Georgia football: Offensive players to watch out for during the preseason

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ATHENS, GA – OCTOBER 15: Members of the Georgia Bulldogs take the field before the game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Sanford Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Every new wide receiver

The wide receiver position was troublesome for Georgia last year. While true freshman Riley Ridley did emerge as a future star, and JUCO transfer Javon Wims showed flashes of greatness, Isaiah McKenzie and Terry Godwin were the only reliable targets for Jacob Eason.

So what did the Georgia coaching staff do to combat this issue? They signed four receivers on signing day, converted Mecole Hardman to receiver, signed the older brother of one of their signees and last week they signed a another JUCO receiver. That’s seven new receivers going into the 2017 season.

Tow of them we’ve already had the chance to watch. Four-star Jeremiah Holloman enrolled early and Hardman began transitioning to receiver in the spring. Both played for the red team during the G-Day Game and both were very impressive.

Holloman stood out especially for totally dominating the black teams defensive back field. Now he enters the preseason having already spent seven months with the team. He’s has a head start on both Georgia’s offense and chemistry with Eason.

Hardman should fill the void left by McKenzie because of his size and athleticism. He’s a player that Georgia will want to get the ball to. It just remains to be seen if he can be an effective pass catcher like Mckenzie was in 2016.

Besides Holloman, Georgia signed two other four-star receivers; Mark Webb and Trey Blount. Webb and Holloman were both ranked in the top-150 nationally according to 247 Sports, while Blount was the no. 307 player in America.

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Three-star Matt Landers was the fourth receiver signed by Georgia in February. He doesn’t arrive with as much fanfare, but plenty of three-stars have gone on to have great careers (remember Michael Bennett?).

After the four signees and Hardman’s switch to offense, Layfeatte Holloman, Jeremiah’s older broth signed with the team. Layfeatte (or L.J. for short, Jeremiah goes by J.J.) was once a highly recruited prospect but his grades prompted most schools to stop pursuing him.

Instead of going the junior college route, he took online classes to get through his freshman year of college with a good GPA so he could follow J.J. where ever he went. J.J. chose Georgia, so L.J. followed.

Talent wise, he is apparently comparable to J.J. If so, the brothers will see the field together a lot this year.

Ahkil Crumpton, the final wide receiver signed this past weekend. He is a lot like McKenzie and Hardman in size and athletic ability. According to Coach Smart, Crumpton is an upgrade to Georgia’s offense.

So seven new receivers for Jacob Eason to throw the ball to this preseason and beyond. If only half of those guys pan out, Georgia’s receiving corps will be much better than they were a year ago. But because the unit was so sloppy in 2016, you should watch and listen out for the seven new receivers. At least one of them is bound to be a star.

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