Georgia football spring game: Preview, TV schedule, storylines to watch

College football's defending national champion will take the field one last time this spring as Georgia prepares for its annual G-Day Game at Sanford Stadium.

Head coach Kirby Smart returns Georgia's first title team since 1980 with a mandate to repeat that success and keep the Bulldogs at the top of the SEC and College Football Playoff race.

As ever, that will come with some major challenges. Not least on the defensive side of the ball, which just lost a ton of elite contributors to the NFL. This season will prove exactly how well Kirby has recruited to replace that production.

Here's everything you need to know about this year's spring game at Sanford.

Georgia G-Day spring football game schedule

Date: Saturday, April 16

Time: 1 p.m. Eastern

Where: Sanford Stadium; Athens, Ga.

TV network: ESPN2

Livestream: fuboTV, WatchESPN

Joe Tessitore and Greg McElroy will call the game live at Georgia with Katie George serving as ESPN2's sideline reporter for the event.

Georgia spring football game storylines to watch

1. Re-stocking the front seven

So much of Georgia's national championship run came down to its ability to grind opponents into dust at the line of scrimmage. A lot of that group is gone, including lineman Jordan Davis and star linebacker Nakobe Dean, but there's still plenty to work with here.

Jalen Carter is a name to watch on the line going forward. A season ago, Carter placed second on the team with 33 quarterback pressures, also racking up 8.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. His 13.6 percent pressure rate led all SEC interior linemen when going after the quarterback a year ago. Nolan Smith returns after an excellent first season as starter off the edge, racking up 31 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and forcing four turnovers.

Defensive coordinator Dan Lanning is gone after taking the head coaching job at Oregon, leaving Glenn Schumann and Will Muschamp to take the lead and both will have a shot at making the most out of Georgia's defensive depth this season.

2. Sorting out the receiver rotation

Jermaine Burton was a shade under 500 yards receiving off 26 catches and five touchdowns a year ago, but he transferred to Alabama this offseason. Kearis Jackson announced he'll return to Georgia this season, the Bulldogs retain the likes of Ladd McConkey, Adonai Mitchell, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, and Dominick Blaylock.

That's 10 combined TDs coming back, while leading receiver — tight end Brock Bowers, who had 13 scores last fall — is sitting out this spring, as will Darnell Washington. But that gives Georgia a chance to look at what else it has on the receiving end. Arik Gilbert, a former 5-star transfer from LSU, should be on the field, and the Bulldogs need to get an extended look at him after he sat out 2021, whether at receiver or tight end.

3. Depth at quarterback

The mailman delivered for Georgia in a season to remember, but does Stetson Bennett really have a firm grip on the quarterback position this season? Bennett was a a 65 percent passer with 29 TDs last fall, but there were moments when you felt like Georgia wasn't getting everything it could downfield.

JT Daniels isn't around to put pressure on Bennett anymore — he's at West Virginia now — but the Bulldogs have plenty of very intriguing young options to work with, including Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff, and Gunner Stockton. Beck and Vandagriff, in particular, are two very high-profile recruits waiting to get their shot. This is their best chance to make that impression and force their way up the depth chart.

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