Georgia is staring at a major reset in its passing game, and the slot might be where that overhaul becomes most obvious. Six of the Bulldogs’ seven leading receivers from last season are gone to the NFL, and the biggest void sits right in the middle of the formation after Zachariah Branch moved on to the Atlanta Falcon.
Branch’s production set a high bar. He caught a program-record 81 passes last season, a total that was 54 more than the second-highest mark on Georgia’s 2025 roster. Replacing that kind of volume won’t happen cleanly, but the Bulldogs appear ready to hand the job to redshirt sophomore Sacovie White-Helton.
White-Helton has been waiting for this opening. The former three-star recruit from Cartersville played sparingly last season, finishing with eight catches for 70 yards. His most notable moment came in Georgia’s Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss, when he hauled in a 20-yard reception from the slot.
Kirby Smart liked what he saw from him this spring. “Competitor.
He’s tough, hard-nosed. He works, just loves the game,” Smart said.
“He’s a joy to be around. He has a smile on his face every day.
He’s just a great human being.”
Nobody is asking White-Helton to be Branch in exact form. Branch was a rare open-field weapon, the kind of player who can turn a short throw into a sprint.
White-Helton brings a different profile, one built around ball skills, contested catches and a willingness to attack the football. He showed that last spring in Georgia’s spring game.
That mix gives the Bulldogs something useful: a slot receiver who can work underneath, move chains and still threaten downfield. White-Helton believes he can do damage in more than one way.
“I’m very explosive,” White-Helton said this spring. “I can attack the ball as if I was 6′5.
I can make people miss. But me and Zach are two different players, and we play completely different.
And kudos to him, because he did a lot for us this past year. But I just bring a whole different mindset and tempo to the game.”
That matters for Gunner Stockton, who will need to sharpen his downfield passing in 2026 but still benefits from having a dependable quick option. White-Helton could be that security blanket from the slot, while also giving Georgia a little more vertical pop than Branch did.
He’s also wearing No. 0 this year, a fresh look for a player whose role is changing fast.
The other part of White-Helton’s rise is less flashy but just as important: experience. In a young receiver room, he has become one of the older voices, and he’s embraced that responsibility this spring.
“I've been in the system for two and a half years. I'm going on three,” he said.
“And now I can help those younger guys play faster…. Communication is the best thing that you can do.
Not only does it help that person, it helps you too…If I look to [a teammate] and communicate, that's going to help me remind myself, ‘Hey, we're going on two.’ Communication and being there for your brother definitely helps.”
With so much turnover around him, that familiarity could be a real edge. Stockton needs receivers he can trust, and White-Helton has been around long enough to earn that chance.
He knows the alternative, too. There was a point where he could have let the waiting get to him, but he chose a different path.
“I had a chance to either sit and pout about the situation I was in or I could learn from it,” White-Helton said. “And I chose to be a man and learn about, ‘Hey, how can I get better? How can I prove to my coaches that I'm going to be able to play next year or whenever my number’s called?”
That number could be called often this season.
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Kyle Pitts, the former Florida tight end who will now be Branchs teammate, helped underline the point by praising Branchs professional approach and crediting the preparation he got at Georgia. For a school that already pitches itself as a place where talent is polished for Sundays, the message is hard to miss, especially when the comparison to Florida comes attached to a player who knows both sides of the rivalry. [Read more 🡒]
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Simpson still brings obvious long-term appeal, especially after being taken 13th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, but the Rams are not expected to hand out the backup role before the preseason games sort things out. For Bennett, the challenge now is simple: keep holding that edge while the coaching staff decides whether camp momentum is enough to carry into the regular season. [Read more 🡒]