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Georgia Doesn’t Need Its Freshmen to Start, It Needs a Few of Them to Become Useful

By: Greg Poole

It is easy to misread a recruiting class by spending August looking for the freshman who might become Georgia’s next instant star. The more useful a search is, the less exciting it is. The real question is which freshmen can actually help.

Georgia does not need half of its 2026 class to break into the starting lineup. If that happens, it probably means something has gone wrong with the older players. What Kirby Smart needs is a handful of freshmen who can contribute in small but reliable ways: handle a few snaps, help on special teams, fill in when injuries happen, or do one job well enough to get on the field. That matters more now because the rules around development have changed.

Smart pointed out before camp that the current five-years-to-play-five setup takes away most of the old redshirt math. Coaches do not have to act like accountants every time a freshman gets close to a participation limit. If a young player can help Georgia win, there is not much reason to keep him on the sideline. That is why the 2026 freshmen are worth watching for reasons that have little to do with recruiting rankings.

Jae Lamar has one of the clearest opportunities. Georgia entered camp without Dante Dowdell, and Smart said there is no football timetable for his return. Nate Frazier remains the established option, while Dwight Phillips Jr. has generated significant praise for his explosiveness. Bo Walker also has an opportunity to carve out a larger role. That situation does not remove Lamar from consideration. Instead, it gives Georgia a reason to evaluate early what he is capable of handling.

A freshman running back does not earn meaningful snaps simply by looking dangerous with the football. Georgia asks its backs to understand protection, identify pressure, run with the proper track, secure the football and function in the passing game.

Lamar does not need to be Georgia’s main back. If he can be trusted to carry the ball in the second quarter of an SEC game without the offense having to change what it does, he gives Georgia something it may need. He may be even more valuable on special teams. That is the first pathway for several freshmen.

A young linebacker who cannot yet process every defensive check may still be capable of covering kicks. A defensive back who is not ready for 50 snaps against Alabama may be able to run down a punt, block on a return or contribute in a specialty defensive package.

Georgia’s history under Smart is filled with talented players who earned their first real responsibility outside the starting lineup.

Tyriq Green could fit that description.

The freshman safety arrives from Buford with experience on offense, defense and in the return game. He ran the football, intercepted passes and returned kicks and punts in high school.

There may be a tendency to turn that versatility into expectations for immediate defensive impact.

Georgia does not need to do that.

The priority is to determine whether one or two of those traits can translate right away.

Can Green cover man-to-man? Can he tackle in space? Can he judge the ball downfield? Those are the three requirements Smart identified for his safeties.

If Green can consistently satisfy those demands, Georgia can find a role.

The same principle applies to Justice Fitzpatrick. He arrives with speed and plenty of high school experience from St. Thomas Aquinas. At Georgia, though, the real question is not whether he can keep up with an SEC receiver in a summer drill. It is whether he can play with enough technique and discipline to avoid becoming the matchup every offense looks for.

If Fitzpatrick proves capable of handling that responsibility, he does not have to displace Ellis Robinson IV or another veteran to matter.

One dependable freshman corner can change how a staff manages injuries. He can give starters a rest in September. He can contribute to special teams coverage. He can eventually become the extra defensive back required against spread formations.

That is valuable.

Khamari Brooks has a similar opportunity at outside linebacker, although his path will look different.

Brooks comes in with a physical profile ahead of most freshmen. At North Oconee, he made tackles for loss and sacks and played some tight end. Georgia will not be impressed just because he can run around an offensive tackle in practice.

The Bulldogs need edge players who understand run fits, maintain leverage and avoid creating an escape lane because they were chasing a sack.

That is usually where freshmen find out the difference between high school stats and SEC responsibility. Brooks proves he can set the edge and play assignment football; Georgia can start looking for places to use his pass-rush ability rather than worrying about what happens when the opponent runs directly at him.

PJ Dean faces another version of the same challenge on the defensive line. Freshman defensive linemen rarely enter Georgia with a shortage of size or recruiting attention. The difficult part is learning to play against SEC offensive linemen who are strong enough to move them and experienced enough to use their aggression against them.

Dean does not need 30 snaps. If he becomes a player Georgia can use for six or eight good snaps without the run defense falling off, those snaps matter. They help keep Jordan Hall, Elijah Griffin, or another veteran fresher. They provide insurance against injury. They make the defensive line rotation sturdier in November than it was in September. There will be other freshmen who emerge from camp, and some of the most useful may barely appear on the offensive or defensive stat sheet.

Georgia has true freshmen across the secondary, offensive line, tight end, linebacker and receiver rooms. The players with the clearest roles today may not be the ones who ultimately help the most. Special teams can rearrange that order quickly. So can injuries. So, can a freshman understand the playbook faster than expected?

Georgia does not need a freshman to become the best safety on the roster. KJ Bolden already occupies that neighborhood. It does not need Lamar to become the featured running back. It does not need Brooks to lead the SEC in sacks. It needs enough of them to cut down the number of spots where one injury would leave the coaches with a tough decision. That is why Smart talks about camp as a time for creating depth.

The starters get most of the attention because their roles are clear. August is just as important for the players trying to become numbers 18 through 35 on the list of people the staff actually trusts. Those players will determine whether Georgia can absorb the ordinary damage of an SEC season. They will take fourth-quarter snaps when a starter has a cramp. They will cover punts against Arkansas. They will enter when a veteran loses a helmet during a play. They may suddenly get 25 snaps because somebody in front of them cannot finish a game.

Nobody knows in August which one of those moments will matter in November. Georgia’s job is to make sure the freshman who gets called is ready for it.

A five-star rating is nice. Being useful counts for more.

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