ATHENS — The second off week comes at a critical time for this Georgia team.
The Bulldogs are 6-1 on the season and 4-1 in SEC play. Thanks to clutch play against Ole Miss and Tennessee, all of Georgia’s goals are ahead of them.
But to get there, this team will have to keep getting better, as Kirby Smart reiterated this week.
“Big week for us to do a couple things: number one get better, number two get healthier, and number three keep improving in areas that we definitely need to,” Smart said on Tuesday.
With it being such a young team, Georgia has plenty of room to grow. Especially when you consider the true freshmen on this team.
Some have already carved out significant roles. Dontrell Glover has started the previous six games at right guard. Even as Earnest Greene and Monroe Freeling get healthy, Georgia has shown no desire to move Glover back to the bench.
Paired with Juan Gaston, the future of the right side of the offensive line looks very bright.
“The fact that Donnie got here in the summertime, didn’t even have a spring, and Juan fighting through injury as big as he is and learning all the plays,” offensive tackle Monroe Freeling said. “It’s really good. And I think that them coming here and playing as freshmen and actually — I’d say dominating. You know, they’re doing a great job.”
On the other side of the trenches, there’s Elijah Griffin. He arrived in Athens with significantly more hype, as he was the No. 1-ranked defensive prospect in the 2025 class.
“I love the way he plays. I love the kind of energy he brings to that group, and he’s so humble,” Smart said. “I’m expecting him to have a big back half of the season.”
While he hasn’t filled up the stat sheet — 12 tackles and 1.0 tackles for loss — his impact extends beyond that.
The Bulldogs rank 11th in the country in rushing defense. Against Ole Miss, Griffin played 24 snaps, as the Bulldogs held Ole Miss to 88 rushing yards. That was a season low.
“In terms of disruption, he’s a really powerful,” Smart said. “He’s one of our strongest guys as a freshman. He’s really quick. He can be disruptive. We’re trying to utilize his skill set. He’s playing more and more snaps. He’s probably maybe our, I don’t know, second or third leading snap getter in the front as a freshman, and I don’t know that that’s ever happened. So he’s getting snaps, and he’s getting better each and every week. So I just love the kid’s work ethic.”
Griffin is not the only freshman on the defensive line that is playing, with JJ Hanne playing a handful of snaps a game as a rotation member.
Georgia’s most consistent freshman contributors to this point have been Glover, Griffin and Gaston.
But a few other notable names are beginning to show what they might be able to do for Georgia.
Tight end Elyiss Williams has been able to play a handful of snaps in recent games, often earning about one target per game.
At 6-foot-7, Williams’s size makes it easy for Gunner Stockton to just chuck it up, knowing the freshman from Kingsland, Georgia, is somewhere down there.
“I’m just glad to see him get rewarded for all the work he’s put in,” Lawson Luckie said of Williams. “He’s grinding so hard. He’s the same guy every single day. He works so hard in practice, and I’m proud of him.”
Given Georgia just lost Colbie Young for the foreseeable future, Williams could earn some additional targets.
But the Bulldogs could look to wide receiver CJ Wiley to fill some of the void left behind by Young. Noah Thomas will likely earn most of the snaps but there’s an opportunity for Wiley to crack the rotation.
“I’d say he’s a dawg,” cornerback Demello Jones said of Wiley. He’s been getting us better. All the young guys have been getting us better. We’re getting him better by going against us every day. We’re just going to continue to keep working, and he’s going to get his time.”
Georgia also hopes to get Talyn Taylor back from injury. He was a special teams contributor prior to suffering a collarbone injury before the team’s game against Kentucky.
On the defensive side of the ball, keep an eye on Rasean Dinkins. Starting safety Kyron Jones is out due to a foot injury. The Bulldogs started JaCorey Thomas against Ole Miss, with the senior playing all 62 defensive snaps.
Georgia also transfers in Adrian Maddox and Zion Branch, but Dinkins is someone who impressed the coaching staff this summer when he arrived.
The Bulldogs signed the No. 2-ranked recruiting class for the 2025 cycle. So far, the Bulldogs have gotten significant contributions from the class, especially at places where Georgia hasn’t usually leaned on freshmen.
The saying goes that by this point in the season, you’re not really a freshman anymore. The Bulldogs hope that group back that mantra up.
“A lot of those freshmen are coming along,” Smart said. ”All those guys are getting better, and that’s their job is to find a way to put themselves in position to help this team, and we don’t know which guy’s up next.”