The Georgia Bulldogs have long been the gold standard of roster construction in college football. Under Kirby Smart, the program captured back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, largely due to an unprecedented luxury of elite, NFL-caliber depth. But that’s not the case anymore.
Why Kirby Smart’s Roster Depth at Georgia Is Coming Into Question
SEC Network analyst Chris Doering appeared on “The Paul Finebaum Show” and explained that the era of flawless roster hoarding is officially dead. He issued a stark warning regarding the structural shifts threatening the Bulldogs’ traditional blueprint.
“The problem for Georgia is that we hold them to a standard that’s just impossible now,” Doering stated. “You know, with the transfer portal and players jumping around with NIL money, you just can’t build the same sort of depth that Georgia did in ’21 and ’22.”
During Georgia’s historic 2021 run, their defense alone featured numerous future draft picks on the two-team depth chart, functioning essentially as a rotating line of five-star chess pieces. But now, if a four- or five-star talent is buried on Georgia’s depth chart, a rival program can easily lure them away with immediate playing time and a lucrative NIL package.
This lack of depth is shifting from a theoretical front-office problem to an on-field reality. Doering pointed directly to a noticeable drop in Georgia’s trademark trait: raw, unadulterated physicality.
“I do have questions about their level of physicality and maybe it’s just a fact of the depth not being the same. But watching them, you know, kind of get out-physicaled in that Sugar Bowl by Notre Dame a year and a half ago and some of that carried over to last season at times,” Doering noted. “It’s just you’re not used to seeing a Kirby Smart team not be the most physical team on the field and I think you saw that at times last year.”
In that 23-10 Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame, Georgia’s famed rushing attack was thoroughly neutralized, held to a meager 62 total rushing yards. When the Bulldogs cannot rely on waves of fresh, elite defensive and offensive linemen to wear opponents down, they look human.
Despite the existential warning, Doering doesn’t expect a complete collapse in Athens. The saving grace for the Bulldogs remains their top-tier starting talent, specifically under center.
“I think they’re going to be very good. I expect Gunner Stockton to take another step forward this year after what he did last year as a first-year starter,” Doering said.
Stockton’s development provides a massive buffer against roster attrition. As a first-year starter, Stockton orchestrated an SEC Championship victory over Alabama and finished inside the top 10 for the Heisman Trophy, throwing for 2,894 yards and 24 touchdowns against just 5 interceptions, while adding 10 scores on the ground.
With Stockton commanding the offense alongside returning weapons like running back Nate Frazier, Georgia will remain a national title contender.
Currently, PFSN’s CFB Playoff Meter gives the Bulldogs a 50.9% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
