ATHENS – It’s hard to stay healthy playing inside linebacker. Just ask anybody who plays it.
Truthfully, they’re hardly ever 100% healthy. Football is a collision sport, and inside linebackers are having most of the collisions. That’s what makes Georgia’s incredible defensive run to the national championship last year so amazing.
Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall and Quay Walker played in all 15 games and played most every snap of all of those. They finished second, third and fourth on the team in tackles, totaling 206 tackles between them with only five tackles separating Dean (72) from the other two (67). They were a unit, in every sense of the word.
And now they’re gone. Two seniors and a junior, each headed to the NFL. All three participated in the NFL combine, and each made a favorable impression. All three are expected to get draft calls.
So now the Bulldogs start over. But they’re not starting from scratch.
While the aforementioned trio consumed most of the snaps, position coach Glenn Schumann stayed busy getting the next wave of ‘backers ready to go. And while it’s hard to be more decorated than Dean, who came and left as the nation’s top-rated linebacker, the guys waiting in the wings arrived with considerable accolades as well.
Some haven’t been here long, while some others have been around for a while. All of them drew national recruiting notice when they signed to be Bulldogs.
Here’s how Georgia’s inside linebacker situation breaks down:
Returning starters: None
All eyes on: Jamon Dumas-Johnson
Outlook: There are a lot of patient players with much to prove at this position. While Georgia has recruited particularly well at linebacker recently, several other highly recommended prospects have been largely forgotten about as they’ve awaited their opportunities. Not only have they been sitting behind arguably the Bulldogs’ best three-man rotation ever at inside linebacker, but injuries have limited their ability to compete. Count Rian Davis and Trezmen Marshall among that group. Leg injuries last season kept them on the sideline more than on the field. Carrying junior-class eligibility into their fourth seasons at UGA, Marshall was limited to four games last season, and Davis played in only one contest. Both were big-deal prospects when they signed, Marshall as the No. 7 inside linebacker in America and Davis as the fourth-best outside linebacker. But Marshall played in all 14 games as a freshman and Davis in seven of 10 in 2020, so they have some experience. What will be determined in spring ball is whether good health and experience can hold off the other underclassmen waiting in the wings. Dumas-Johnson wasn’t always in the right place when he got on the field last season, but the 6-foot-1, 235-pound freshman usually flashed when he was on the field, and he was on it more than any other reserve. He finished with 22 tackles, two sacks and a pick-six interception in 14 games. The same can be said of Smael (pronounced Smile) Mondon. The 6-3, 220-pound former 5-star out of Paulding County played in 11 games, mostly on special teams, and has the added versatility of being able to play inside or outside. Like Mondon, Xavien Sorey signed with Georgia as an outside linebacker, and the No. 1-rated one the country at that. But at 6-3, 214 pounds, his size and speed may lend to him being better utilized playing from the inside out. The Bulldogs inked the No. 3- and No. 7-rated linebackers in the 2022 class in Jalon Walker and C.J. Washington, and they’ll get reps this spring. But even the incomparable Dean got only spot duty as a reserve in his freshman season. It is, after all, the most complicated defensive position on the field to play. But, as last season proved, the Bulldogs know they only need three really good inside guys to make it work. The race to be among them will be intense.
Up next: Outside linebackers
PREVIOUSLY
· Bulldogs aim to carry on RBU tradition
· QB Stetson Bennett is ‘the man’ for Georgia
· Dogs gonna be just fine at wide receiver
· More stars than Brock Bowers at tight end for Dogs
· Georgia’s O-line reloads under new leadership
· Bulldogs have work to do on special teams
· Addressing massive losses on defensive front a top priority
Spring Preview 2022 is a 10-part series that will take a look at each of Georgia’s position groups daily until the Bulldogs open spring practice March 15.
