Georgia Football: Linebackers to watch this spring

Nate McBride, ILB, Sophomore

If you’re looking for speed from a linebacker, look no further than Nate McBride. Despite weighing over 220lbs, McBride was a sprint champion during his time in high school. The guy has physical tools that you simply cannot teach.

He did, however, suffer a knee injury and missed his entire Junior year of high school. That set him back a bit when it comes to playing the linebacker position. In his senior year, he looked physically back to his best, but he was still not quite comfortable yet playing the position.

In his freshman season in Athens, McBride made a big impact on special teams. With his athleticism, he was often flying down the field and making big-time hits. He was one of the reasons that UGA’s coverage unit was so much better this season.

But from a linebacking standpoint, McBride didn’t see the field much. I’m hoping that will change in 2018. With now Roquan Smith, I’d love to see McBride take a step up in the Spring and earn some of those reps at ILB.

It’s important for McBride to do that this Spring because things are only going to get harder in the summer. Channing Tindall and Quay Walker are crazy talented guys who arrive then. They’re going to push for time immediately and so if McBride is going to win a job, he needs to make that move now.