Georgia Football: Complete 2015 Spring Practice Primer

Over the last two years, Georgia has evolved into one of the most confusing teams in the SEC East.

It's clear that the talent is there for head coach Mark Richt to make a run at the division title and perhaps attain more. But inexplicable losses—last year, one came against Florida—seem to prevent the Bulldogs from breaking through their ceiling.

Will new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer put Georgia over the top, or will the loss of former coordinator Mike Bobo, running back Todd Gurley, wide receivers Michael Bennett and Chris Conley and several key defensive pieces keep Georgia down?

We'll take a look at Georgia in our spring practice primer.

What to Watch on Offense

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The quarterback battle will undoubtedly dominate headlines this spring, and rightfully so.

Since the spring of Aaron Murray's sophomore season, there hasn't been much concern under center, as Murray shined through his senior season and handed the reigns over to Hutson Mason for the 2014 season. With Mason gone, junior Faton Bauta, redshirt sophomore Brice Ramsey and redshirt freshman Jacob Park will contend for the top spot on the depth chart this spring.

Ramsey is the most experienced of the group, but only had 39 pass attempts as a freshman—mostly during mop-up duty after Mason had departed with a big lead. The inexperience across the board has created quite a battle in Athens.

"It's just a lot of work to be done between now and that first game and a lot of competition to happen," Richt said in February, according to Ryan Black of the Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Georgia. "You know, the quarterback position is as wide-open as it's ever been since I've been at Georgia probably. It's going to be an interesting battle I would say."

Player	Comp./Att.	Comp. %	Yds.	TDs	INTs
Brice Ramsey	24-for-39	61.5	333	3	2
Faton Bauta	4-for-5	80.0	48	0	0
Jacob Park	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Bauta has that Tim Tebow bruiser quality to him as a dual-threat quarterback, and Park probably has the most upside of the trio. It will be interesting to see how Schottenheimer—who's known as a pro-style coach—handles this battle.

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What he doesn't have to worry about is running back, where super sophomore Nick Chubb leads a loaded backfield that includes senior Keith Marshall and fellow sophomore Sony Michel.

The backfield will serve as an insurance policy for the eventual winner at quarterback, because with two new receivers outside, Georgia will incorporate a run-first approach out of desire and necessity early in 2015.

Up front, it's more of the same. Georgia returns three starters along the offensive line, and replicating last season's success shouldn't be too difficult for the group as key pieces, like tackles John Theus and Kolton Houston, stay healthy.

What to Watch on Defense

Jeremy Pruitt has been a tremendous upgrade over former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, as Georgia's defense improved from 375.5 yards per game in 2013 to 337.2 yards per game in Pruitt's first year in Athens.

That was the good news. 

The bad news is that several pieces of that defense will be gone in 2015, including linebackers Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson, defensive back Damian Swann and defensive linemen Ray Drew and Mike Thornton. 

The most intriguing defensive position for the Bulldogs this spring is linebacker, where Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd passed on the NFL to come back to school. They will be joined by sophomore Lorenzo Carter, who tallied eight tackles in each of Georgia's final two games. Even Jenkins himself knows that Carter is too explosive to keep on the sideline, according to Radi Nabulsi of UGASports.com.

So what will Pruitt do?

Floyd and Carter are too good to keep off the field and Jenkins can drop down and play some defensive line, as he did last year in order to get the trio on the field at the same time. Pruitt has to find a way to make that a permanent solution this spring, because if Georgia can get them all on the field for every down, it would present matchup nightmares to opposing offensive coordinators.

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Up front, Sterling Bailey and Chris Mayes will likely lock up defensive end and tackle spots, respectively. But that might not be permanent in Mayes' case, with early enrollee Jonathan Ledbetter already on campus and No. 1 overall prospect Trent Thompson's arrival looming this summer. Bailey and Mayes need to prove that they're leaders and difference-makers this spring.

The battle for the other defensive end spot is wide open and features Josh Dawson, James DeLoach and several others.

Swann's departure is big, but there are still plenty of players in Georgia's defensive backfield who have played a ton of football between the hedges. Cornerbacks Devin Bowman, Aaron Davis, Malkom Parrish and Shattle Fenteng will square off for playing time, while safeties Quincy Mauger, Dominick Sanders and Reggie Wilkerson lead the safeties.

Freshman to Keep an Eye On

Defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter.

The 17-year-old early enrollee skipped a grade according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, still enrolled early and won't become a legal adult until the day of Georgia's second game of 2015.

He looks like an adult, though, as Logan Booker of Cox Media Group Athens noted in January.

The Tucker, Georgia, native stands at 6'4", 265 pounds and is a perfect fit to play one of the end spots in Pruitt's 3-4 scheme. What's more, the door is wide open for him to earn playing time.

Ledbetter has the size to play right away, the quickness to be a difference-maker at defensive end and will undoubtedly benefit from spending the entire offseason learning the playbook and working in Georgia's strength and conditioning program.

For a defense to be successful, it needs to have depth across the board, but specifically up front. Ledbetter will start as a rotational defensive lineman, but don't be surprised to see that change as the season goes on.

Coach Richt's Toughest Task

Managing the offensive shakeup.

A wide-open quarterback race combined with a new offensive coordinator isn't exactly an ideal situation. Richt is an offensive-minded head coach who will undoubtedly have plenty of say in what goes on with Schottenheimer's offense. He will have to manage how quickly his new coach—who's accustomed to professional football players—gives his inexperienced quarterbacks the playbook. 

Ramsey showed flashes of brilliance last year—particularly in mop-up duty against Kentucky, when he completed all five of his passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. He will likely be the most comfortable of the trio.

Don't be surprised if Richt—who is more of a CEO now—becomes a little more hands on this spring, as he helps the program navigate some important changes.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.