Georgia Football: Young DL step up vs Florida

Georgia Football put together a really impressive performance against Florida this past weekend and some of their young defensive linemen were the reason.

There were a lot of reasons that Georgia Football were able to get a big win over Florida this past weekend. Jake Fromm returned to the player we saw dominate last season. J.J. Holloman is coming into his own and gives UGA’s QB’s another legitimate weapon on the outside. D’Andre Swift looks like he’s back to his best and Elijah Holyfield got 20 carries and looked great. However, one of the biggest differences we saw this game was improved play from the defensive line and it was two young players that were leading the way.

I mentioned Jordan Davis after the LSU win as a guy to keep an eye on. The freshman started the game this week as the nose guard and he stepped up and had the best game of his young career. Davis is the biggest body on the Georgia defensive line, coming in at 6ft6 and 320lbs. He’s a natural nose guard and that is something Georgia just does not have from any other player. Before Davis took the role, Julian Rochester was starting at the nose and this week, he moved over to play the three technique and he looked much better. The emergence of Davis has completely changed the defensive line.

Another young player who stepped up and for the first time really shone on the bright stage was Malik Herring. Those of us who watched high school football remember just how much of a dominant force this guy was back in those days. He’s taken some time to get acquainted with the college game, but this weekend, Herring looked ready to step up and become a key fixture of this DL rotation. His natural position is the 5 and right now I’d say that he’s in line to take over from Jonathan Ledbetter next year. The key for UGA this year however, will be whether he can continue to come in and make an impact. After his sack fumble yesterday and two other tackles, Herring looks ready to do just that.

I can’t stress enough how much better these two players will help make this Georgia DL going forward. Rochester looked so much better at the 3 than he did at the nose. If he and Tyler Clark are suddenly splitting that role, then Georgia might well have a disruptive defensive line. David Marshall should be returning soon and he and Herring are both natural pass rushers. In short, this defensive line suddenly looks like it could be a strength going into the final few games of the season rather than the weakness many expected.

I know the Dawgs struggled a bit in the running game this week. When you look at the film however, most of those big yards came because once again the inside linebackers were not doing their jobs and whiffed on far too many tackles. Georgia’s DL looks like it’s back to playing at the same level it was last season. If it’s linebacking group can just get close to that same level, this defense is going to once again be one of the best in the country when we get to December.