If you read between the lines, Kirby Smart is worried. Not in a panic-button way, but in the way a perfectionist coach looks at a roster that suddenly feels a little too green for comfort. “We are young but we are hungry,” he admitted heading into his 10th season. But young doesn’t mean toothless. In fact, the youth in Athens might just be Georgia’s best kept weapon.

A year ago, Georgia looked seasoned, cruising to an 11-3 record and another SEC crown. But gone are the veterans who made Kirby Smart’s defenses suffocating. Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson, the backbone of back-to-back championship runs, are now in the NFL. At most schools, that would sound the alarm. At Georgia, it just means somebody new is about to rise. So who’s next in line? 

According to Dawg Post’s Ryan Kerley and Matt DeBary, the Bulldogs’ future is tied to a sophomore duo that could redefine Georgia’s 2025 season. “I’m gonna start with KJ Bolden,” Ryan Kerley said in an episode on UGA Football on Dawg Post on August 23. “This is a guy that’s heading into year two as a true sophomore and a lot of people think has all-American potential. He’s fast. I think he can tackle well for his size. He has an opportunity to be one of the best defensive backs in the country this year.” And he’s not wrong. The sophomore safety is being asked to replace not just talent, but experience. When Kirby Smart calls you “an older player” after one season, that means you’re already the grown-up in the room. But along with him, there is a running back on this duo.

While tilting his hat to KJ Bolden, Matt DeBary has a running back in mind. “I’m gonna take Nate Frazier,” he said. Nate Frazier came to Athens late last summer, still raw, still learning. Yet he still found the end zone eight times. The sophomore tailback racked up 671 yards as a freshman without even scratching his full potential. “He’s the lead dog,” the insider said. “I think he’s going to get his carries. I think he’s going to get an opportunity to make a lot of plays. He’s a really talented player.” Now, he’s bulked up, polished, and openly warning the SEC. “‘All goal line Aaron I gotta come harder I gots too,” Nate Frazier said after a fan predicted a 1,000-yard campaign. Georgia has produced a long line of NFL backs, and he looks like the next branch on that family tree.

When it comes to KJ Bolden. It looks like he isn’t backing down. He earned Freshman All-SEC honors last fall and now enters 2025 as a Preseason First-Team All-SEC selection. 60 tackles, a pick, a sack, and a forced fumble. The numbers pop, but what’s scarier is his ceiling. As position coach Travaris Robinson put it, “It’s really not fair on the kid, but there’s something that he has really took by the horn.” Georgia expects him to be their next All-American. And he just might be as his co-host said, “Yeah, I think he has the potential to be that next All-American at safety that we’ve seen.” 

With KJ Bolden holding down the defense and Nate Frazier carrying the rock, Georgia’s sophomore duo is leading the charge. And that brings us to the QB who suddenly finds himself in the spotlight.

Can Gunner Stockton live up to the verdict?

Because it’s championship level we’re talking about. When former Georgia QB Aaron Murray did a full film study on Gunner Stockton, he came away surprisingly bullish. The QB isn’t flashy, but he swears he’s gritty, athletic, and, most importantly, a leader. “He’s gritty. He’s athletic. He’s a great leader. I think he’s got more than adequate arm strength,” he said. “I did see enough good from him last year throwing the football and running the football to where I think he is good enough to win a championship.”

We saw it in real time. When Carson Beck went down in the SEC title game, Gunner Stockton marched Georgia 75 yards on his first drive. In the Sugar Bowl, he tossed for 234 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame. Not bad for a guy people once pegged as a backup placeholder. Kirby Smart sent him to SEC Media Days for a reason. “Gunner is a winner. He’s going to be a big part of our program this year in leadership, and doing that with the offensive players,” he said. 

So yes, Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are young. But if KJ Bolden, Nate Frazier, and Gunner Stockton are the “kids” running the show, maybe the concern is more about how quickly the rest of the SEC realizes Georgia never really went anywhere.