What will Georgia do for an encore?

The Bulldogs return 10 starters, most notably QB Stetson Bennett, as they look to begin a new era of championship football in Athens. With a confidence and swagger not seen at Georgia in 4 decades, the Bulldogs will begin the campaign trying to duplicate the effort that unleashed the confetti in Indianapolis.

There are some experienced returning players on defense; however, the defensive line is largely turned over as Jalen Carter enters a new leadership role. On offense, the questions begin at wide receiver and running back as the tight end group is easily the best in the country.

Here are 5 dream scenarios for 2022:

1. Carter becomes latest star

With all the departures of Georgia defensive talent to the NFL, Carter is next in line, and Kirby Smart knows it. What he must do is take more snaps than he did last year and develop into a consistent contributor. Once Carter sustains the intensity and effort that Travon Walker and Devonte Wyatt showed, the Georgia defense will pick up where it left off. That means he must get in shape — and stay in shape.

2. Bennett reaches new level

The much-maligned quarterback finds a newfound comfort level among fans and media who have criticized him in recent years. He’s no longer an underdog; he has accomplished more than almost every quarterback in school history. Now he’ll use that to shoulder the offense and not be a manager or contributor, but the main reason it goes. Bennett completely silences the critics and keeps the confidence he built last season with Smart and Todd Monken. Bennett tops 3,000 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, which both surpass last season’s totals.

3. John Mackey Award is ticketed for Athens

One of the more intriguing back-burner storylines is how Monken deploys all of the sensational tight ends, and more specifically how many are on the field at the same time. It’s the best unit at the position in the country, and each player seemingly offers a different wrinkle, from Arik Gilbert’s red zone ability, to Darnell Washington’s sheer size (6-7, 270), to Brock Bowers’ speed and Oscar Delp’s elusiveness. The other thing to be aware of is how defenses will react to these unusual formations.

One easy prediction is that the John Mackey Award winner will likely come from Athens.

4. Offensive line rounds into form

The Bulldogs return 3 players on the offensive line, and one of the interesting changes is the position coach switch following Matt Luke’s resignation. Stacey Searels has returned to Athens. Along with Luke, tackle Jamaree Salyer and left guard Justin Shaffer have moved on, and Smart has already mentioned guard as an area of concern this fall camp. The projected left tackle Broderick Jones will round into form alongside Xavier Truss as Warren Ericson, Sedrick Van Pran and Warren McClendon become All-SEC candidates.

5. Dominick Blaylock delivers career year

Blaylock, who has battled knee injuries in his career, has a chance to carve out a bigger role in the offense and will take advantage. Blaylock has impressed so far in fall camp, and he has every reason to step into the kind of role he was ticketed for since he splashed on the scene in 2019. While Blaylock has missed extensive time, he has still appeared in 14 games throughout his career. Given Arian Smith’s injury, Blaylock will take advantage of the open playing time to produce what his potential suggested 3 years ago.

Here are 5 disaster scenarios for 2022:

1. QB controversy

What happens after a 2-plus-interception performance by Bennett? Sure, Smart and Monken could stick with the party line as they did last year and throw all confidence behind him. But it won’t take long for the talk show phone lines and message boards to fire up with calls for Carson Beck or Brock Vandagriff. It was a rallying cry, and it galvanized the team last year, but can the program do it again? The disaster scenario unfolds as Bennett is replaced, and the quarterback not chosen to take over for him enters the transfer portal.

2. Subpar running game continues

Georgia has slipped some in recent years with its moniker as “RBU” as the Bulldogs haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since D’Andre Swift in 2019. Kenny McIntosh and Kendall Milton have yet to inspire overwhelming confidence in the same vein as Swift, Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb. Some of those issues can be shouldered on the offensive line, but McIntosh and Milton need a breakthrough in the worst way. Because of the question marks at wide receiver, falling short of 1,000 yards again would be a true disaster scenario for a program so proud of its running game history.

3. Defensive coaching staff changes sputter

Dan Lanning’s departure was largely seen as a blip on the radar as Will Muschamp and Glenn Schumann easily filled the void. With so many new faces, especially in leadership roles across the defense, it’ll be difficult to maintain the standard Georgia has set in recent years. The Georgia defense finished 2nd, 2nd and 3rd nationally in total defense over the past 3 seasons and led the nation in rushing defense in 2019 and 2020 before finishing 2nd in that category in 2021. Struggling to find a balance between roles, play-calling and halftime adjustments will be a new ballgame for Smart and the defense. A Week 3 game at South Carolina is a prime landmine to be aware of early in the season.

4. A secondary in disarray

Kelee Ringo is in danger of a sophomore slump and for being remembered primarily for the huge pick-6 in Indianapolis. Ringo is one of the veterans, but there are several new faces in the secondary, and counting on them early could be a challenge. Leaving Daylen Everette or Nyland Green on an island would be a troublesome development. And even though Christopher Smith and William Poole are veterans, the youth movement is fully intact and susceptible to big plays.

5. Nolan Smith suffers a drop in production

Smith has, for more than a year, been a clear vocal and emotional leader on the Georgia team, but that is often tied to his onfield production. After all, Smith is the leading returning tackler (56), and he led the Bulldogs with 2 tackles for loss in the national championship game. He can no doubt gobble up tackles, but he must improve his pass rush to be a more intriguing prospect for the NFL. How that fits into the overall defensive scheme, and whether he can deliver another stellar season, is related to all the reasons he passed on the NFL Draft this past spring. Falling short of improving on those traits to his game is critical. Watching that production slip would be cause for concern.