Report Card: Grading Georgia from the 2022 season

It won’t be long before Georgia will begin its second National Championship defense in as many seasons. After beating TCU 65-7 on Monday night, the Bulldogs are again kings of their domain.

The team will begin winter workouts in a matter of days. It’ll then be full speed ahead. Before that happens, however, DawgsHQ is taking a look back at the season as a whole and we’re grading each position group. Let’s get to the report card.

Georgia quarterbacks

The starter had the best season of any Georgia quarterback ever and the backup got so much better that folks think the Bulldogs can three-peat. Stetson Bennett set a single-season passing yardage record. He needed 15 games to get there, kind of. If Georgia hadn’t let the air out of the ball for the final two weeks of the regular season, Bennett gets there sooner. Carson Beck improved in a huge way and will enter spring as the favorite to win the job. Grade: A+

UGA running backs

An impactful group all year, the running backs got off to a slow start on the ground. That picked up later on in the season with three guys reaching 100 yards rushing at different points. It was very close to being four with Branson Robinson agains Auburn. Kenny McIntosh posted over 1,300 total yards. Daijun Edwards looked like the best back at times. Kendall Milton looked like the best back at times. Robinson had his moments as well. This was a mentally and physically tough group all year. Grade: A+

Georgia receivers and tight ends

Brock Bowers may be the best pass-catching weapon in the country. Ladd McConkey stepped up in a major way with AD Mitchell going down early in the year. Just an itemized list of McConkey went through physically this season would cause many to wince. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint got better as the year went on and that can’t be overlooked. He had at least one big catch in almost every UGA game down the stretch. Dominick Blaylock and Arian Smith helped out in some of the biggest games. Darnell Washington saw his stock soar for most of the year and then again in the National Championship game when he gutted it out. Grade: A+

UGA offensive line

There were bad patches for Stacy Searels group this year. The Georgia front five struggled most of the way against Missouri and had some quarter-long lapses at other points in the season. But this was the best offensive line in the country and it didn’t need an award to get it there. Georgia is the first program to ever play 15 games while giving up single-digit (nine) sacks. The Bulldogs finished fifth nationally in average yards per carry and led the nation in rushing touchdowns. Grade: A

Georgia defensive line

The Bulldogs got after it without Jalen Carter for several games in the first half. He was either limited or out for five or six games. Georgia wasn’t as disruptive but in terms of efficacy, it didn’t miss a beat. Nazir Stackhouse, Zion Logue, and Warren Brinson grew up. Bear Alexander, Mykel Williams, and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins also came on strong. When Carter came back, the Bulldogs had built some depth. It was a dominant group for most of the year and that’s impressive considering how the group lost three guys to the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Grade: A

UGA linebackers

There was a lot of talk about how the defensive line had big shoes to fill but the ones at the second level were just as big. Smael Mondon and Jamon Dumas-Johnson were up to the task. They played at a high level this season and Mondon was one of the best linebackers in the nation by season’s end. Trezmen Marshall and Rian Davis also had great seasons and gave the team some valuable snaps.

The outside linebacker position faced all sorts of adversity but guys kept stepping up. Nolan Smith was a stud until getting hurt against Florida. Robert Beal stepped up his game and so did Chaz Chambliss. Jalon Walker pitched in and so did Marvin Jones. Smith was the only guy who lit up the stat sheet but the “do your job” mantra showed up here. Grade: A

Georgia defensive backs

Excellent season from a group that got challenged week in and week out. Teams knew that running the ball against Georgia was no way to make a living. Those programs poured considerable resources into gashing the secondary. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. Kelee Ringo had some ups and downs but was about as clutch as they come at the cornerback spot. Kamari Lassiter got a lot better as the season went on and by year’s end, Javon Bullard was making more plays from the STAR position than any Bulldog before him. The safety play was also excellent with Chris Smith and Malaki Starks. Starks struggled some near the end of the year but he’s only going to get better. Dan Jackson and David Daniel-Sisavahn deserve a ton of credit as well. They were the sixth defensive backs in the DIME package. Grade: A

UGA Special Teams

Georgia punted the fourth-fewest times per game this year but Brett Thorson did a nice job when called upon. The Bulldogs didn’t always cover those punts well, allowing a touchdown against Mississippi State. Jack Podlesny did a good job with field goals despite missing three in the post season (two long ones against Ohio State and another against LSU). He made some big ones, too, and did a great job with kickoffs. Kickoff coverage was great and after allowing a couple of successful fakes early in the year, the Bulldogs started forcing the issue in the second half. Grade: A

Georgia overall

Yeah, I know all the grades are the same. Georgia just went 15-0 and won a National Championship. It needed every one of those position groups to play at a high level week in and week out. That’s what happened even if we can pick out a handful of plays here and there to illustrate why Group A was lacking. They did their jobs. No one player was perfect and the same can be said for the position groups. But the Bulldogs, they were perfect. Grade: A+