Georgia football: Why leadership isn’t a concern in 2018
Georgia football lost 12 players to graduation and the NFL draft after 2017. New leaders have to step up for the Dawgs in 2018.
I’ve seen and spoke to some Georgia football fans recently who are concerned about the leadership on this team. Can the team rally around a strong group of upperclassmen, like last year, and produce a championship season?
I get it, upperclassmen leadership is valuable. And the leadership Georgia had last year was phenomenal. Starting with the guys who didn’t have to return; Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Lorenzo Carter, Davin Bellamy and Dominick Sanders.
Other leaders stepped up as well; Roquan Smith had a season good enough to finish in the top-10 in Heisman voting; Javon Wims went from JUCO to the NFL thanks to a great senior year in Athens. I’m leaving some guys out. The point is, we’re going to miss all of those guys dearly.
But don’t sell the new leaders short. There are seniors and juniors on this team who can and will be just as valuable as the leaders from last year. The two obvious ones are Terry Godwin and J.R. Reed, the two players who made the trip to SEC Media Days with head coach Kirby Smart. Both said all the right things. My favorite comment was one Reed made about how the team believes that SEC Championships are meaningless without National Championships.
Godwin and Reed are valuable leaders with two distinct perspectives. Godwin is one of the last Mark Richt players. He’s been with Georgia through the highest of highs last season, to the lowest of lows when Georgia fired Richt in 2015. He’s had a fantastic career in Athens so everyone looks up to him.
Reed however, has not been here for the highs and lows. He’s only been at Georgia for the highs. But he was a major reason for Georgia getting to that high point. He came to Athens as a transfer, jumped to a starting role, and became a playmaker immediately. Because of that, he has high expectations of himself and his teammates this year. SEC Championships clearly aren’t satisfactory to him. He came for the big prize and that attitude is going to rub off on the team.
There are plenty of other players who the 2018 team will look up to besides Godwin and Reed. Lamont Gaillard will take Isaiah Wynn’s job as the leader on the offensive line. The Football Writers Association of America believe he’s one of the best men at the line of scrimmage in the nation. That’s apparent by his spot on the Outland Trophy Watch List.
Jonathan Ledbetter was already a very vocal player on the defensive line last season. And if inside linebacker Natrez Patrick is really on the right track, both will provide a great example to other players that it pays off to listen to the coaches, stay focused on being a Georgia football player and stay out of trouble. Ledbetter and Patrick have missed games in the past because of suspensions. Ledbetter matured a lot to become a leader as a junior last season. I believe Patrick will do the same as a senior this year.
D’Andre Walker and Deandre Baker are defensive players who will lead by example. Walker was second on the team in sacks last year as a backup. He’s one of the quickest and smartest pass rushers in the nation. Baker is a tough, physical cornerback despite his size. He’s not a defensive back to test.
In my mind, there’s no reason to have any concern about the leadership on the 2018 Georgia football team. There are seniors and juniors on this squad who have already been through a lot and played a lot.
They’ve each experienced their college careers differently, so they all have a different perspective to give to the younger players. Most importantly, they know what major success followed by major disappointment feels like. This class might be the hungriest to play between the hedges in a long time.