ESPN published a new story on Wednesday outlining “areas of concern” for every team in its offseason top-25.
That of course includes Georgia, who ranks No. 4 in ESPN’s top-25. The Bulldogs are coming off of an SEC Championship, but failed to advance beyond the semifinals in the College Football Playoff last season.
Looking ahead to this year, expectations are once again high for the Bulldogs. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach highlighted UGA’s pass rush as something that could trip up Kirby Smart’s team once again in 2025. Here’s Schlabach’s analysis:
The Bulldogs lost six veteran contributors on their front seven on defense, none more important than edge rushers Jalon Walker, Mykel Williams and Chaz Chambliss. Walker and Williams were first-round picks in the NFL draft, and Chambliss was an unheralded contributor over four seasons. They combined for 18 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss in 2024. Making matters worse, Damon Wilson, a projected replacement on the edge, transferred to Missouri. Georgia feels good about Gabe Harris Jr., and it added Army transfer Elo Modozie, who had 6.5 sacks for the Black Knights last season.
Georgia finished 6th in the SEC in sacks per game last season, so the Bulldogs didn’t have an elite pass rush even with plenty of veteran contributors. Now with lots of unproven talent off the edge, Georgia will need to hope younger players will be able to step up this fall.
Georgia fell short all over the field on defense last season — at least by its lofty standards. UGA finished last season 55th nationally in adjusted EPA per play on defense, according to Game on Paper. For context, it’s the first time Georgia has been outside the top-30 in that metric since 2018.
Georgia will face Marshall to open up the 2025 season on Aug. 30.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
