulated through traditional recruiting with classes ranking in the top-3 each of the last seven seasons. Needless to say, it’s easy to see why the Bulldogs are in the thick of things each and every year it seems.
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The one big question for Georgia this year would come on offense. Stetson Bennett started at least half of the team’s games in each of the last three seasons. He served as the primary starter in the last two, both of which ended in National Championships. The first 4,000-yard passer in program history, Bennett earned himself an invite to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony as a finalist.
Bennett is gone. So too is his offensive coordinator Todd Monken. That pairing will be replaced by Carson Beck – in all likelihood – and Mike Bobo, who previously spent eight season as the Georgia offensive coordinator under Mark Richt from 2007 to 2014.
Good news for Beck and Bobo, the weapons to work with are obvious. Bowers, McConkey, Lovett, etc. and the offensive line that brings back four starters from the National Championship Game (Amarius Mims not included in Athlon’s count) should leave Beck feeling safe. As for Bobo, he’s never had a defense this strong to work with and keep in his mind when calling plays. ESPN recently named the Dawgs’ defense the top in the country.
Georgia has a long way to go before the Bulldogs will worry about the College Football Playoffs or the potential three-peat. In fact, Kirby Smart won’t want anybody in the building thinking about anything more than the game that’s ahead of them each and every week. What’s ahead of them this week? The weight room.
For more on Georgia Football, both the team and recruiting sides of things, be sure to check out DawgsHQ’s YouTube channel where we go live multiple times a week to break down the Bulldogs.
