Georgia football spring practice preview: Special teams faces several questions

We’re now officially one day from the start of spring practice for the Georgia Bulldogs, a squad that has a lot to figure out in a short amount of time. As we continue the countdown, we’ll take a look at each position on the Georgia roster and what we expect to see in the weeks ahead.

Today we’re rounding out our position preview series by looking at special teams, where the Bulldogs return a few key contributors from 2022 but still face some important questions entering the spring: 

Georgia has to replace a veteran kicker and solid kickoff specialist in Jack Podlesny, who was the team’s primary placekicker the last three seasons and served that role well. Podlesny left Georgia after a senior season in which he connected on just under 84% of his field goal attempts and delivered 72 touchbacks for the Bulldogs.

The competition to replace Podlesny will likely be a two-man battle, although only one of those players is in Athens at this time. Rising junior Jared Zirkel was Podlesny’s main competition last year for both of the roles Podlesny ultimately held, and Zirkel will have to deal with true freshman Peyton Woodring come fall camp.

Punter is locked down thanks to the play of Brett Thorson, who wowed during his freshman season with the Bulldogs. Thorson wasn’t asked to punt much, but he maximized the 36 attempts he had by averaging exactly 45 yards per punt — none prettier than his 75-yard punt against Tennessee on Nov. 5.

Georgia returns its top punt returner from last season in wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who had a few flubs along the way but on the whole was a real weapon on special teams. The team will have a new primary kick returner now that Kearis Jackson is off to the NFL, but running back Daijun Edwards had the second-most returns last season and could easily pop into that role.

Let’s not overlook Georgia’s long snappers. William Mote is back for his junior season as the long snapper on punts, while all indications are Payne Walker is using his extra year of eligibility to come back for another season as the snapper on placekicks.

It seems highly likely that Zirkel will have to compete against Woodring for the placekicking duties, so we don’t know how that will go and won’t know during the spring. Besides kicker, the biggest questions surrounding Georgia’s special teams concerns punt returner and kick returner, where the team brings back a couple of contributors but has several new options in the form of transfers and freshman signees.

Let’s talk long snapper once again. Walker never said anything publicly about leaving or returning to Georgia, but his social media bio listing himself as a master’s candidate at Georgia in 2024 leads us to believe he is in fact using his extra year of eligibility. 

We’ll be watching how Zirkel handles his kicking duties, particularly come G-Day on April 15. Zirkel would be the obvious replacement for the outgoing Podlesny, but Woodring has a lot of talent and will put up a fight come fall.

Elsewhere, we’ll see if Thorson can grow from an impressive debut season as he looks to continue flipping fields for the Bulldogs each Saturday. We’ll also keep an eye on the various Bulldogs who get looks in the return game as Georgia tries to maximize every part of the game’s third phase.