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Depth: It’s About the Second Twenty-Two

By: Greg Poole

Georgia will not lose its chance at another championship because its best players are not talented enough. If the 2026 season bends in the wrong direction, it is more likely to happen when one of those players leaves the field, and the replacement is not ready.

That is why the most important depth chart in Athens is not the one listing 22 starters. It is the second line—the players who must finish a drive, survive a road quarter or take over a position for three weeks without forcing Georgia to change what it wants to do.

The Bulldogs’ nine-game SEC schedule makes that depth more than a recruiting talking point. Georgia plays at Arkansas in Week 3, hosts Oklahoma a week later and travels to Alabama in early October. The back half includes Florida in Atlanta and road games at Ole Miss and South Carolina. There are not enough soft Saturdays to hide a weak second unit, and there is almost no chance the same 22 players will carry the full load from September through November.

The quarterback question is the easiest to identify and the hardest to solve. Gunner Stockton is the established starter, but Georgia must develop an emergency plan that amounts to more than asking the backup to avoid catastrophe. Ryan Puglisi is the most experienced candidate behind him, with Ryan Montgomery, Hezekiah Millender and freshman Bryson Beaver also in the room. Whoever wins the No. 2 job must be able to run enough of Mike Bobo’s offense that Georgia does not become predictable if Stockton misses time. A championship team cannot treat backup quarterback as a ceremonial position.

Running back offers more obvious comfort. Nate Frazier, Chauncey Bowens, Dante Dowdell, Dwight Phillips Jr. and Bo Walker give Georgia different body types and playing styles. The challenge is not finding a second capable runner. It is identifying which backs can handle pass protection, short-yardage work and late-game possessions when one missed assignment can matter more than a 20-yard run. Depth at running back is real only when the coaches trust the entire job, not merely the handoff.

The receiving corps is where potential and certainty remain separated by a wide strip of grass. Isiah Canion and London Humphreys bring experience, while CJ Wiley, Talyn Taylor, Thomas Blackshear and Sacovie White-Helton give Georgia several younger options with legitimate ability. The room looks deeper on paper than it did at points last season, but fall camp must reveal who can separate against SEC coverage, adjust when Stockton extends a play and catch the ball when the stadium becomes inconveniently loud.

Tight end should help. Lawson Luckie gives Georgia an established presence, while Elyiss Williams, Jaden Reddell and Ethan Barbour give Todd Hartley enough variety to build multiple personnel packages. Williams has the physical dimensions to become a matchup problem, but the larger value of the room may be its ability to protect the offense while the receivers sort themselves out. A dependable second tight end can improve the running game, create cleaner throws and keep defenses from treating every formation as a declaration of intent.

The offensive line is the clearest test of Georgia’s old development model. Drew Bobo and Earnest Greene provide veteran anchors, but the season will eventually require more than five blockers. Daniel Calhoun, Juan Gaston, Dontrell Glover, Cortez Smith, Michael Uini, Marcus Harrison, Mason Short and transfer TyQuez Richardson give Phil Rauscher an imposing collection of candidates. The issue is whether Georgia has seven or eight linemen who can function together, communicate through pressure and play more than one position. Size photographs well. Cohesion wins on third-and-2.

Defensively, the demand for a genuine two-deep becomes even greater because Georgia wants to rotate. The front cannot play Kirby Smart’s preferred style if the first group must conserve energy. Jordan Hall, Clinton Barlow, London Seymour, Josh Horton and Isaiah Gibson are among the players who can determine whether the Bulldogs maintain their standard after substitutions. At outside linebacker, Amaris Williams joins Quintavius Johnson, Darren Ikinnagbon, Chase Linton and talented freshman Khamari Brooks. Georgia needs more than pass-rush flashes. It needs players who can set an edge, recognize screens and remain disciplined against mobile quarterbacks.

Inside linebacker may have the cleanest combination of talent and depth. Raylen Wilson, Chris Cole, Justin Williams and Zayden Walker give Georgia multiple players who can run, cover and pressure. The next step is establishing combinations that communicate as well as they move. Athletic mistakes still count as mistakes, only faster.

The secondary has undergone the most obvious renovation. Khalil Barnes, Gentry Williams, Braylon Conley and Ja’Marley Riddle arrived through the portal and joined KJ Bolden, Ellis Robinson IV, Demello Jones, Rasean Dinkins and Zion Branch. That is a large supply of experienced or highly regarded options. It is not automatically a finished unit. Defensive backs must exchange routes, disguise coverages and tackle in space as one group. A crowded room can produce excellent depth, but it can also produce uncertainty until roles are settled.

Tennessee State and Western Kentucky should give Georgia opportunities to use more of the roster before the schedule turns serious. Those games should not be treated as extended victory laps for the starters. They are auditions for the players who will be needed later, often without warning.

Georgia’s championship teams were not simply loaded. They could lose a starter and continue playing Georgia football. That is the standard for the 2026 two-deep. The Bulldogs have enough talent to print an impressive backup list today. Fall camp must determine how many of those names Kirby Smart will trust when the game stops being comfortable.

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