Kirby Smart has one of the most talented rosters in college football entering 2019. The Bulldogs will certainly be in the College Football Playoff picture throughout the season.

Analyst Phil Steele believes UGA returns to the playoff this year.

With an experienced QB in Jake Fromm and talented players all over the offensive side of the ball, there’s a lot to like for the Bulldogs. The defense, however, will be replacing some key pieces and will have some question marks.

That has former Bulldogs standout — and current ESPN analyst — David Pollack somewhat worried. He expressed those concerns to DawgNation’s Mike Griffith in a recent interview.

“Defensively, the linebacking corps was a place you looked at with them and you worried about,” Pollack said. “Losing Roquan Smith, obviously, you can’t just find that …. the defensive front seven and linebackers have question marks.”

Pollack continued, “Deandre Baker was the best cornerback in college football for the last couple years, it was fun to watch him, he was unbelievable, and now you lose him.

“You’ve got plenty of guys back there, but defensively, can they get back to dominating? Can they get back to being one of those teams that creates a lot of turnovers and you see those Savage pads out?”

Aside from Nick Saban, there may not be another head coach in college football better than Smart coordinating a defense and finding the personnel to fill in the missing pieces. There’s plenty of talent in Athens to work with, but developing those players will be key to Georgia making a run at another SEC Championship.