As John noted, a lot of really good players are headed to the NFL. The Bulldogs appear to be at a different place in that cycle. This year, Alabama will return arguably the nation’s two best players (Young and edge rusher Will Anderson) and a deeper defense that will be more reminiscent of Georgia’s last year. By season’s end, the Tide were good enough to beat a loaded Georgia team bound for the national title. But as that group matured in 2021, Alabama got better. The Tide had a Heisman Trophy winner in Bryce Young, but the defense was younger and wasn’t as deep up front as the Tide usually are. Georgia this year could be similar to Alabama last year. But it means they’ll almost certainly have a chance. That doesn’t mean the Bulldogs will repeat this season. This was always Saban’s fear, that someone would be able to fully tap the recruiting potential in Athens. Piggybacking off that last answer, I think we’ll see that the way Georgia has recruited the past few years has allowed the Bulldogs to reload the way Alabama has under Nick Saban. So what’s the net effect? Bonus question: Will the drop-off on D be significant enough to put pressure on Stetson Bennett and the offense to carry the team? And if so, is he capable? With all the talent lost (five players in first round of the NFL Draft), how much of a drop-off should we expect to see with Georgia’s defense? They have recruited very well but they lost a ton. Texas A&M, meanwhile, should be disappointed if the Aggies aren’t in the national title conversation a few times in the next four or years. (Alabama transfers Jahleel Billingsley and Agiye Hall did see the field at Alabama, but they weren’t projected to be stars for the Crimson Tide this season.)Īt this point, Texas needs to worry about being competitive in its remaining years in the Big 12. Steve Sarkisian’s team will get a great litmus test when Alabama comes to Austin in Week 2, but it’s tough to be optimistic when the Longhorns have only a handful of players who would start at Alabama. I’ve now reached the point with Texas where I must actually see the improvement on the field before I can believe that the Longhorns will exceed expectations. But the Longhorns are behind the Aggies and several of their future SEC rivals on this front. The good news for Texas? Bijan Robinson will ensure that drought doesn’t last long. ![]() There is no faster way to turn off elite recruits than show that you can’t develop players the NFL wants. The Longhorns just had zero players drafted, which will negatively affect recruiting no matter how organized the Longhorns’ NIL collectives are. But keep stacking talent the way the Aggies have, and anything is possible. Texas A&M shares a division with Alabama, so it will be more difficult. Georgia fell short a few times, but as long as the Bulldogs kept recruiting in a similar way, they were going to get over the hump eventually. Despite Texas A&M’s history of not finding its way into the national title picture, building a roster this way gives a program a far better chance at breaking through than anything else. That’s precisely the way Kirby Smart turned Georgia into the monster it is today. ![]() 1 class in 2022 suggests that more top-five classes are on the way. The way the Aggies recruited before this cycle combined with the No. It feels more likely that Texas A&M meets those expectations than Texas exceeds them.
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