The Georgia Bulldogs will return to the field this week after a 13-1 season that saw them win a dominating Orange Bowl victory, but fail to win their third consecutive national title.

It’s pretty hard to say that ending the year ranked #4 in the nation is a disappointment. But we’ve reached the stage in Kirby Smart’s dynasty build in Athens at which national championships are a realistic annual goal. In 2024 getting to that goal is going to require several Bulldogs to step up and step into the lineup, taking on more responsibility and/or performing at a higher level than in 2023. These are five whose performance I think may be most critical to the Dawgs’ 2024 fate.

5. Daylen Everette. Everette started every game of the 2023 season as a sophomore, replacing Kelee Ringo at corner. Playing opposite Kamari Lassiter in 2023 meant Everette was picked on some, but he responded well, especially down the stretch. Now with Lassiter turning pro Everette is now definitively The Guy at corner. That’s a huge responsibility, even with the likes of Malaki Starks behind him.

4. Travis Etienne. It feels a little odd to say that a guy who was second on his team in rushing in 2023 has a lot to prove in 2024. But Travis Etienne wasn’t the second-leading rusher on this Bulldog team.

Etienne went for 753 rushing yards and 172 receiving yards last year as a Florida Gator. He comes to Athens looking to replace steady senior performers Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton. Both rushed for more yardage in 2023 than Etienne and combined they accounted for 63% of the Red and Black’s rushing yards. Etienne will be looking to take snaps in a Bulldog backfield that will uncle a host of true freshmen and players looking to prove they can stay healthy. If he can seize the job of backfield workhorse, his decision to leave Gainesville could prove to be the best decision since, well, the last person who said to themselves “I gotta get the heck out of Gainesville.”

3. Jared Wilson. Georgia has been profoundly blessed over the past decade plus with multi-year, NFL-caliber starters at center. Sedrick Van Pran was just the latest, starting every single game of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons (44 games in total) on the way to being named First Team All-American by ESPN and Sports Illustrated this year.

That’s a tough, tough act to follow. Doing so looks to be the job of redshirt junior Jared Wilson. The 6’3, 310 pound North Carolinian played in 13 of 14 games in 2023 and is surrounded by experienced veterans like Tate Ratledge, Earnest Greene, and Xavier Truss. But the center is uniquely critical, and Wilson’s development will go a long way toward determining whether Georgia is again a title contender.

2. CJ Allen. It’s not that CJ Allen has to step up in 2023. It’s that Georgia desperately needs him not to take step back. After Jamon Dumas-Johnson went down with a broken arm Allen stepped in to start the final five games of the 2023 season. In the process he led all Bulldog freshmen with 41 tackles.

Now with Dumas-Johnson transferring to Kentucky Allen is the guy in the middle of the Dawgs’ linebacking corps. He’ll have help, with Smael Mondon, Raylen Wilson and Troy Bowles all back. But as Allen goes, so too may go this Bulldog defense.

1. Oscar Delp. You can’t replace a guy like Brock Bowers. The Napa Nightmare was arguably the most dominant tight end in college football over the past three seasons, and will go down as one of the most significant Bulldogs of the past two decades. He did things on the football field that a player with his size shouldn’t have been able to, and provided the UGA offense with a built-in mismatch every single week.

Oscar Delp is demonstrably no slouch himself. Delp started 10 games himself in 2013, and caught 24 passes for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns. Given the talent Geirgia brings back at receiver (and the transfer talent incoming) Georgia could be very good offensively even if Delp isn’t another Bowers. But deep down I suspect there will come a game in 2024 when the UGA offense needs him to be a Bowers-type mismatch.

Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!