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Anonymous SEC Coach Predicts Decline For College Football Powerhouse In 2025

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By J.C. Shelton | Last updated May 23, 2025 6:14 PM ET

Head coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs face uncertainty after some notable roster attrition, and one anonymous SEC coach predicts a decline for the perennial power.

Coaching expertise, recruiting prowess and winning culture – Smart and his staff have built a juggernaut in Athens. But, after back-to-back national championships from 2021-22, things haven't looked as easy for the Bulldogs.

Georgia's 3-point loss to Alabama in the 2023 SEC Championship Game spoiled a a second-consecutive perfect season and led to a snub from the College Football Playoff.

The Bulldogs entered 2024 with, once again, one of the best rosters in the country. However, offensive inconsistencies ran rampant and led to two regular season losses after not losing a single regular-season game since 2020.

Even still, Georgia largely overcame those issues and won the SEC Championship with a backup quarterback in Gunner Stockton after losing starter Carson Beck to injury.

Things seemed to reach a boiling point against Notre Dame in playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl, where the injury-plagued Bulldogs' offense scored just one touchdown in a 23-10 loss.

Georgia enters the 2025 season with concerns at quarterback, as Stockton, with just one start to his name, is the expected starter. And the Bulldogs lost 13 players to the NFL Draft with multiple key transfer departures.

Athlon Sports polled an anonymous SEC coach about Georgia's potential this season, and he expects the talent level, especially on the lines of scrimmage, to be less of a strength than in years past.

“I don’t think this is the same level of talent we’ve seen in the last three or four years," the coach said. "I think you might see a decline, at least at first, on both lines of scrimmage."

Smart has admitted in the past that depth is not what it used to be in light of the transfer portal era and lofty NIL opportunities elsewhere.

“You’re thinner now,” Smart said in a recent appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “The drop-off is greater between you lose one starter and it’s like, whoa. Because most of the guys that were backups were gone in the portal.”

Inexperience seems to the theme for Georgia entering the season, but the elite recruiting trend does paint a bright picture for future SEC and playoff contention.

Smart and Co. signed the nation's No. 2 class in the 2025 cycle (247Sports) after hauling in the top class the previous year. Georgia hasn't signed a class outside of the top five over the last nine years.

Additionally, moves were made to address the wide receiver position after leading the FBS in drops last season. USC transfer Zachariah Branch and Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas will be relied upon heavily as Stockton progresses.

“The biggest question mark will be the offense under Stockton," the coach said. "They didn’t chase any portal guys, so let’s see if the kid can become elite.”

Georgia will open the season at home against Marshall on Aug. 30.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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