Georgia Football: 5 potential captain candidates this spring

1. Jonathan Ledbetter

I’m 99% sure that by the time the 2018 season ends, we’re going to have talked a lot about Jonathan Ledbetter. If there is one guy that we saw step up as the season went on and become more and more of a leader, it was the guy Kirby calls ‘Led’.

If you ever watched the ‘Kirby Smart All Access’ videos after each game, you’ll notice that it is almost always Ledbetter who breaks down the team after the game. It was also pretty conspicuous to me, how he was the player who first hoisted the SEC Championship trophy when it was awarded.

Ledbetter had overcome some serious struggles after arriving in Athens when he was just 17. He battled a real issue with alcohol and one of Kirby Smarts first real tests as a head coach was what to do with him. Smart gave him one final chance and put him in a sobriety program. Ledbetter embraced the opportunity and has absolutely made the most of it.

Leadership takes lots of different forms, but it’s hard not to be inspired by a guy like Ledbetter. He’s a tremendous player, who I think is going to be a pretty high draft pick when he leaves. But it’s his real-life experience of nearly losing it all and pulling himself back that really separates him.

Next: Check out Tramel Walthour

This is a guy who went through all of that before he turned 20 years old. He’s already been a mentor and advisor for a lot of the younger players because he can speak from those experiences. There is a reason that Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker put so much faith in him in 2017. I expect them to that even more next season.