Georgia Football: 3 fixes Bulldogs must make for 2020 season
3. A new passing offense
The loss of wide receiver Riley Ridley after the 2018 season was a much bigger impact than the Bulldogs thought for 2019. Georgia was left with a depth chart of untested and inexperienced wide receivers for Jake Fromm.
Although Fromm was not given many big looks from his receivers this past season, he didn’t help the passing game develop more. The Bulldogs finished the season ranked 72nd in the nation in passing yards per game (227).
With Fromm leaving early for the 2020 NFL Draft and Justin Fields succeeding at Ohio State, the Bulldogs needed an experienced quarterback under center. They believe they found that quarterback with an incoming transfer in senior Jamie Newman from Wake Forest. This past season at Wake Forest, Newman threw for 2,868 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions on 220 completions (out of 361 attempts) in 12 games.
The Bulldogs return three of their top four receivers from this past season. Wide receiver George Pickens accounted for 727 yards and eight touchdowns on 49 receptions as a true freshman. He will be one of the most anticipated wide receivers in the SEC for the 2020 season.
Todd Monken takes over as the offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs after serving the same position with the Cleveland Browns. He left after one season with the Browns looking for more consistency from the overall program. He will able to develop a more efficient offense under head coach Kirby Smart.
Adding Newman and Monken to a young but talented Bulldogs’ offense will be beneficial to an offense that is hungry for a more explosive passing scheme.