Georgia Football: 3 Early Standouts from Spring Practice

The Georgia Bulldogs have huge expectations this season, and for good reason. For one, they have one of the top quarterbacks in the country in Aaron Murray. They also return nine starters on the defensive side of the ball, which was an extremely underrated unit last season.

But before they can become an SEC champion, and possibly a national champion, they must get other players to step up to the plate. A championship is not won by a couple of players; other members of this talented squad are going to have to take that next step and be willing to make a difference on this team.

As the Bulldogs prepare for their spring game on April 14, here are three players that are really standing out in spring practice.

TE Jay Rome

Redshirt freshman Jay Rome is competing with Arthur Lynch for the starting tight end spot, but it appears that Rome has the slight advantage over him early on in practice. He's made some spectacular catches and looks like he could provide Aaron Murray with another dangerous weapon on this offense.

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“It was pretty acrobatic,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said about his touchdown catch in the recent scrimmage. “He had to kind of turn his body and reach back and snag it. He landed off his feet and the ball didn’t come out.”

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Rome has used basketball to get in shape, but doesn't want to just be a part of catching footballs. He wants to help the team any way he can, and that includes doing the dirty work.

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"I want to be both a receiving tight end and a blocking tight end," Rome said. "With my size and being able to jump and run, a lot of people expect me to be a guy who can stretch the field or go up for high balls, but I really want to pride myself in being one of the best blockers, too."

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Looks like Georgia has found yet another talented player leading into the regular season.

OG Kenarious Gates

The main problem for the Bulldogs is that three starters along the offensive line are no longer on the roster, and the ones left haven't done much in spring practice, except junior Kenarious Gates.

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"Nobody's separated themselves -- with the exception of Ken Gates. Right now if you were going to play a game I know he would be there," offensive line coach Will Friend said. "And (Chris) Burnette's done some good things too."

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Gates is a 6'5", 328-pound beast and will have the tall task of protecting Aaron Murray's blindside at left tackle with Cordy Glenn no longer on the roster. Good thing for Georgia is that it appears he's got it covered.

DE/LB Cornelius Washington

We saw a sneak peak of what Carnelius Washington was capable of last season, as he had five sacks and six tackles for loss his junior year. Now that he's a senior, he's ready to take that next step and likely become one of the top defensive players in the conference.

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"One guy in particular who’s just been showing up every day in my opinion is Cornelius Washington," head coach Mark Richt said. He’s just been very physical at the point [of attack] and pretty dominant against the run and certainly doing a good job rushing the passer as always. Really seeing a lot of good things from him.”

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Washington will likely be the starting outside linebacker for this Bulldogs team again this season and could put up insane numbers with his ability. With the way he's been performing in the spring, Georgia fans can't help but be excited about what Washington is capable of.