Georgia starting DL no longer on the roster days before season opener

ATHENS — One of Georgia’s oldest defensive linemen is no longer on the roster, as Georgia defensive lineman Xzavier McLeod is no longer with the team.

McLeod was not listed on the team roster on Georgiadogs.com. According to a report from Dawgs247, McLeod had a social media post last week indicating that he was “done with football” and “retired.”

McLeod spent the previous two seasons at Georgia after transferring in from South Carolina.

He appeared in all 14 games last season for Georgia while making six starts. He had 17 tackles, 6 quarterback pressures and 2 pass breakups.

McLeod was viewed as a key piece on the defensive line, where he was expected to play next to Elijah Griffin on the interior. Defensive lineman Jordan Hall will likely see an increase in snaps with McLeod gone. Hall is coming off a knee injury he suffered last season.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart spoke about his interior defensive line on Monday.

“They’re a very by-committee group,” Smart said. “They bust their butt every day in practice. They compete. They go against a big, physical offensive line. We’ve got a few more twitchy guys with JJ (Hanne) sliding in and playing a little more time inside. We’ve got the size with Nnamdi (Ogboko) in there and Nasir Johnson playing. Both those guys have been good at run-stopping for us. What we need is the twitch, the athleticism that EG [Elijah Griffin] and some of those guys (have) to make us a better pass rush.”

Georgia did sign defensive tackle Valdin Sone in the 2026 recruiting class, with Smart noting last week that the freshman will have a role on this season’s team.