What kind of team will Georgia football have next season?

Defense

Georgia’s 2016 defense wasn’t great, but they were good enough. They kept the offense in position to win games, forced turnovers and adjusted well after bad drives. The defense only loses three, maybe four contributors, but I expect Dominick Sanders to return.

Defensive Line and Linebackers

Seven players saw action on the defensive line for Georgia in 2016. None of them looked bad and all of them return next season. Only one of the seven contributors at linebacker graduates. Meaning Georgia will return its entire starting front seven and all but one second stringer. Clearly the front seven should not be a major concern for fans.

The only question is who will start and who will come off the bench. On the defensive line players switch out so often that the depth chart doesn’t matter so much. Expect Julian Rochester, John Atkins and Jonathan Ledbetter to get most of the starts. But Trenton Thompson, Daquan Hawkins-Muckle, Tyler Clark and David Marshall will all get their fair share of playing time.

At linebacker, Lorenzo Carter, Davin Bellamy, Roquan Smith and Reggie carter will be the expected starters. Natrez Patrick will get plenty of playing time as well. The only concern is who else will step up off the bench when the starters need a rest.

Defensive Backs

This is the position that Georgia might lose the most at. Maurice Smith and four-year starter Quincy Mauger are already graduating, and Dominick Sanders may enter the NFL Draft early. But if he stays, Georgia will continue to have one of the best safety units in college football.

Georgia returns both starters at corner; Junior Malcolm Parrish and sophomore Deandre Baker. Parrish has been a consistent starter for to years and posing quarterbacks rarely throw his way. baker took over the starting role in October after Juwaun Briscoe couldn’t keep receivers from getting passed him.

Baker will be a lot better after starting for two-thirds of a season and Briscoe should also be much improved. Smith will relinquish his star/nickel position, most likely to Rico McGraw. McGraw played a lot in 2015 under Jeremy Pruitt but he’s been riding the bench in 2016 behind Smith who transferred from Alabama where he was expected to start at the star position.

That leaves Sanders, junior walk-on Aron Davis and junior Reggie Wilkerson at safety. Sanders has shut down deep passes for most of his two years as a starter. Sanders name does not get brought up much, but since he plays safety that’s probably because quarterbacks very seldom throw in his direction.

If you hadn’t followed Georgia since 2014, you would have no idea that Davis was a walk-on. He has been one of the best players in Georgia’s secondary.

Wilkerson has not gotten much playing time in his three years, but Georgia’s secondary has been deep that entire time.Now with the departure of Mauger and Smith, the third safety spot and maybe time at star is Wilkerson’s if he takes control.