Mark Richt’s final recruiting class in Athens ranked No. 5 nationally — and that was without signing a single quarterback in 2015.

Terry Godwin was the breakout performer, but 22 of Georgia’s 30 enrollees played as true freshmen and seven started multiple games:

Player Position Starts Games Played
Trent Thompson DL 6 12
Terry Godwin WR 9 13
Roquan Smith LB 0 12
Jonathan Ledbetter DE 0 7
Natrez Patrick DE 2 11
D’Andre Walker DE 0 13
Rashad Roundtree DB 0 12
Rico McGraw DB 5 9
Chauncey Rivers DE 0 4
Jackson Harris TE 1 12
Jayson Stanley WR 0 3
Michael Barnett DL 0 7
Michael Chigbu WR 0 10
Juwuan Briscoe CB 2 9
Shaquery Wilson WR 0 2
Deandre Baker DB 0 11
Jonathan Abram S 4 10
Juwan Taylor LB 0 9
Chuks Amaechi LB 1 13
DaQuan Hawkins DT 2 10
Jarvis Wilson DB 0 11
Kirby Choates DB 0 11

OFFENSIVE IMPACT

Returnees dominated Georgia’s skill positions — before and after Nick Chubb’s season-ending injury — but Godwin’s skill set was so influential that Richt designed a “Wild Dawg” formation to take advantage of it.

With Malcolm Mitchell (team-highs 58 catches, 865 yards) having graduated, Godwin will emerge as more of a go-to target next season after catching 35 balls for 379 yards and two TDs in 2015.

Godwin gave a preview performance in the TaxSlayer Bowl, earning MVP honors after throwing one touchdown pass and catching another.

DEFENSIVE IMPACT

Defensive tackle Trent Thompson was the consensus No. 1 recruit in the country, and while he didn’t dominate, he contributed at a position that isn’t necessarily built for stat-stuffing. He finished with 25 tackles. Rico McGraw and Jonathan Abram were pleasant surprises, both starting multiple games and earning ample playing time in Georgia’s secondary.

REDSHIRTS

Not surprisingly, Georgia redshirted four offensive linemen: Pat Allen, Sam Madden, Sage Hardin and Mirko Jurkovic. Allen was the highest rated in the bunch, a four-star recruit who was rated the No. 18 tackle in the 2015 class.

Richt’s approach was pretty simple: if they were good enough to recruit, play them.

“I don’t think as much about redshirting guys as I used to because not many guys stay five years anyway. Even if they play a little bit, they’re so much more ready to play,” Richt told 247sports.com in October. “There’s a bunch of guys, a year from now, are going to have to play. So if you know a guy is going to have to play for you next year, you might ought to get him as many reps as you can possibly get him because if he’s a redshirt freshman, he’s almost like a true freshman in a lot of ways.

“I’d rather have a true sophomore who’s got a few plays under his belt than a redshirt freshman that hadn’t play a game.”

OVERVIEW

Georgia’s 2015 freshman class combined to play in 211 games — almost twice as many as Alabama’s freshman class.

That bodes well for the future.

The class strength was on defense, highlighted of course by Thompson, and depth.

Georgia’s secondary again will be young in 2016, but filled with rising juniors and true sophomores with extensive playing time.

The class didn’t include a quarterback but Richt addressed that before leaving by getting 5-star pocket passer Jacob Eason. Surprisingly, it lacked an impact running back after signing Todd Gurley, Keith Marshall, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel in succession. Richt addressed that as well: Georgia’s 2016 class also includes four-star running back Elijah Holyfield, rated sixth in his position in the country.

Those two reinforcements are necessary given the urgency of Georgia’s quarterback situation in 2016 and the expected departure of Chubb, and possibly Michel, following next season.