Georgia football players who need to step up to lead the Bulldogs to win over Arkansas

Georgia football needs these guys to come out swinging in the season-opener if the Bulldogs are going to earn a convincing win over Arkansas.

Coming off of a less than ideal 2019 season and turning the page at quarterback, Georgia football makes their foray into the 2020 campaign with major expectations. They’re ranked as the No. 4 team in the country, have viable thoughts of playing in the College Football Playoff and open up the season on Saturday against Arkansas.

Based on preseason expectations, Kirby Smart‘s Bulldogs should win their season-opener on the road running away. After all, the Razorbacks are projected to be one of the worst teams in the SEC this season. But then again, in this conference, anything can happen on a given weekend, especially with some of the changes Georgia has experienced.

To avoid any potential upset and for Georgia football to take care of their business and get the win over Arkansas, they’ll need these four players to be at the top of their games.

4. D’Wan Mathis/JT Daniels, QB

Jamie Newman’s decision to opt-out after transferring to Athens did dash the hopes of some fans but it doesn’t necessarily leave the Bulldogs in a terrible spot. They still have two talented options in former 5-star recruit and USC transfer JT Daniels in addition to redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis, a 4-star prospect who many are projecting to be the starter in the season-opener against Arkansas.

Whether it’s Mathis or Daniels, though, both players need to be crisp. Because Arkansas suffers from a talent disparity in this matchup, neither quarterback needs to be a superstar right away. However, one of Jake Fromm’s greatest abilities was not making many crucial mistakes. For Georgia to win, that’s exactly what they must avoid and that job falls on Mathis or Daniels.

3. Azeez Ojulari, OLB

If there’s one thing that Georgia football shouldn’t have to worry about against the Hogs or, really, any team in the country, it’s the performance of their defense. That side of the ball figures to be their greatest strength as they have one of the best units in all of college football. But to prove that right out of the gate, they need their veteran leaders like linebacker Azeez Ojulari to start the season off right.

One of the anchors in a hellacious front seven, Ojulari led the Bulldogs in sacks last season with 5.5. While many others contributed multiple takedowns on the year, he had 3.0 more than the next closes teammate while also racking up 5.0 tackles for loss. He’s the most proven edge pass-rusher on the roster and, for the Dawgs to set the tone against Arkansas, he needs to come off the blocks firing from the opening snap.

2. Xavier Truss, OT

One of the potential areas of weakness for the Bulldogs this season is at the offensive tackle spots, simply because they are replacing their two starters at those spots from last season, Andrew Thomas on the left and Isaiah Wilson on the right. But while junior Jamaree Salyer is likely ready to start on the right side with some experience, Xavier Truss is the favorite on the right side and, as a redshirt freshman, he’s coming in still having spots.

Truss was a 4-star recruit out of high school in the 2019 class and has a massive 6-foot-7, 330-pound frame to his credit. But going from high school to a redshirt year to playing in the SEC isn’t the easiest transition, especially with an inexperienced quarterback under center. Subsequently, the young tackle needs to come in and protect the blindside well for Todd Monken’s offense to get some juices flowing.

1. Demetris Robertson, WR

George Pickens is the anchor of the Georgia wide receiver corps and Dominick Blaylock was hopefully going to be his top complement. Unfortunately, the latter suffered a knee injury in preseason practice that is likely to keep him out for the entire year. As such, senior Demetris Robertson is going to play a much bigger and more critical role in the Bulldogs offense this season right from the jump.

Admittedly, the inexperienced at quarterback is going to lead to UGA relying on the rushing attack more often than not, especially early in the season. However, the passing game still has to be a threat so that defenses don’t stack the box, which means a player like Robertson stepping up as a chain-mover opposite of Pickens is going to be vital for this offense to thrive.

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