5 reasons why the Georgia Bulldogs could go undefeated in 2014

Apr 12, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt coaches on the sideline during the first half of the Georgia Spring Game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

No. 5 – Jeremy Pruitt

Georgia has had some absolutely stellar defensive players over the past decade, many of whom are making a very good living playing on Sundays now. Key word in that sentence…players.

While Mark Richt and crew were near the top of their games in finding the big-name recruits and luring them to Athens, once they got here they were thrown into the swirling vortex of the Willie Martinez “bend-and-then-break” defensive philosophy, or the Todd Grantham “just get out there and hit someone in a different jersey” foolproof scheme.

Individual achievements were great, but units suffered and — at times — were embarrassed.

Jeremy Pruitt, fresh off his national championship with the Seminoles, will be able to do much more with much less talent – which is a good thing, because he’s got less talent on the whole this season.

But his simplified, common sense approach, and his insistence that players are accountable at all times will create a near magical transformation of this Georgia defensive unit. There will be problems, and they’ll be addressed, but on the whole, it’s not unreasonable to expect that this defense will put up better numbers than any of the units that Grantham coached.