Kirby Smart has spent the better part of nine years turning Georgia into the kind of program that reloads rather than rebuild. But 2025 is about rewiring an offense that now belongs to Gunner Stockton. And with a new quarterback comes the same old question. Who’s the go-to guy when the game is on the line? That’s the storyline dogging the Bulldogs’ WR room heading into the opener against Marshall. 

Kirby Smart insists he loves the leadership and effort from London Humphreys, Zachariah Branch, and Dillon Bell. But one question still looms, and it’s a real concern voiced by Matt DeBary on UGA Football on Dawg Post on August 15. “My big question is who is the alpha? Who’s the number one?” he asked. “Who are they going to when the game is on the line, crunch time, big play down the field, have to have it. Who are they going to? I don’t know if they have that true alpha.” And that right there is the rub. 

In 2023, Georgia had Brock Bowers. When everything was on the line, it was no secret that the football went to the TE. Matt DeBary points out that Branch, Bell, Noah Thomas, and Colbie Young all bring talent, but none have proven they can demand the rock when it matters most. As he added, one Saturday might belong to Branch with eight catches, and the next could shift to a bigger body on the outside. Kirby Smart is unfazed. “You can’t really look at that group and say, ‘there’s just one leader,’ they lead by committee,” he said. “There’s a lot of them in there that work hard and do what they’re asked.” But in a sport where alphas win championships, committee leadership isn’t exactly a comforting phrase.

Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t excitement. Bell, the vet of the group, is back after leading Georgia’s receivers in 2024 with 43 catches for 466 yards and four scores. Humphreys has emerged as a fiery leader in camp after logging 15 catches for 244 yards and two TDs in 13 games last year. And then there’s Zachariah Branch, who brings USC stats with 47 catches, 503 yards. But can he translate speed into reliability? The doubt lingers. Can anyone match the reliability Bowers once brought? 

This isn’t about depth. It’s about hierarchy. Kirby Smart has plenty of weapons. What they lack is a pecking order. Here’s the twist, though. While Gunner Stockton sorts out his favorite toys in the passing game, there’s one undeniable constant that could buy him time to grow into the role.

Gunner Stockton’s 320-pound bodyguard 

The name is Earnest Greene. A 320-pound trench warrior who’s moving from left to right tackle in 2025. He fought through injuries last year, missed three games, and still managed nine starts. Now healthy, he’s locking down the edge to give Gunner Stockton the time he’ll need when those third-and-seven moments arrive. “I just feel like if you’re playing an offensive line, it’s called offensive linemen for a reason,” he said on Thursday. “Some people are only tacklers. Some people are only specific parts of the line and stuff like that. But I just feel like it shows versatility, and you can play both sides of the ball, and you can block somebody. You can block somebody.”

Kirby Smart knows Gunner Stockton can run, and the Bulldogs’ run game will give defenses a hard time. But when push comes to shove, the QB’s survival and success depend on avoiding those “catastrophic mistakes” the HC keeps warning about. And Earnest Greene is the insurance policy, the bodyguard, the answer to every defensive end with bad intentions.

So maybe Georgia’s alpha isn’t wearing gloves or running routes. Maybe he’s in the trenches, keeping the new QB clean and buying just enough time for somebody, anybody to prove they’re the next Brock Bowers. And if that happens, Coach Smart’s Dawgs won’t just have an offense. It’ll have another championship problem for the rest of the SEC.