Georgia’s first season with Kirby Smart was full of highs and lows. From the thrilling first victory against a ranked North Carolina team to the troubling fourth-quarter collapse against Georgia Tech, this year was a wild one.

Some of that inconsistency can be attributed to the great amount of youth the Bulldogs employed. With freshmen and sophomores littering the field, 2016 was very much a learning season for the players and the coaching staff.

As we take a look back, it’s time to hand out a few superlatives to those who stepped up on both sides of the ball.

Offensive MVP: Isaiah McKenzie – It wasn’t a great season for Georgia’s offense, but McKenzie was usually a bright spot. The junior receiver nearly surpassed his career totals in the first two games of the season, which proved to be his breakout campaign.

With 40 catches for 530 yards and 7 touchdowns, McKenzie led all Georgia receivers. It wasn’t just his emergence as the top receiver that earned him this selection, however. McKenzie came through in the clutch for the Bulldogs several times this season.

Against North Carolina, he caught a 51-yard pass down the right sideline that set up the go-ahead field goal. After Nicholls took a stunning 14-13 lead in the third quarter, it was McKenzie’s 66-yard touchdown that got Georgia back in front. Of course his 20-yard touchdown catch in the final minute against Missouri was one of the top plays of the season.

McKenzie cooled down a little bit as the season went along, but in a down year for most of the other team’s starts, he was the obvious choice.

Defensive MVP: Roquan Smith – The sophomore linebacker made plays from the beginning to the end of the season, and looks like a star on the rise. Smith emerged as a leader on this defense and could continue to mature under Smart’s tutelage.

In the season opener against North Carolina, Smith made a crucial read on a screen pass to force a safety and turn the tide of the game. He led the team with 82 total tackles, 27 more than the next Georgia defender, and forced two fumbles.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker only progressed as the season went along and finished with a career-high 13 tackles against Georgia Tech. There are several young defenders that should lead this defense in the future, and Smith is already emerging.

Rookie of the year: Isaac Nauta – While Jacob Eason was undoubtedly the most prominent newcomer, and likely the most important, Nauta earns the nod. The 5-star tight end became one of the top offensive weapons throughout the season and has a very high ceiling.

Nauta finished third on the team with 27 catches for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns. He became one of Eason’s favorite targets down the stretch, and the two freshmen figure to have many more magical moments ahead of them.

Georgia has not lacked at the tight end position over the years, but Nauta has the talent to become one of the best. He has the frame to go over the middle combined with the speed and agility to take on linebackers and safeties. His first season in Athens was a sign of huge things to come.

Assistant of the year: Tracy Rocker – The Bulldogs were an extremely young team, and nowhere was that more apparent than on the defensive line. Composed almost entirely of freshmen or sophomores, Georgia’s defensive line went from major potential weakness to one of the team’s strengths.

Rocker, one of the SEC’s top players in the late 1980s, joined the Bulldogs in 2014. He successfully handled the transition from Jeremy Pruitt’s defensive scheme to Smart’s this season, and should only continue to get results.

The talent is apparent on Georgia’s defensive line, but Rocker managed to improve upon that talent. It isn’t easy to get results from players still adjusting to the college game, but the work he did with the likes of Trenton Thompson, Julian Rochester and Tyler Clark deserves to be recognized.

William McFadden covers the University of Georgia for Saturday Down South. For news on everything happening between the hedges, follow him on Twitter @willmcfadden.