Georgia football’s projected depth chart after spring practice

ATHENS — We got a good, long look at the 2026 Georgia football team on G-Day, which doubled as the last of 15 practices this spring.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart came away pleased with the overall development of his team, even hinting that a few backups pushed previous starters for their jobs.

“I thought we had a good spring,” Smart said. “I thought our guys got better. We got probably more reps than we’ve ever gotten before in terms of 1s, 2s and 3s on a full body of work.”

The AJC has updated our look at where things stand with Georgia’s depth chart on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs’ first game of the 2026 season comes against Tennessee State on Sept. 5, giving players plenty of time to make further improvements.

Quarterback

1. Gunner Stockton (Sr.)
2. Ryan Puglisi (R-Soph.), Ryan Montgomery (R-Fr.), Hezekiah Millender (R-Fr.)
3. Colter Ginn (R-Soph.), Bryson Beaver (Fr.)

Analysis: Smart noted Georgia didn’t have anyone lock down the backup quarterback job. If we had to guess, Puglisi is still the favorite, but Montgomery and Millender had better showings on G-Day. The fall scrimmages will go a long way in determining who is second to Stockton.

Running back

1. Nate Frazier (Jr.), Chauncey Bowens (R-Soph.)
2. Dante Dowdell (Sr.), Dwight Phillips Jr. (Jr.)
3. Bo Walker (Soph.), Jae Lamar (Fr.)

Analysis: Frazier suffered an ankle injury on the first play of the spring game, and this group was still one of the big winners of G-Day. Bowens looked much more athletic and trimmer than a season ago, while Phillips was one of the breakout stars when considering the totality of spring practice.

Dowdell surprised many with how well he played in the spring game. For a running back room that became increasingly reliant on Frazier last season, the Bulldogs seem to be in a much better spot entering 2026.

Wide receiver

X

1. Isiah Canion (Jr.)
2. CJ Wiley (Soph.), Thomas Blackshear (R-Fr.)
3. Ryan Mosley (Fr.)

Z

1. London Humphreys (Jr.)
2. Talyn Taylor (R-Fr.), Landon Roldan (Soph.)
3. Craig Dandridge (Fr.), Tyler J. Williams (R-Fr.), Jeremy Bell (R-Soph.)

Slot

1. Sacovie White-Helton (R-Soph.)
2. Kaiden Prothro (Fr.)
3. Dallas Dickerson (Fr.)

Analysis: As always with this position, don’t get hung up on who is listed where. The Bulldogs hope to have about six players they trust to lead the wide receiver room.

White-Helton and Humphreys were both held out of G-Day with minor injuries, and Canion and Taylor each had only one reception. Expect them to be prominently involved when the season arrives. When factoring in all 15 practices, it sounds like Roldan emerged.

Perhaps most interesting was the use of Prothro, who led all pass catchers in receiving on G-Day. The Bulldogs seem committed to playing him in the slot to get him on the field quickly.

Tight end

1. Lawson Luckie (Jr.)
2. Elyiss Williams (Soph.), Ethan Barbour (R-Fr), Jaden Reddell (R-Fr.)
3. Colton Heinrich (R-Fr.), Lincoln Keyes (Fr.), Brayden Fogle (Fr.)

Analysis: This is Georgia’s deepest, and perhaps best, position on the team. Luckie is the unquestioned leader and will have a bigger role than what we observed on G-Day.

Reddell had a strong spring and made a significant leap. Pairing him with Williams and Barbour opens the door for Georgia to use 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends) and get creative with three- and four-tight end sets. There will be pressure on offensive coordinator Mike Bobo to get the most out of this position group.

Offensive line

Left tackle

1. Earnest Greene (Sr.)
2. Juan Gaston (Soph.), Ekene Ogboko (Fr.),
3. Dennis Uzochukwu (R-Fr.), Marcus Harrison (R-Fr.)

Left guard

1. Dontrell Glover (Soph.)
2. Daniel Calhoun (R-Soph.)
3. Graham Houston (Fr.), Mason Short (R-Fr.)
4. Tyreek Jemison (Fr.),

Center

1. Drew Bobo (Jr.)
2. Cortez Smith (R-Fr.)
3. Malachi Tolliver (R-Soph.), Waltclaire Flynn (R-Soph.)
4. Zachary Lewis (Fr).

