If the Aubrey Solomon saga in recruiting wasn’t wild enough, rumors then surfaced that an argument with Solomon’s mother is what caused Georgia football defensive line coach Tracy Rocker to lose his job.
Related Story: Georgia football position battles: Running Back
But Solomon’s mother says that rumor is false.
According to Jeff Sentell of AJC’s Dawgnation, Solomon’s mother, Sabrina Caldwell, said that she had a good relationship with Rocker. In fact, she said that her son’s relationship with Rocker was a reason why Solomon felt bad for not choosing Georgia.
Rocker spent three years as the defensive line coach at Georgia, and his name has yet to surface anywhere else.
So that brings up another question, if there was not a situation with Solomon’s mother, why is Rocker out?
On the field
In 2014, Jeremy Pruitt took over Georgia’s defense and put an emphasis on the secondary. Georgia gave up very few big plays through the air, but perhaps that’s because their run defense was less than stellar. The Bulldogs ranked 17th in the nation in total defense that year, including 61st in the nation against the run.
The Dawgs returned six starters that season, but had an inexperienced defensive line. They had a very talented linebackers corp that included two of the SEC’s leading tacklers at ILB in seniors Ramik Wilson and Amarlo Herrera and sophomore OLBs in Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd.
In 2015, the Dawgs returned six starters again, and took a huge step forward in year two. Georgia ranked 7th in the nation in total defense, including 1st in pass defense and their 36th ranked run defense was a big improvement.
In 2016, Georgia once again had a young defensive front. John Atkins was the only junior on Georgia’s defensive line, with the rest being freshmen and sophomores. But despite all that, Georgia still ranked 16th in the nation in total defense, including 35th in the nation against the run.
Georgia’s run defense under Tracy Rocker has not been the best in the country, but they’ve been solid. With all the young talent in 2016, they appeared to be ready to take another step in 2017.
Recruiting
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
In 2015, after Rocker’s first full season at UGA, the Bulldogs signed Trenton Thompson and Jonathan Ledbetter, two of the most highly touted defensive linemen in the state, with Thompson being the top-ranked player in the entire country.
In 2016, the defensive tackle class across the country was loaded. There were seven DT’s rated as five-star prospects according to 247sports’ composite rankings. Georgia failed to sign Derrick Brown, a five-star defensive tackle from Lanier HS and the top-ranked player in the Peach State.
While the Bulldogs still managed to sign Julian Rochester, Michail Carter, and Tyler Clark, three four-star defensive tackles in their own right, missing out on a five-star prospect like Brown hurt.
In 2017, elite defensive tackle prospects were at a premium, and one of the two five-star DTs in the country, Solomon, hailed from the state of Georgia. As we all know by now, Georgia missed out on Solomon, but were able to sign four-star prospect Devonte Wyatt.
During Rocker’s tenure at UGA, the run defense has been good, not great, and the recruiting has been very good, with the exception of missing out on two five-star defensive tackles in the past two classes.
Was missing out on those two five-star prospects the reason Kirby Smart decided to cut ties with Rocker? Or is there more to the story?