dawg tracks 2022 Bulldog Spring Storylines
2022 Bulldog schedule Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19 Nov. 26
vs. !Oregon vs. Samford @ *South Carolina vs. Kent State @ Missouri vs. *Auburn vs. *Vanderbilt vs. *^Florida (CBS) vs. *Tennessee @ *Mississippi State @ *Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech
TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA
*SEC games; !Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game - Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Ga.); ^TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Georgia-Oregon Set To Face Off
Georgia and Oregon are set to face off for the first time in 45 years in the 2022 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game will be played Saturday, Sept. 3. This will mark only the second time the two football programs have met. The one previous meeting resulted in a 27-16 home win for the Bulldogs in 1977. Oregon will be making its first-ever appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, and will be the second Pac-12 team to play in the game. The Ducks will be coached by Dan Lanning in his Oregon debut. Lanning coordinated the past three Georgia defenses in a UGA tenure that spanned five seasons. The 2022 Georgia-Oregon matchup will mark the Bulldogs’ fourth appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Georgia fell 35-21 to Boise State in 2011 and defeated North Carolina 33-24 in the 2016 contest during Kirby Smart’s debut as head coach. The Bulldogs were also scheduled to face off against Virginia to open the 2020 season in Atlanta, a contest that was later cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s matchup will mark the SEC’s 18th appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, with the league currently boasting a 15-2 record in the game. The teams will battle for The Old Leather Helmet Trophy, one of college football’s newest rivalry-style icons. Traditionally, winners of The Old Leather Helmet don the helmet on the field after the game, starting with the head coach and then rotating from player to player as the team celebrates its victory.
2021 Bulldog results Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 30 Nov. 6 Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Nov. 27 Dec. 4 Dec. 31 Jan. 10
vs. #3 !Clemson (ABC) W, 10-3 UAB (ESPN2) W, 56-7 *South Carolina (ESPN) W, 40-13 @ *Vanderbilt (SECN) W, 62-0 #8 *Arkansas (ESPN) W, 37-0 @ #18 *Auburn (CBS) W, 34-10 #11 *Kentucky (CBS) W, 30-13 vs. ^*Florida (CBS) W, 34-7 *Missouri (ESPN) W, 43-6 @ *Tennessee (CBS) W, 41-17 Charleston Southern (ESPN+) W, 56-7 @ Georgia Tech (ABC) W, 45-0 vs. #4 $Alabama (CBS) L, 41-24 vs. #2 !Michigan (ESPN) W, 34-11 vs. #1 %Alabama (ESPN) W, 33-18
*SEC games; !Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, N.C.); ^TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Fla.); $SEC Championship Game, Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta); !CFP Semifinal - Capital One Orange Bowl, Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Fla); %CFP National Championship Game (Indianapolis, Ind.) #AP/CFP ranking
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Stetson Bennett Returns As Signal Caller
After helping lead Georgia to the 2021 national championship, senior QB Stetson Bennett returns to the quarterbacks room in 2022. Bennett is 14-3 as a starter, including 11-1 last season. He set the school record for Passing Efficiency at 176.7. Bennett was the Offensive MVP in both the College Football Playoff National Championship win over top-ranked Alabama as well as in the CFP Semifinal Orange Bowl victory over No. 2 Michigan. He directed the Bulldogs to the first undefeated regular season in the SEC (school record 8-0) since 1982.
Getting Defensive
Senior OLB Nolan Smith, redshirt sophomore DB Kelee Ringo and senior S Christopher Smith are the Bulldogs’ three returning starters for last season’s championship season. For the third time in school history, Georgia led the nation in Scoring Defense. The 2021 unit allowed just 10.2 points per game and only 153 total points through 15 games. A number of Georgia defenders will be aiming to play bigger roles in 2022. Returning senior STAR William Poole got the nod in two of the Bulldogs’ three postseason contests and junior S Dan Jackson, junior DL Jalen Carter and senior OLB Robert Beal all started games last year and return. Junior S Tykee Smith and junior ILB Rian Davis also sustained season-ending injuries early in the 2021 campaign and will have an opportunity to help the Bulldogs continue their success on that side of the ball.
