The Georgia Bulldogs never lived up to the hype of last year’s number one preseason billing by most publications. Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford didn’t dominate as expected and the offensive line suffered some major injuries. This year they will have a different look without their two franchise names and probably won’t challenge Florida for the SEC East crown.

On Offense: Joe Cox will take over for Matthew Stafford at quarterback. Cox is a fifth-year senior, so despite a lack of experience he should know the system well. Cox doesn’t have the tools that Stafford did by any means, but he has a chance to be a pretty good game manager in a John Parker Wilson or Matt Flynn mold.

The offensive line struggled last year as starter after starter went down, but now they return the most experienced line in the conference. Between the guys on the line they have 99 starts, a pretty incredible number. The entire line made Phil Steele’s preseason All-SEC team (2nd through 4th team) although it doesn’t include any real stars. Junior tackles Clint Boling and Trinton Sturdivant are probably the two best linemen now, but true sophomore center Ben Jones has the biggest upside.

The Knowshon Moreno era is over at UGA and sophomore Caleb King will step in to fill the feature back spot. King was highly touted coming out of high school, but hasn’t had a chance to shine behind Moreno. Behind the experienced offensive line, King will have a chance to breakout and become one of the better backs in the conference. Sophomore Richard Samuel is a talented backup who will see some carries as well.

The Georgia receivers are led by one of the best in the nation in sophomore A.J. Green. Green is the protypical NFL wideout at 6’5 207 pounds. He also has speed and great hands to go with his size. Green was the freshman of the year in the SEC and named first team all-conference. Seniors Michael Moore and Vernon Spellman provide depth, Moore had six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown in the Capital One Bowl. Redshirt freshman Tavarres King had a great spring and should also see significant time.

Offensive Star: WR A.J. Green (not even close). Green will be a top ten pick in two years time and will look to prove that he is the best receiver in the country. The only guys in the conversation with him are Alabama’s Julio Jones and Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant.

On Defense: The defensive line is anchored by senior DT Geno Atkins who led the team with an impressive 32 QB hurries. He has a great burst for an interior lineman and also produced 7.5 tackles for loss. Senior Jeff Owens will return at the other DT spot after missing all of last year with a knee-injury. The defensive ends were pretty weak last year producing only 9.5 sacks total. Senior Roderick Battle and sophomore Justin Houston will be the starters and will need to step up in order for the line to be a force.

At linebacker, Georgia returns all three starters from last year’s squad. Junior outside linebacker Rennie Curran is one of the best in the SEC and led the team by far with 115 tackles including 10 for loss. He has an unbelievable motor which makes up for his lack of size (5’11 222 pounds). The other outside linebacker is junior Daryl Gamble who returned two picks for touchdowns last season. The middle linebacker is junior Akeem Dent who had a career high 10 tackles against Alabama last season.

The secondary is led by junior safety Reshad Jones who was the second leading tackler last year with 76. He also had a team high five interceptions. The other safety is senior Bryan Evans who moved from corner last season. Go to cornerback Asher Allen left early for the NFL and will have to replaced. Senior Prince Miller will return at the other spot and should be solid. Candidates to replace Allen include sophomore Brandon Boykin, freshman Sanders Commings and junior Chad Gloer.

Defensive star: LB Rennie Curran. Curran was a beast last season and should be even better in his junior year. Geno Atkins might be as valuable, but Curran will get the headlines with Asher Allen gone.

Predictions: Georgia plays a tough first game going to a play a loaded Oklahoma State team in Stillwater. They also play a very good Georgia Tech team and Arizona State. This might be the hardest non conference schedule in the league and could hinder their chances of having a great record. I honestly can’t see them going better than 8-4 with the schedule they play.

Quotable: “The coaches don’t play, we on the field playing. So if we can push it in the offseason, push it on the field, I will let the coaches call plays and get it done on the field.”- Redshirt freshman running back Carlton Thomas after the spring game.

Ben Pettito is a columnist for GatorTailgating.com