Kirby Smart is heading into his 10th season in Athens with the same steely glare that has defined a dynasty. But this fall camp feels different. Not worse, not better, just younger. Thirteen Bulldogs were drafted in April, leaving the SEC champions with fresh legs, untested egos, and as the HC puts it, “energy, enthusiasm, non-complacency.” In other words, Georgia’s locker room is buzzing. But buzz alone doesn’t win titles. And Saturday’s scrimmage gave fans a couple of things to be concerned about. 

In a new episode on UGA Football on Dawg Post on August 10, Dean Legge didn’t mince words about Saturday’s scrimmage. “The defense won the day in Athens,” he said, a phrase that can mean ten different things in August. Maybe Georgia’s front seven suffocated the run game. Maybe the offense was running experimental sets. Or maybe, as it often happens early, the defense is just ahead of schedule. But his bigger point is around two uncontrollable truths about the roster. “Number one, they are young. Number two, will they stay healthy,” he questioned. And there’s also the weather factor.

Dean Legge also mentioned that “it’s not hot at all” in Athens. It’s rainy. With no August heatwave to toughen them up, the usual camp conditioning grind is missing. “It might not affect them at the end of the day because they don’t really play a big early afternoon game,” he added. “But they do go to Tennessee in week three. Will it be that they played in the heat enough against Marshall and in the second game or not? I don’t know. I think that’s something to pay attention.” But as far as his players are concerned, Kirby Smart isn’t shying away from the inexperience talk. “We are young… but we are hungry,” he told the media ahead of fall camp. “The lack of experience sometimes can show, but we’re going to try to get through that in camp.” 

Only seven returning starters remain from last year’s 11-3 squad that finished No. 6 in the AP poll. Four are on offense, including TEs Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie, RT Earnest Greene III, and wideout Dillon Bell. That’s not exactly a built-in safety net for Gunner Stockton, who’s penciled in to start after Carson Beck’s transfer to Miami. Stockton has the arm, the mobility, and the SEC Championship comeback cameo on his resume. But he’s still in a “competition” with Ryan Puglisi, at least publicly. Kirby Smart loves the competition. And Stockton leading the first-team offense in G-Day didn’t exactly scream open battle.

On defense, only three starters return, DL Christen Miller, LB C.J. Allen, and CB Daylen Everette. That’s a thin veteran core for a program that lost trench leaders like Bear Alexander and Nazir Stackhouse. Yes, the talent is ridiculous but there’s a difference between being ready to play and being ready to dominate Alabama and Texas in the same season. Which brings us to Monday and the highly anticipated AP preseason rankings.

Where does Kirby Smart stand ahead of the AP rankings?

It’s the unofficial national holiday for college football diehards, the release of the AP preseason poll. Since 1936, this poll has been the sport’s first stamp of judgment. A list that separates who matters before anyone’s even played a down. And this year, as usual, the question isn’t whether Georgia will make the list. It’s how high Kirby Smart’s new-look roster can climb without the benefit of last season’s QB, veteran offensive line, and star-studded defensive front.

CBS Sports’ “Tomorrow’s Top 25 Today” crew has Georgia projected right in that elite-but-not-overwhelming tier. At No. 4. The reasoning is simple. One year removed from being the unanimous preseason No. 1, the Bulldogs still have the pedigree, but voters aren’t lining up with first-place votes this time. “This isn’t a team that is likely to get a ton of first-place attention,” it wrote. With so many fresh starters, there’s a sense that Georgia’s floor is still sky-high, but its ceiling is a “prove-it” storyline for 2025. 

On3’s preseason lens is a bit more direct. Georgia’s still a powerhouse, but 2025 is a transition year under center. With Carson Beck gone to Miami, Gunner Stockton takes over for a roster that’s younger in key spots but still loaded thanks to years of 5-star recruiting. On3’s early ranking lands the Bulldogs at No. 3, still high enough to scare everyone on the schedule.

The Bulldogs’ path will be brutal. Alabama and Texas both make the trip to Athens, while Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Florida loom as landmines. There’s no cushion for growing pains when your SEC slate reads like a CFP bracket. The AP voters know that too, which is why Georgia may not snag first-place votes this time. But the Dawgs don’t need to open at No. 1 to finish there. What they need is a team that finds its identity before the leaves change. If Kirby Smart’s “young and hungry” mantra actually takes hold, and the young core grows up fast, voters may regret not putting Georgia on top from the jump.