Right guard

1. Zykie Helton (Fr.)
2. Juan Gaston, Michael Uini (R-Soph.)
3. Marcus Harrison (R-Soph.)

Right tackle

1. Juan Gaston
2. Jah Jackson (Jr.)
3. Michael Uini (R-Soph.)

Analysis: Health is going to be important for this group. Greene has a long history of back and shoulder injuries, while Bobo is recovering from foot surgery he had at the end of last season.

But if those two stay on the field, Georgia could once again have an elite offensive line. Glover and Gaston look even better in their second seasons in Athens, with Glover sliding to left guard and Gaston getting first-team reps at right tackle.

If the season were to begin today, Helton would start at right guard, as he did on G-Day. There’s still a long way to go for the freshman, but it’s hard not to be impressed with what he’s already brought to the offensive line.

Georgia likes what it saw this spring from Jackson and Smith, giving the Bulldogs some solid depth on the offensive line. If Ogboko and Calhoun keep improving, Georgia could have nine offensive linemen they feel confident in playing.

Defensive tackle

1. Elijah Griffin (Soph.)
2. Jordan Hall (Jr.), Josh Horton (Jr.)
3. Nasir Johnson (R-Soph.), Carter Luckie (Fr.), Preston Carey (Fr.)

Nose tackle

1. Xzavier McLeod, Jordan Hall (Jr.)
2. Nnamdi Ogboko (R-Fr.), Josh Horton
3. Valdin Sone (Fr.)

Defensive end

1. Gabe Harris (Sr.)
2. Joseph Jonah-Ajonye (R-Soph.), JJ Hanne (Soph.)
3. Justin Greene (R-Soph.)
4. AJ Lonon (Fr.), PJ Dean (Fr.)

Analysis: Much like the wide receiver position on offense, don’t get caught up on who is lined up where. Georgia loves to rotate players on the defensive line to keep guys fresh.

Griffin looks like an outright star at this point. McLeod is a great veteran to have, while Horton, Johnson, Ogboko and Greene all flashed on G-Day. If Jonah-Ajonye can turn a corner and Harris and Hall come back healthy, this is going to be Georgia’s deepest and possibly best defensive line since the 2021 unit that had four future first-round draft picks.

Outside linebacker

1. Quintavius Johnson (Jr.)
2. Chase Linton (R-Fr.), Isaiah Gibson (R-Fr.),
3. Darren Ikinnagbon (Soph.), Khamari Brooks (Fr.)

Analysis: Time will tell how much Georgia ends up missing Amaris Williams after he suffered an ACL injury during spring practice. Georgia hasn’t ruled out a return for the Auburn transfer, but he faces a long road to recovery.

That will put more on the plate of Johnson, as well as Harris. Linton impressed this spring, while Brooks had some nice flashes with two sacks on G-Day.

Inside linebacker

Mac

1. Justin Williams (Jr.)
2. AJ Kruah (R-Fr.)
3. Nick Abrams (Fr.)

Money

1. Raylen Wilson (Sr.), Chris Cole (Jr.)
2. Zayden Walker (Soph.)
3. Elijah Littlejohn (Fr.), Terrence Penick (Fr.)

Analysis: That Georgia was missing Wilson, because of a knee injury, and Walker, shoulder surgery, and still didn’t miss a beat speaks to the depth and talent in this room.

Williams took a noticeable step forward this spring, as he figures to soak up a lot of the snaps vacated by CJ Allen. Kruah impressed as a blitzer on G-Day.

It was a rather quiet spring for Cole, but just about every Georgia fan knows he’s due for a big fall. The question with the talented junior is whether that is as a pass rusher or while dropping into coverage. How Georgia deploys Cole and Walker will be one of the more interesting subplots for this defense.

Cornerback

Right cornerback