(Photo by John Kelley)QUARTERBACKS
For just the third time in Mark Richt's 15 seasons as coach, the Bulldogs have spent August trying to determine their starting quarterback. Four years of Aaron Murray and one year of Hutson Mason have given way to a battle among Brice Ramsey, Faton Bauta and Greyson Lambert, who joined the mix this summer after transferring from Virginia. Lambert, a UVA graduate, made nine starts last season for the Cavaliers but lost his grip on the starting job in Charlottesville this spring.
Ramsey entered last December's Belk Bowl after Mason suffered a knee injury, but Richt and new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer have rotated all three in camp. There have been struggles by all three in the portions of practice that have been open to the media, particularly Lambert early on, and Richt has said that there is no timetable on his decision and that it could carry into the Louisiana-Monroe opener.
RUNNING BACKS
This pecking order has been pretty simple throughout this month, with Nick Chubb leading the way followed by Sony Michel, Keith Marshall, A.J. Turman, Brendan Douglas and freshman Tae Crowder. Chubb is a Heisman Trophy candidate after rushing for 1,547 yards last season, including 1,323 in the last eight games when Todd Gurley was either suspended or injured.
Michel rushed for 410 yards and 6.4 yards per carry but missed five games with a fractured shoulder. Marshall rushed for 759 yards and 6.5 a carry as a freshman in 2012, but he tore his ACL five games into the 2013 season and never fully recovered last year. He has claimed this month that he feels better than ever. Turman was the busiest of the backs at the G-Day spring game, rushing 26 times for 126 yards and two touchdowns, while Douglas has 139 career carries in 24 career games, always seeming to inch up the season depth chart when the injuries mount.
RECEIVERS
Michael Bennett and Chris Conley combined for 73 receptions for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, so not only does their productivity need to be replaced but their reliability. Malcolm Mitchell was third in receptions on last year's team, collecting 31 for 248 yards, but the fifth-year senior has yet to play a complete injury-free season. Isaiah McKenzie began the preseason as the other starting receiver, but he injured his hamstring less than a week into workouts and missed some time.
Reggie Davis and Justin Scott-Wesley were expected to combine with Mitchell to give Georgia three proven deep threats, but Scott-Wesley suffered a knee injury midway through August and may not play this season. Chubb catching passes out of the backfield this year could be a big factor, and the most reliable pass-catcher may wind up being sophomore tight end Jeb Blazevich, who had 18 receptions for 269 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Bulldogs averaged 457.8 yards per game last season and 6.8 yards per play, and they gained at least 379 yards in every game. John Theus, Brandon Kublanow, David Andrews, Greg Pyke and Kolton Houston were a huge reason for all that, as they stayed intact for a combined 65 starts. Andrews was a three-year starter and the leader of the unit, but the other four are back for new offensive line coach Rob Sale.
Isaiah Wynn stepped in for Andrews this spring, but in recent practices Kublanow shifted to center and Wynn became the left guard. That lineup has remained this month, with Theus and Pyke expected to bid for all-conference honors. Senior Hunter Long could back up Kublanow at center or either of the guard spots, while Wynn shifting out to tackle could be the first option should either Theus or Houston get hurt.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Although Ray Drew, Mike Thornton and Toby Johnson have moved on from last year's defensive front, there are four returning seniors: end Josh Dawson, tackles Sterling Bailey and James DeLoach and nose Chris Mayes. Bailey and DeLoach were listed as the top two tackles going into camp, with Dawson the top end, while Mayes was listed behind John Atkins. Neither Atkins nor Mayes has started a game for the Bulldogs.
Georgia has signed many elite prospects in Richt's 15 seasons, but Trenton Thompson became the first to be ranked No. 1 nationally by a recruiting service. The 6-foot-4, 307-pounder was placed at the top by 247Sports.com and has spent this month cross-training for position coach Tracy Rocker. Two other freshmen hoping to have a 2015 impact on the defensive front are Michael Barnett and Jonathan Ledbetter, who each enrolled in January.
LINEBACKERS
This should be the deepest and most talented area of the team, with Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins and Lorenzo Carter each having the potential for an All-SEC season. Floyd was a top-20 projection for the 2015 NFL draft according to Mel Kiper before electing to return to Athens, and he has been used this month as an outside linebacker, an inside linebacker and as the "star" in nickel situations. Jenkins and Carter are expected to be used primarily as outside, pass-rushing threats, with Carter spending much of the offseason looking to improve his performance against the run.
As for the inside linebackers, Tim Kimbrough has replaced Amarlo Herrera as the defensive play-caller and has been working alongside either Floyd or Reggie Carter. Jake Ganus, a transfer from UAB, and Ryne Rankin are ready to provide depth inside, as could freshman Natrez Patrick, an early enrollee who had a solid G-Day game. Inside linebackers coach Mike Ekeler made a stirring statement this month when he said his group was further along than at this point last year, when Herrera and Ramik Wilson were entering their senior seasons.
SECONDARY
Second-year defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt believes he has four reliable defensive backs who finished strong last season - safeties Dominick Sanders and Quincy Mauger and cornerbacks Aaron Davis and Malkom Parrish. Sanders is the likely leader of this group after collecting 34 tackles and three interceptions as a freshman last season, with two of his pickoffs coming in the Belk Bowl. The two potential backups for Sanders and Mauger are true freshmen Jonathan Abram and Jarvis Wilson, who each enrolled in January.
The Bulldogs expect to be a little deeper at cornerback with Reggie Wilkerson and Devin Bowman backing up Davis and with Tramel Terry and Shattle Fenteng behind Parrish. Bowman, an eight-game starter last season who had a 63-yard interception return for a touchdown against Vanderbilt, is a fifth-year senior out of Ridgeland High School.