Georgia football: Experts confident in 2020 Bulldogs despite players leaving

Changes on offense, plus Jamie Newman

Earlier, in the story, there was mention of Georgia not having a starting quarterback yet. But it would be a huge surprise if Newman isn’t the starting quarterback. You just can’t replace game experience. It doesn’t matter if he’s coming from the ACC, that’s still more valuable than coming from high school ball.

Newman had over 2,800 passing yards last season and over 500 rushing yards with 32 total touchdowns. And, he’s entering an offense that intends to let him play his style. Todd Monken is tasked with bringing in a play style that maximizes the talent on the field. Even if the changes he brings to Georgia’s offense, aren’t as radical or as potent as the changes Joe Brady made at LSU, they’ll still be several steps above whatever Georgia’s play style was in 2019.

There’s just no reason to think Georgia will go backwards on offense. Newman might not have Fromm’s leadership or decision-making before the snap, but outside Newman’s few more interceptions, they had virtually the same season as passers. And when pockets broke down, or when no one was open, Fromm had no options but to throw the ball away or take sacks. Newman can and will run in those situations.

Yes, Swift and Herrien are gone, and there’s no proof Zamir White will be a superstar, but, he’s not alone. The running back corps has James Cook, Kenny McIntosh, Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards. There’s too much abundance of talent to assume Georgia’s running game will regress. Not having a 1,000 rusher in 2020 wouldn’t be a sign of failure.

The offensive line took some hits, but a faster, spread system will alleviate the offensive line. And the wide receivers were already gone over in length. Georgia isn’t going anywhere in 2020. The Dawgs will continue to compete for playoff spots. Anything less should be a disappointment in 2020. This year isn’t a rebuilding year.