Georgia football: 3 breakout stars for the Bulldogs in 2022
By John Buhler
The Georgia football team must be ready to defend its national title right from the jump.
Now that 1980 has been forever laid to rest, Kirby Smart’s Georgia football program must prepare for life as the hunted in the college football landscape.
While Georgia has a fairly navigable schedule, the Dawgs do open up with Oregon in Atlanta. It will be Dan Lanning’s head-coaching debut, but anything short of a 1-0 start to the season will be met with massive disappointment by Dawg Nation. Fortunately, Georgia could have an underrated offense this season. Look for many of its breakout performers to star on that side of the football.
Other star players will totally emerge, but these three could be in store for extraordinary seasons.
Georgia football: 3 absolute … DAWGS! primed to have breakout seasons in 2022
Scouting Report. Georgia Bulldogs. Kendall Milton. 3. 814. Pick Analysis. RB. player
Kendall Milton will be a big beneficiary of James Cook and Zamir White going pro
Injuries have limited Kendall Milton’s upward trajectory in the Georgia backfield, but he has a fantastic opportunity ahead of him in his junior season. Milton is probably slotting in as the No. 2 back for Georgia behind Kenny McIntosh, but ahead of Daijun Edwards. Together, all three will be expected to carry the workload in the Georgia ground game. However, Milton has star potential.
With James Cook and Zamir White having gone to the NFL, there will be even more carries for guys like Milton to have in the Georgia backfield. While the passing game may be a bigger part of the Georgia offense this year, they are led by a defensive-minded head coach who will favor ball control. Milton may not put up jaw-dropping stats in this system, but he can make a huge impact.
One can argue Milton is the most talented running back Georgia has had since Nick Chubb. Yes, this is a lofty comparison, but it is why a high school player from Clovis, California came all the way to Athens. Few programs develop NFL running backs better than Georgia. Since he is not going to be tasked with carrying the entire workload, Milton can pick his spots to sprint down the sidelines.
Look for the trio of Edwards, McIntosh and Milton to overcome the key losses of Cook and White.