Georgia’s Chris Cole is ready to ‘come for it all’ as an improved pass rusher

ATHENS — Georgia linebacker Chris Cole led the team in sacks last season.

By his own admission, it was not good enough.

“One thing I wanna improve on this year that I’ve improved on this whole offseason, especially the summer, but just my pass rush,” Cole said. “And I feel like last year, I left a lot on the table, a lot of missed sacks.”

Cole finished with 4½ sacks last season, yet only 2½ came against SEC foes. One of those sacks was of Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard on a trick play.

The Bulldogs had just 20 sacks last season. The pass rush problems have been a major talking point for Georgia this offseason.

If Georgia is going to do a better job of taking down opposing quarterbacks, Cole knows it starts with him.

“This year, I wanna come for it all,” Cole said.

If you’re looking for reasons Cole could make that leap, history is on his side. Nakobe Dean, Jalon Walker and Roquan Smith all won the Butkus Award during their third season in Athens.

Cole has always been more natural dropping back into coverage, as he was a safety for much of his high school career. It wasn’t until he got to Georgia that he really began to try and tap into his gifts as an off-ball linebacker and pass rusher.

When recounting one of his favorite high school moments, Cole spoke about how he notched a sack, an interception and scored a touchdown in the same game. It’s not out of the question for him to do that for Georgia this fall.

Especially if what coach Kirby Smart said about Cole ends up being correct.

“I think he’s had one of the best offseasons, so I’m excited to see him go out and compete and play for our team,” Smart said.

Cole did get some one-on-one time with new outside linebackers coach Larry Knight this offseason. Most of his time, though, will be spent at inside linebacker. With CJ Allen moving on to the NFL, Cole seems in line to step in as the starter next to Raylen Wilson.

Justin Williams will play significant snaps as well. But Georgia is going to have a hard time pulling Cole off the field, in part because he can do a little bit of everything.

“There’s not a higher-character player on our team than Chris Cole. This guy is the hardest worker, he hits the highest speeds, he plays with the most energy and enthusiasm,” Smart said. “There’s not a day that we don’t show a clip in the team meeting of a guy that’s chasing down a ball and running down a ball. He never saves up. He’s the consummate ‘I’m gonna lay it all on the line the first 10 plays’ (player). And if I fade out during practice and cramp up and have to get an IV, I do it.

“He doesn’t save up anything.”

This seems like a lot to put on a player who has started just one game. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Cole made the Freshman All-SEC team in 2024, in part because of his ability to shine on third down. He was more known for his coverage talents at that point, with a leaping pass breakup against Texas standing out.

For this season, Cole will be tasked with making sure passes like the one he broke up never leave the opposing quarterback’s hand.

Cole arrived at Georgia as a 5-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. If all goes according to plan, he’ll exit the program this offseason as the team’s next first-round linebacker.