Peyton Woodring

Woodring is one of the most decorated kickers in the country who somehow still has unfinished business. Three consecutive Lou Groza semifinal nods, an All-SEC nod in 2025, and not one trophy to show for it — that's the itch the message boards keep scratching when his name comes up. He had every reason to leave: he was a legitimate 2026 NFL Draft consideration, and he chose to delay it a year. The receipts say the leg is ready — 17-of-19 on field goals in 2025 (89.5%), a perfect 54-for-54 on extra points, a long of 53, and 8-of-10 from 40-plus yards, which is the range that separates Groza contenders from merely good kickers. Kirby Smart has said the quiet part out loud, calling the veteran leg "tremendous confidence" for a program that lives in one-score games.

But the discourse around Woodring isn't pure adulation, and Dawg fans know exactly which clip the doubters cue up: the missed field goal in the Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss — the doink that ended Georgia's playoff run on a sour note. It's the asterisk on an otherwise sterling resume, and it's the reason "clutch" is the word that hangs over his 2026 in both directions. For three years he's been the best kicker no one calls the best.

Now it's a senior referendum: the most experienced leg in the SEC, back by choice, on a national-title contender that will hand him October and January games decided by three points. The question the boards are asking isn't whether he's good. It's whether 2026 is finally the year the near-miss becomes the trophy.