Championship football teams don’t rely solely on returning talent and experienced starters. Often, the impact of a true freshman can provide the extra spark needed to make a postseason run.
Georgia’s 2021 season provides a great example. The Bulldogs broke a four-decade national championship drought thanks, in part, to the efforts of future three-time All-American tight end Brock Bowers. His 56 receptions led the nearest Georgia receiver by 21 catches (Ladd McConkey). Bowers also set several UGA records as a true freshman that year.
Safety Malaki Starks left a similar mark on Georgia’s 2022 squad that finished 15-0 and secured a consecutive national title. The former five-star recruit finished third on the team in total tackles (68) and led the team in pass breakups (7).
In 2023, it was inside linebacker C.J. Allen, who stepped up big when starter Jamon Dumas-Johnson went down with a season-ending injury. Like Bowers and Starks, Allen earned Freshman All-American honors and finished fifth on the team in total stops with 41.
So which 2024 signee could make a similar impact to those aforementioned?
Georgia’s No. 1 recruiting class provides a number of talented options, but my pick comes at a position of need for Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs. UGA faces the challenge of replacing star cornerback Kamari Lassiter, who is now a Houston Texan. Lassiter was the definition of a lockdown cornerback at Georgia, allowing just two touchdowns in his three-year career.
Five-star early enrollee Ellis Robinson IV, the highest-rated recruit at his position in the Smart-era, brings an elite level of talent to Athens. While we don’t typically see a true freshman cornerback play a consequential number of snaps in Smart’s defense, Robinson is that good.
Robinson (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) was considered the No. 1 cornerback and the No. 2 player in the country, per 247Sports. He maintains a blend of size, speed, physicality and ball skills that can compete for a starting spot in the fall. Daylen Everette returns as a starter, while young up-and-comers Julian Humphrey and Daniel Harris make up the top of the depth chart.
The IMG Academy product joined the team ahead of Orange Bowl practices and participated in the spring period, totaling three tackles during the G-Day scrimmage game.
Robinson’s athleticism and skill set, paired with joining the team early, points towards a large role, eventually, in Georgia’s defense moving forward. The only question is when exactly he will be trusted enough by Smart and company.