Replacing inside linebacker Roquan Smith is going to be a tall task for Georgia this season, but Smith – who was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by Chicago – won’t be the only defender whose departure will have a significant impact on the defense.
Besides, Smith (who had 137 tackles and 6.5 sacks last season), the Bulldogs will also have to find players to succeed John Atkins (who had a career-high 38 tackles last season and was an acknowledged disruptive force) and Trenton Thompson (who in 2017 had 38 tackles and 3.5 sacks).
Senior defensive lineman Julian Rochester is ready to step up and step in, and he’ll do it with a sense of urgency.
“We’ve got a standard here, so we always have to have a sense of urgency,” the 6-foot-5, 300-pound Rochester said Tuesday afternoon after practice, Georgia’s fourth of the summer.
“You’re not playing on your heels or your toes or being worried about the depth chart. You’ve got to be like that.”
As a junior, Rochester appeared in all 15 games last season and had one start and recorded 22 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss). He, along with Jonathan Ledbetter, Tyler Clark and David Marshall will be looked upon to fill the gaps left by Atkins and Thompson.
When asked what he worked on over the summer to improve at his position, Rochester said, “Consistency. If I can’t be consistent, it’s hard to be good on this defense, so I have to claim my consistency up front and in the middle.”
