Georgia is always my favorite intrasquad because it’s reliably so weird yet actually informative about the team’s prospects. Last year’s First Look, coming off a disastrous 2022, was refreshingly workman-like: Some jitters, some form, but very few falls and a beam rotation that didn’t make you want to hide behind the couch with sympathetic anxiety. The optimistic reading of that performance was that 2023 Georgia was a tougher iteration that was willing to dig its heels in and do what it took to reverse its slide down the rankings, and that’s exactly what we ultimately saw.
This year, Georgia can afford to dream a little bigger. An astounding amount of recruiting hustle went into this year’s top-ranked freshman class, from flipping Lily Smith from Alabama to bringing Ady Wahl to Athens a year early. (Speaking of Smith: She’s a real possibility for SEC Freshman of the Year. She probably won’t vault, but as a legitimate 10 threat on all three of the other events, does it even matter?) This freshman class could very quickly take up half of the Gymdogs’ lineup spots or even more. I’ll be looking for some clarity on which events high-octane, all-purpose talents like Wahl and Holly Snyder will contribute to early. I’ll also expect to be confused…
