
Inside Linebacker looks set, for now:
Another unit that looks to have decided its starters, for now, is at inside linebacker. Natrez Patrick is expected to reclaim his spot from last season and right now, Juwan Taylor is expected to start against Austin Peay in the ‘Roquan Smith role’. Taylor and Tae Crowder are both really fast and so both of them will likely see plenty of snaps on the inside.
While those three are expected to play a lot early, the young guns are coming. Monty Rice has continued to impress and will likely be a part of the early rotation. However, the two that could really shake things up is Channing Tindall and Quay Walker. The two freshmen have apparently started to really make an impact and will be a part of the rotation.
I can’t imagine we’ll see both on the field at the same time due to their inexperience. However as the season goes on, both of those guys are talented enough to become full-time starters. For now, however, it will be the seniors who go into the season with those jobs.
Secondary looking better than expected:
There was a lot of fear this year about UGA’s secondary. The way that its young guys are playing in camp seems to have helped turn that opinion around. Mark Webb continues to improve and hold down the CB spot opposite Deandre Baker. Tyson Campbell has come in and looks like a 5-star ready to make an immediate impact. Richard LeCounte sounds like he’s ready to become a full-time starter at safety. William Poole and DeAngelo Gibbs are sharing the STAR cornerback position right now and doing a really good job of it.
Another positive surprise has been the play of Eric Stokes, one of the lowest-ranked players in the 2017 class. He’s the fastest player at UGA, but he was incredibly raw when he arrived. But he’s really impressed this offseason and could well end up stepping and filling in for Tyreke McGee while he recovers from injury.
Right now, there is plenty of depth here and while it’s young, it looks ready to go. They’ll be tested by the likes of South Carolina and Missouri early on, but the Dawgs look like they have some answers right now in the secondary. That’s much more than we were expecting back in June.