ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia was a popular preseason pick for No. 1 after it finished last season on a seven-game winning streak. But it’s still a young team.

In fact, the 10th-ranked Bulldogs should be even stronger next season, unless quarterback Matthew Stafford and tailback Knowshon Moreno go pro early.

The Bulldogs will start only two seniors on offense (fullback Brannan Southerland and wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi) and two on defense (strong safety C.J. Byrd and tackle Corvey Irvin) against UT.

Next year, Georgia will return three former starters who are sitting out this season with injuries — Marcus Washington, a 250-pound middle linebacker; Trinton Sturdivant, who started at offensive tackle last season as a freshman; and defensive tackle Jeff Owens, who has started 24 games and was one of the top down linemen in the SEC at the end of last season.

Eleven of Georgia’s 22 starters against UT will be freshmen or sophomores.

Backup QBs: If Stafford should go pro after his junior season, Georgia still would have backup Joe Cox, a former high school All-American who led a come-from-behind victory against Colorado two years ago.

Behind Cox is Logan Gray, a redshirt freshman from Missouri who, as a high school senior, was ranked as one of the top-10 quarterbacks in the country by Rivals.com and ESPN.

On-Deck QBs: Georgia already has commitments from two of the country’s top quarterbacks. Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger took part in the Elite 11 quarterbacks camp in Laguna Beach, Calif., and are rated as top-10 quarterbacks by Scout.com.

Both plan to enroll at Georgia in January and go through spring practice in 2009.

Mettenberger, who is 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, lives six miles from the Georgia campus. His mother, Tammy Mettenberger, is an administrative assistant in the Georgia football office.

The Bulldogs had to beat out Florida to get a commitment from Murray, who passed for 51 touchdowns and more than 4,000 yards and ran for 932 yards last season as a junior at Plant High School in Tampa, Fla.

All-SEC LB: Georgia sophomore linebacker Rennie Curran is having an All-SEC-caliber season.

Curran has 43 tackles, more than twice as many as Georgia’s second-leading tackler. He also leads the Bulldogs with three sacks and six tackles for loss.

Freshman Kicker: Blair Walsh has been a hit in his first season as Georgia’s placekicker. The former high school All-American has made six of his first eight field-goal attempts.

His misses have been from 52 and 54 yards. He made a 52-yarder in the season opener.

Name, Rank And: Stacy Searels, Georgia’s first-year offensive line coach, doesn’t talk to the media and prefers that his linemen don’t as well. But he occasionally designates one player as a line spokesman.

Offensive guard Clint Boling filled the role this week. No matter what he was asked, Boling answered, “I’m excited to be playing Tennessee and look forward to the challenge.”

At least, he did it with a smile.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.