Sedrick Van Pran's Return Continued a Valuable Trend at UGA

Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran's announcement to return for another season continued a very common trend at the University of Georgia.

Roster movement announcements have been running hot ever since Georgia won their second consecutive national title. Players have entered the portal, declared for the draft and some have elected to return for an extra season. The most recent news came from the team's center Sedrick Van Pran who announced his return for the 2023 season. 

This comes as huge news for the Bulldogs as Van Pran has been the team's starter at center for the past two seasons, and an exceptional one at that. His return is even more valuable considering both starting tackles Broderick Jones and Warren McClendon are now off to the NFL, so holding on to Van Pran maintains some continuity upfront for Georgia. 

While Van Pran's announcement may have come as a bit of a shock, especially since many saw him as one of the top center prospects for the upcoming draft, this has become a common trend at Georgia. Valuable contributors, who many expect to forgo their final year of college and enter the draft, ultimately deciding to return for one more season. 

This trend goes all the way back to the legendary running back duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel choosing to stick around for one more season in 2017 and helped lead the Bulldogs to its first national title appearance in quite some time. Other notable returns as of late have been Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith and Devonte Wyatt. In fact, players who elected to return for the 2021 season all used the hashtag "Unfinished business" hinting at their reason for return, and then went on to win a national title. 

So over the past seven years, it has become a trend for Georgia to retain multiple valuable contributors for an extra season. Aside from just Van Pran, running back Kendall Milton, defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse and wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint all have already announced they will be coming back.  

A lot of Georgia's sustained success has come through the coaching staff's efforts on the recruiting trail, but there has been a lot of value in the Bulldogs being able to retain key starters as those players typically end up being crucial pieces to the program's success the following year. 

Think back to Michel and Chubb's return. They literally and figuratively carried Georgia's offense that next season. In 2021, Quay Walker, Davis and Wyatt stuck around and were star players on an all-time defense, and then all three became first-round picks. In 2022, Nolan Smith, and Christopher Smith were two notable returns for the Bulldogs and served as valuable veteran leaders on a defense that lost a lot of players to the NFL. 

Now as the Bulldogs begin to prepare for the 2023 season, more players, yet again, will be getting ready to run it back for another year. Perhaps those returns are the key pieces to the Bulldogs making a run at three straight national titles. 

Other Georgia News:

• Way Too Early Look at Georgia's 2023 Receiving Corps
• Adonai Mitchell Enters the NCAA Transfer Portal
• UAB Takes Key Staffer Away From Kirby Smart and Georgia

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