Georgia football has a team full of elite playmakers that it recruits out of high school. A handful of guys on this 2022 squad are long overdue for a standout season. Some develop into NFL-caliber talent, while others enjoy the ride as long as possible.
Injuries sometimes play a big part in this, or another player comes through and outshines them. For some that have the talent, sometimes adversity smacks them in the face. Sometimes those players are some of the best to make the league, and other times, they don’t.
Head coach Kirby Smart is all about competing, and sometimes it produces guys no one thought would be that impactful as a freshman — Brock Bowers, to name one off of the 2021 squad.
These three Georgia football players are long overdue for a big season, and 2022 could be it.
Some have to wait their turn to get playing time because there is so much talent. There are only so many that can play on the field at once. Georgia has a roster full of guys who could play and likely start anywhere in the country, but they chose to be a Dawg.
With the Dawgs having 15 in the NFL Draft and a handful more transfers, some spots have opened up for players who have been waiting patiently for their time. They put in the work, and now it’s time to pave their own way into the league.
These three guys have shown sparks of greatness and moments that have made us all drop our jaws, but injuries have been an issue. If these three could stay healthy, the 2022 season could be where we finally see them blossom into the players we all know they can be.
The three players listed in this article aren’t the only ones, but three of the offensive players who we all desperately want to see shine in 2022.
Georgia football wide receiver Dominick Blaylock
Dominick Blaylock is the first Georgia football player overdue for some success, a talented wideout that nursed injuries all season long in 2021. When he did get healthy, Ladd McConkey and others had the job handled, so Blaylock did some special teams stuff.
He is such a strong wideout and someone starting quarterback Stetson Bennett can trust, so having him stay healthy and get some significant reps this spring would be huge.
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In 2021, Blaylock recorded two catches for 11 yards in the four games he was able to play in and get reps. He didn’t play in 2020 due to an injury, but in 2019 Blaylock recorded 18 catches for 310 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 17.22 yards a catch.
It’s evident that the injuries have held him back some, but with almost two years of rehab under his belt, maybe 2022 will be the year he bursts onto the scene. As a receiver that can handle both the long ball and short quick passes, Blaylock is long overdue for some fun and success.
He was someone that excited everyone, and it just hasn’t quite been what we all thought it could have been, but his time isn’t over yet. If he can have a big spring, his redshirt junior year could be an epic one.
Georgia football tight end Darnell Washington
Darnell Washington is another guy who came into the Georgia football program highly recruited and ready to impress. However, his first couple of seasons with the Dawgs have not been what we thought it would be.
Washington towers over defensive backs, does a great job blocking at the line, and is a team player, but at the same time, Georgia doesn’t get him the ball.
It seems like he has a one catch per game limit, and for the most part, that is what he got. His first career touchdown came in the SEC Championship Game. This guy is too big to play without any grit. He needs to remind people of his size and show he is a mismatch.
Last season, Washington recorded 10 catches for 154 yards and one touchdown. He appeared in 11 games. His first season at Georgia, Washington recorded seven catches for 166 yards.
Those numbers need to jump significantly and could this year with the right game plan.
With Brock Bowers rehabbing a shoulder injury, Washington could step into the starting role and prove himself. He has fought with some injuries, which is why Bowers took over in the first place, but now that Washington is healthy, he needs to kick it into overdrive.
If the spring doesn’t quite go as he wants, Washington could be a guy we all see transfer to another program, but hopefully, that doesn’t happen. This coaching staff avoids that by finding a way to incorporate him into the playbook.
A mismatch is a common and repetitive word here because, at 6-7 and 260-pounds, Washington overpowers everyone he goes up against, but now he has to be as aggressive as his size suggests he is.
Georgia football running back Kendall Milton
The last name that lands on this list is junior running back Kendall Milton, who has battled injuries throughout his Georgia career. However, 2022 could finally be the one that he proves how good he truly is.
This young man has bursts of greatness every time he steps onto the field and runs so hard. He is a bulldozer yet is so smooth, and his ability to run the football is an art form. However, Milton hasn’t gotten to show that consistently.
Part of it was playing behind James Cook and Zamir White, but it was the unfortunate injuries, including the one that happened this year to his knee, that caused him to miss a good chunk of the season.
Milton is a monster, and it’s time for the Dawgs to unleash him. He appeared in eight games, recording 56 rushes for 264 yards and one touchdown. Milton averages 4.7 yards a touch, and those numbers should excite the Dawg nation. He barely got any time on the field and averaged almost five yards a touch.
It’s game over when he gets the ball, and Georgia needs that to replace Cook and White. He has waited for his turn in Athens to be the next great RBU member. Now he has to stay healthy and beat out the rest of the pack.
Milton and Kenny McIntosh will likely share the load, but for the first time in his career, he will be getting a good chunk of the carries, giving him even more opportunities to show how talented he is, and those setbacks only made him better.
These three players for Georgia are overdue for big seasons, and they could be the ones who finally make their grand entrance. The Dawgs need them to after losing what they did in 2021, so this spring will be fun to watch who steps up and who gets left in the dust.