Departing UGA players call their shots on who will break out in 2026
ATHENS — For those participating in drills at Georgia’s pro day, Wednesday was the last time they would compete while representing the Bulldogs.
But if you took a quick scan around the Payne Indoor Facility, you’d see plenty of familiar faces that came back. Defensive end Travon Walker was there. So, too, were offensive linemen Tate Ratledge and Amarius Mims. Even Brock Bowers made time to chop it up with some old teammates.
There was an obvious connection from the past to the present Georgia players.
A popular question for the NFL draft hopefuls was who will replace them this fall, and based on the answers given, there is a lot of confidence.
A number of players shared their thoughts on who has next at their respective positions. Below are some of the answers shared by the departing Bulldogs.
Cash Jones on the Georgia running back room …
“I feel like all the guys, Nate (Frazier), Chauncey (Bowens), Dwight (Phillips Jr.), Bo (Walker). I haven’t gotten to see the new guys that have came in yet. Any of those guys, I’ve watched them get developed from the day they’ve stepped foot (in) here. Watching them, it’s cool. I was helping them because I was helping them a little bit like, ‘Whenever you’re blocking this guy you want to have this leverage or if he’s guarding you like this, do this move.’ Just little stuff like that, I’ve been able to teach them what older guys before me have taught me. I think anybody out there can go out there and do what I did. Just put their head down and keep working. Nothing comes easy around here so just keep working and have fun.”
Noah Thomas on Talyn Taylor …
“He reminds me of Garrett Wilson. You know how he gets out of breaks, runs his routes, how he attacks the ball. When he first came, it was like he wasn’t a freshman. He obviously has some things to work on. He knows what he needs to work on. Knowing that, knowing his personal stuff, he’s going to be a great player for sure.”
Dillon Bell on Landon Roldan …
“He brings a lot of speed. He’s a guy that can beat you over the top. You can’t teach speed and I feel like he can run by anybody. He’s a very fast guy. He brings a lot of physicality in the run game as well. He learned from a lot of us his freshman year. I think he’s a good overall player that can help the Dawgs at the end of the day.”
Zachariah Branch on Sacovie White-Helton …
“He (is) a dawg man. He (is) a dawg. His mentality is pretty different as well. He works hard in the weight room. He works hard learning the system. When I first came, he was learning the slot as well. He was already in the system and played my position, so he did a good job of catching me up to speed as well. Sometimes in certain situations, some people may not try to help or whatever the case may be because we’re competing against each other ultimately. But he didn’t have any of that. He’s very unselfish. He really cares about the team and the benefits of everybody. Once he steps into that role, I got no question that he’s going to handle his business. Because you guys even saw glimpses during the season where he stepped out in big, crucial moments. Ole Miss, Tennessee, he comes in for a couple plays and makes a play. I was expecting that for him and I’m not expecting anything less for his future.”
Colbie Young on CJ Wiley …
“Yeah he’s explosive. He’s a 50/50 guy. When he takes that next leap, he’s going to be a dynamic receiver. He can run inside, outside, just a versatile guy. And that’s as well for everyone. I got to see them practice yesterday, they’re going to be special.”
Monroe Freeling on the Georgia offensive line …
“I’ve been hearing a lot of good stuff about Zykie Helton. One of our freshmen, a lot of really good stuff about him. I think Jah (Jackson), this will be the year he puts it together. And I think Earnest (Greene) coming off of a little bit of injuries, he’s gonna have a lot of development, especially with our new O line coach and what we’re changing around here.”
Micah Morris on Juan Gaston and Dontrell Glover …
“Expect more and more confidence in them. They have a full year under the playbook. These guys were 18, 17 years old, going out there, playing SEC ball and starting. That’s something I was never fortunate enough to do. They did their thing. You can’t doubt them in anything they do. They went out there and did their job to the best of their abilities. That’s all we can ask for at Georgia. They put the work in, they didn’t complain, put their nose down and worked and took advantage of the opportunities. Now you have a full offseason workout, spring ball, camp. Another one of those, more confidence in the playbook. They’re going to go out there and excel. Just take it up a notch.”
Christen Miller on the Georgia defensive line room …
“Man, that D-line room is special. That D-line room is special. What Coach Scott doing with that D-line room, a lot of folks sleep on him. It’s a lot of names in that room. Jordan Hall coming back from an injury, I feel like he gonna prove it. He got something that he wanna prove. And the way he just bounced back from the injury, it inspired me. I seen him in a walker one year. I seen him hurt his leg, Jacksonville. And I’m so connected to him, to that way, it kinda messed me up mentally. But just seeing him bounce back, just seeing him wheel through, just inspired me. So Jordan Hall, he one of those names you gotta watch out for. Elijah Griffin, we call him manchild. We call him broly, he just, he different, he different. Xzavier McLeod, he bringing that swag with him, too. And we got some young pups too that’s coming. So just, I’m excited for these guys, and I want these guys to win.”
Daylen Everette on Ellis Robinson and Demello Jones …
“I would say Ellis Robinson and Demello Jones as well. Last year when it was all three of us, they were splitting the reps. Even Mello, he was taking reps inside in the slot at star. Having those two guys on the outside, I think they can be one of the best duos in the country. I’m looking forward to seeing them step up.”
JaCorey Thomas on the Georgia safeties …
“KJ Bolden, Zion Branch, these new kids. Those are my homeboys and I hope they do really good next season. They’re going to be the leaders of the defense. KJ was the leader last year, Zion came up in the last game against Ole Miss when I got kicked out, he came in and stepped up. So hopefully they come in this season and run everything like how it should be.”
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
