Georgia Football: Linebackers to watch this spring

Jaden Hunter, ILB, Sophomore

Hunter is in a very similar spot to McBride. He played a bit on special teams and in some of the blowouts late last season. But he spent much of the season learning and adjusting to SEC football. That’s totally fine, especially considering the talent that was in front of him. But he’s also going to need to show growth this spring to have a shot at a starting job.

While not as fast as McBride, Hunter is still very athletic. An OLB in college, he was pushed inside when he arrived in Athens and did a good job learning from the older players according to Kirby Smart. Hunter is more of a ‘thumper’ and could well end up challenging Monty Rice for Natrez Patrick’s spot in the end.

But Hunter has more speed than Rice. He’s a more versatile player than a lot of people give him credit for and he could turn out to be a fantastic player for UGA. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up playing sparingly again this season while being more involved in special teams. That would potentially set him up for a big push in 2019.