Georgia football: Three juniors who will finally shine in 2018
Everyone is excited after Georgia football claimed the no. 1 spot in recruiting after National Signing Day. But don’t forget about the players who have waited for their turn.
The 2018 Georgia football recruiting class is one of the best ever, and the 2017 class was a pretty great class too. But lets not act like the recruits from the 2016 class lack talent. The Bulldogs have a lot of great juniors on the roster who are bound to step up for a great season in 2018. Here are three such players who I think will have a big season.
Elijah Holyfield
Naturally, everyone is gleaming over the great year DeAndre Swift had in 2017, and the arrival of James Cook and Zamir White. But lets not forget that Elijah Holyfield is a former four-star recruit. And Jim Cheney likes to use multiple running backs in a multitude of ways.
We saw a lot of that late last season with two-back formations with one deep in the backfield and one at the wing. The presence of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel meant that the tail backs received the majority of the carries. But now that the two legends are gone, expect to see the carries split through Georgia’s top five backs.
Holyfield will probably benefit the most as far as the juniors go. This past year, we only got to see him in the fourth quarter. He rushed for 227 yards and averaged 45.4 yards per game. Again, that’s just in fourth quarters. Don’t overlook Holyfield. He’s going to shine this season in a younger and less established backfield.
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Michail Carter
Georgia has had one of the deepest defensive line’s in the SEC over the past two years. But this year there are two spots to replace with defensive tackle Trenton Thompson and nose guard John Atkins leaving school.
Someone’s going to have to step up in their place or just to add more depth. Michail Carter, another former four-star recruit could be that guy. Carter hasn’t played much in his two years on campus, but he did appear in 11 games last season.
With spots open, the defensive line will be very competitive this spring and pre-season. A player with Carter’s two years experience in the system should have an advantage over other players and will likely take a valuable spot on the defensive line depth chart this year.
Isaac Nauta and Charlie Woerner
I know this list is meant for three players, but it’s hard to choose between both junior tight ends. Isaac Nauta did have a great freshman year, but he took several steps back in 2017 with just seven receptions and 103 yards. Charlie Woerner’s stats weren’t too different.
Next: Sophomores most likely to step up in 2018
But that’s running routes for true freshmen quarterbacks. And Jake Fromm’s strength was throwing to outside routes. Meaning he mostly targeted wide receivers. Now that Fromm’s going into his sophomore year, he should build a better relationship with his tight ends. That will lead to more targets for Nauta and Woerner, and a tougher time for defenses playing against Georgia.