5 Georgia football breakout candidates emerging after spring practice

After losing only one game the last two seasons combined, the Georgia Bulldogs are entering this offseason with a vengeance. Kirby Smart's Dawgs are essentially three points away from being the three-time defending national champions. Even though they missed the College Football Playoff by a game, nobody who made the four-team field would have wanted to play the game's reigning dynasty.

One that does serve Georgia this season, besides playoff expansion, of course, is that many of its top players from a year ago are returning. Yes, the Dawgs lost players like tight end Brock Bowers and offensive tackle Amarius Mims to the 2024 NFL Draft, but returning to The Classic City for one last ride include Heisman hopeful quarterback Carson Beck and all-world defensive back Malaki Starks.

While Beck and Starks are household names for anyone who follows the sport of college football, there are a handful of promising players poised to break out this season. Although some of these players you might already know, everybody and their brother is going to know all about them by the end of the season. If Georgia can make Ladd McConkey a household name, here are five more guys.

These players are my picks to click to have breakout seasons for the Bulldogs Between the Hedges.

5. Georgia Bulldogs FS KJ Bolden

I think you could go in a number of different ways with this final spot. I settled on freshman free safety KJ Bolden over fellow freshman defensive back Ellis Robinson IV at No. 5 for this one reason. Bolden will be backing up Georgia's most talented player in the secondary in Malaki Starks, meaning his role in Kirby Smart's defense will be magnified more out of necessity. Both should still have great success.

Bolden's arrival to Athens was arguably the most discussed throughout the offseason. He was high school teammates with former Georgia top recruit in Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola. Once it became clear that Raiola was going to play for his father's alma mater, Bolden flipped from Florida State to Georgia. It may have always been the plan, but I don't believe in coincidences, only the facts.

Look for Bolden and Robinson to push each other to be better in their first year with the program.

4. Georgia Bulldogs TE Oscar Delp

To be clear, I wouldn't say that tight-end Oscar Delp is a true breakout candidate, as most of Dawg Nation is well aware of who he is. However, this is all about him taking the torch from the greatest tight end in college football history, Brock Bowers. Delp becomes the main focal point in the Bulldogs offense at this position group. He will have support from Lawson Luckie and transfer Benjamin Yurosek.

This will be the second year Carson Beck will be operating in Mike Bobo's offense. Over the course of last season, we did see subtle variations in how Bobo calls a game when compared to his UGA predecessor Todd Monken. Georgia is still Tight End U, although Iowa would like to beg and differ. For this to continue being in Georgia's favor, Delp must have a breakout season as Beck's safety valve.

How quickly he can build his rapport with Beck will do wonders with the state of the Georgia offense.

3. Georgia Bulldogs WR Dillon Bell

Of all the potential pass-catchers to be had in this Georgia offense, I think you should put your undivided attention on Dillon Bell as this year's breakout star. While he is like Oscar Delp at tight end, in that everybody who follows along with the Georgia program knows about him, he is my pick to click for a reason. He has arguably the best rapport with Carson Beck of anybody in this receiving corps.

To me, transfers from last year in Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas were already known commodities from their time at Missouri and Mississippi State, respectively. Bell has been with the Georgia program for a while. With guys like Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint having turned pro, now is the time for Bell to leave his mark on the Georgia receiving room. I think he is going to be a star.

If Bell plays up to lofty expectations, we are looking at a potential all-conference performer at UGA.

2. Georgia Bulldogs RB Roderick Robinson II

How the Dawgs go about replacing the lethal combination of Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton will be especially critical for this team. While there has been plenty of fanfare surrounding the transfer portal pickup of Trevor Etienne out of Florida, as well as his arrest from only a few weeks ago, I would have to say my pick to click would have to be sophomore Roderick Robinson II out of the Georgia backfield.

The combination of Robinson and Robinson with Branson Robinson factoring into the deep running back rotation with the ineffable Cash Jones will be stupendously stellar for the Dawgs. While Etienne may be tasked with being RB1, Georgia has long gone with the running back by committee approach, dating back to Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall carrying the workload over a decade ago back in 2012.

This feels inevitable, as it will be more than just Etienne that we know all about in the UGA backfield.

1. Georgia Bulldogs LB Raylen Wilson

While players transfer away from top-flight programs like Georgia all the time for bigger opportunities at lesser programs, I gotta be honest, I was shocked to see linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson follow former backup quarterback Brock Vandagriff to Kentucky. Unlike Vandagriff, he was actually playing! Regardless, somebody has to replace Dumas-Johnson in the Bulldogs linebacking room this season.

With Smael Mondon Jr., Chaz Chambliss and Mykel Williams being proven commodities, the guy everyone was raving about during spring practice was apparently Raylen Wilson. The sophomore linebacker will back up Mondon in the middle of Georgia's defense. With him being ahead of Todd Bowles' son Troy on the interior linebacker depth chart, that speaks volumes to his great potential.

If Georgia can claim Tight End U for itself, the Dawgs can do the same with Linebacker U as well.