Georgia receivers ready to 'go out and prove it' in 2025

ATHENS, Ga. — There was a point, as late as July, when the Georgia receiver room looked as if it would be a major strength in 2024. Fast forward to a few games into the season and everything just kind of fell apart. Now, just a few days before the start of the 2025 season, that room has been rebuilt and Kirby Smart seems excited to see his pass catchers in action.

“It’s hard to compare it from year to year,” Smart said of his receivers on Monday. “Certainly, guys in that room that are contributing in many areas, like when we look across special teams and we rank players on our team just based on special teams. There’s more receivers in the top 85 players than there has been in the past because there’s some good football players in there. But I’m proud of the group, of what they’ve done so far, and I think they wanna go out and prove it, put it on tape.”

The Bulldogs brought back some talented players a season ago. Rara Thomas, who had been plagued by injuries and struggles to pick up the offense, was dismissed from the program prior to the start of preseason camp due to off-field legal issues related to domestic battery. It was his second incident since arriving at Georgia.

Thomas was supposed to man the all-important X-Receiver position and was coming off an excellent G-Day just a few months prior. All wasn’t lost, however. Colbie Young, a transfer from Miami, stepped into that role and had just put up his best game as a Bulldog in a win over Auburn. He found himself in hot water the following week due an issue similar to the one that got Thomas dismissed. Young was eventually cleared by the UGA Equal Opportunities Office and the Athens-Clarke County legal system, but not until after the season.

Those two losses forced Georgia to shift things around at receiver. Dillon Bell moved from the position he had played for his first two seasons, Z-Receiver, to the spot formerly manned by Thomas and Young. Arian Smith, who eventually became the first Georgia wideout to reach 800 yards receiving under Smart, stepped in at Z.

Both Bell and Smith struggled with drops as Georgia led the country in that stat. Bell was dinged up late in the year, and London Humphreys, a promising addition from Vanderbilt, battled mono and a few drop issues of his own. Senior wideout Dominic Lovett, while making some huge catches, never seemed to find his stride either.

The Bulldogs often had trouble moving the chains early in games because of their inability to catch and secure the football. It resulted in one of the worst first-half Power 4 offenses in the country. Combine that with Georgia’s inability to run the football, and the offense, as a whole sputtered throughout the season. It all came to a head in the Sugar Bowl when UGA mustered just 10 points and saw it’s season end.

James Coley, after the first season of his second stint at Georgia, worked hard to flip the room. He signed one of the best receiver classes in recent memory, one that included five-star playmaker Talyn Taylor and four-star talents CJ Wiley and Landon Roldan. He also reached into the transfer portal to land a couple of players with whom he was already familiar.

Georgia inked 6-foot-6 playmaker Noah Thomas, who was coached by Coley at Texas A&M. It also reeled in prized portal recruit Zachariah Branch from USC, a guy Coley recruited while in College Station.

Those additions combined with the return of Bell and Humphreys give Georgia a deep, talented, and diverse group of pass catchers. Young is also back and is making the most of his second chance.

“He’s been a tremendous leader throughout,” Smart said of Young. “He’s practiced with toughness. He understands that position in that room really well. I think Coley and Bobo have done a great job with him of putting him in positions to be successful. He’s one of the leaders in the group, quietly. Just puts in really good day’s work every day, really physical. Can block, I mean, just incredibl, and he’s been a vertical, jump ball, really good player for us in camp. So I want him to keep doing what he’s doing and continue to lead that young group of guys in that room.”