New Faces On The Sidelines
The Bulldogs will feature four new on the field coaches. Bryan McClendon, who won an SEC title with Georgia as a receiver in 2005, returns as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. He most recently held the same spot for Oregon from 2020-21. McClendon was a graduate assistant at UGA in 2007-08 and was the running backs coach from 2009-15. Stacy Searels will be Georgia’s new offensive line coach after serving in the same role for the Bulldogs from 2007-10. He has most recently been North Carolina’s OL coach for the last three years. Another pair of coaches will join UGA for the first time in their careers. Fran Brown was named the defensive backs coach after serving as the secondary coach at Rutgers. Chidera Uzo-Diribe is the Bulldogs’ new outside linebackers coach following a stint in the same position at Texas Christian University.
A Look At The Line
Georgia’s offensive line is slated to return three of five starters after Jamaree Salyer and Justin Shaffer had a combined 50 starts between them and have since moved on for their shots in the NFL. The Bulldogs welcome back redshirt sophomore C Sedrick Van Pran and senior RT Warren McClendon, who each started all 15 games. RG Warren Ericson started the final 14 games of the year after redshirt freshman Tate Ratledge was lost for the season following a foot injury in the opener versus Clemson. Both sophomore Amarius Mims and redshirt sophomore Broderick Jones saw extended looks during Georgia’s national championship run and will be called upon to help fill in the vacancies in 2022. Jones started the final four regular season games last year when Salyer went down with an injury.
Specialists Return
Senior PK Jack Podlesny is back in 2022 for his third season as UGA’s top kicker. Podlesny made 22 of 27 field-goal attempts last year and drilled 71 of 72 PATs. The Bulldogs will be without four-year starter Jake Camarda, who averaged 46.7 yards on 47 punts last season. Camarda’s career mark of 45.8 yards set the UGA record, topping the previous mark set by Drew Butler (45.4). The Bulldog snappers return in senior Payne Walker and junior William Mote. Walker handles the snapping duties on field goals and PATs while Mote is called on for punts. Early enrollee Brett Thorson, a native of Australia, will be vying for the open spot at punter.
Georgia Signs One Of Nation’s Top Classes
For the fifth year in a row, the Bulldogs signed one of the country’s top classes. Georgia added 29 prospects during the December and February signing periods, including 18 early enrollees. The 18 early enrollees are the most that Georgia has had in school history, topping the 16 from 2021. This group started school in January and are working out with the team while they take their first classes at Georgia. DL Keithian “Bear” Alexander (Denton, Texas), OL Aliou Bah (Memphis, Tenn.), WR Dillon Bell (Houston, Texas), OL Drew Bobo (Auburn, Ala.), TE Oscar Delp (Cumming, Ga.), DB Daylen Everette (Norfolk, Va.), OL Earnest Greene III (Los Angeles, Calif.), OL Jacob Hood (Nashville, Tenn.), DB Julian Humphrey (Webster, Texas), OLB Marvin Jones (Sunrise, Fla.), ILB EJ Lightsey (Fitzgerald, Ga.), DE C.J. Madden (Ellenwood, Ga.), DL Christen Miller (Ellenwood, Ga.), WR De’Nylon Morrissette (Stone Mountain, Ga.), RB Andrew Paul (Dallas, Texas), RB Branson Robinson (Canton, Miss.), OL Griffin Scroggs (Grayson, Ga.), DB Jaheim Singletary (Jacksonville, Fla.), WR C.J. Smith (Apopka, Fla.), DE Darris Smith (Baxley, Ga.), WR Cole Speer (Calhoun, Ga.), ATH Malaki Starks (Jefferson, Ga.), QB Gunner Stockton (Tiger, Ga.), DB JaCorey Thomas (Orlando, Fla.), P Brett Thorson (Melbourne, Australia), LB Jalon Walker (Salisbury, N.C.), LB C.J. Washington (Cedartown, Ga.), DT Shone Washington (New Orleans, La.) and DE Mykel Williams (Columbus, Ga.) are the newest Bulldogs.
2022 Georgia Football SPRING Media Guide
