Georgia Football: 3 storylines to watch for during Week 1 against Oregon

Defending national champion Georgia Football will begin their 2022 season on Saturday afternoon with a Top 25 showdown with Oregon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. A game in which the Bulldogs should be favored over the Ducks, what are some of the biggest storylines to watch for when it comes to Georgia in week one?

3 Georgia Football storylines to watch for during Week 1 against Oregon

Who starts at inside linebacker? 

With both of Georgia’s starters at inside linebacker from last season now in the NFL, the Bulldogs will have two new names headlining the position in 2022. The biggest question left to answer however is who will those two names be?

Georgia’s week one matchup with Oregon will likely tell the answer to that question, with one starter likely already known going into Saturday in Jamon Dumas-Johnson. Whoever starts alongside the sophomore is likely the bigger storyline however as Smael Mondon, Trezmen Marshall, and more could all potentially see time against the Ducks.

How does Georgia use Arik Gilbert?

Georgia Football’s tight end room will once again return the duo of Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington this season. A duo that is one of the best in college football, we know exactly what we will get from both Bowers and Washington, meaning that the more intriguing storyline to watch for on Saturday comes from the third member of that tight end group in Arik Gilbert.

After not seeing time with the Bulldogs a year ago, the former five-star recruit has been one of the biggest talking points of the Georgia Football offseason, in part due to an impressive spring game performance. At 6-foot-5, Gilbert is a player who is capable of lining up anywhere on the field to present matchup problems for defenses, and it will be interesting to see how the redshirt sophomore is used on Saturday.

Which names step up on defense?

We already mentioned previously that Georgia lost a significant amount of production at inside linebacker, but the same can be said for the defense overall. Not only have names such as Dean and Tindall moved on from that national title winning defense, but as have others such as Jordan Davis, Travon Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Lewis Cine, Quay Walker, and Derion Kendrick.

Because of this, Georgia will have numerous new names take center stage on Saturday afternoon such as Dumas-Johnson, alongside known players on defense such as Kelee Ringo, Nolan Smith, and Jalen Carter. However, it could be key for the Bulldogs defense overall for other names to emerge such as Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Mykel Williams, and more, with Saturday potentially a sign of which names will step up into larger roles this season.