Georgia football: Three biggest position battles going into 2018 season

The 2018 Georgia football season begins less than a month. The depth chart is beginning to take shape with battles at every position.

The most talked about stories of any fall camp are position battles. Staring the first game of the season is a big deal because it shows that you went head-to-head with someone or a group of players for over a month and you came out on top.

Georgia football has several such battles going in this month that fans will justifiably keep a very close eye on. Here are the three biggest position battles going on in Athens right now to me.

Jake Fromm vs. Justin Fields

Let’s get the big one out-of-the-way early. Fromm vs. Fields is more talked about that Fromm vs. Jacob Eason from a year ago. These two quarterbacks have clear differences that make each a difficult choice to hand a clipboard to.

Fromm is more of a pocket passer who can run when he needs to. He moves well inside the pocket and is never a sitting duck because of it. Fields is much more mobile and teams will fear his running ability. But Jim Cheney says he isn’t a run-first quarterback. Fields has an arm, and he’s lethal with that as well.

Kirby Smart will look to avoid starting another true freshman as much as possible, but he’s not going to bench the better player. The likely outcome of this battle is that Fields earns crucial playing time. Much like D.J. Shockley did in 2002 and 2003. Fromm will start, I believe that. Fields though, is essentially fighting to get as close to 50/50 playing time with Fromm as possible.

Inside linebacker

The early departure of Roquan Smith and the legal troubles of Natrez Patrick have left a void at inside linebacker. Luckily for Georgia fans, that void is going to be filled with some of the most talented linebackers in the SEC.

Despite his past troubles, Patrick is certainly a frontrunner for one of the starting positions. Smart has praised Patrick for his commitment to the program after his last arrest after the SEC Championship Game. He’s started 16 games these past two seasons. That experience alone puts him at the top of the list.

Then there’s Monty Rice, a player who the coaches poured praise on in the spring. So much so, there’s a thought that Rice might just take Smith’s place and produce similar results. Juwan Taylor and Nate McBride are also in that conversation. Both are true sophomores who saw the field a good amount as freshmen.

Everyone fighting for these spots were highly-touted recruits and each have received a lot of live reps in games. The mix of experience and talent make this the most interesting battle on defense.

Marshall Long vs. Jake Camarda

Cameron Nizialek leaving school opens up a huge hole at punter. His one year in Athens was amazing. He bypassed all punters on campus and he proved why every time he punted. One of those punters was Marshall Long, who held the position in 2016.

Long had a decent 2016 season, but it was nothing compared to Nizialek’s 2017. He’s going to need to step up to fight off freshman Jake Camarda. 247 Sports had him as the no. 3 punter in the nation, while his composite score placed him at no. 1. Long has experience which should make him the frontrunner. But if Camarda can live up to those recruiting rankings early, the starting job is his to lose.