Georgia Football: Dealing with the new ‘negative recruiting’

They don’t develop players at your position:

This line has pretty much died off for every position group after last year. Sam Pittman had trouble in 2016 bringing in linemen in a short period time. Since then, he’s loaded up and he’s turned what used to be Georgia’s biggest weakness into it’s greatest strength. With the Dawgs now churning out O-line prospects into the first round, what position groups don’t UGA send to the NFL?

The one exception that seems to be getting used is the defensive line. In this past NFL draft, the Dawgs lost Trenton Thompson and John Atkins, both of whom were important to their rotation. Neither player was drafted and Thompson was cut by the Cleveland Browns before training camp started.

Thompson is the big issue for Georgia here. He was the top-ranked player in the entire country in 2015 and is the only player to ever hold that title and go undrafted. However, there were some serious mitigating factors that led to his fall down draft boards.

Thompson has battled injuries throughout his time in Athens. He’s had a serious shoulder and back injury and he was certainly not at his best in 2017. He came out a year early because he wanted to cash in early but he simply wasn’t healthy enough to land on an NFL team this year. That’s tough for Trent and it’s something I hope changes quickly, but despite what some schools might say, it’s hardly UGA’s fault.

The Dawgs will get a chance to right that narrative in 2018. Tyler Clark and Julian Rochester are both juniors who could break out. If they do, I’m a believer that both of them could be day 2 picks. Demarcus Hayes and Jonathan Ledbetter are seniors on the DL who will also find their way into the NFL with big final seasons.

In short, I hope the rivals pointing out UGA’s ‘inability to develop DT’s’ get their shots in now. After this current season, there won’t be a position group left that Georgia isn’t getting ready for Sundays. And yes, I’m including the kicker.