So is Georgia’s defensive line:
It wasn’t just Swift who showed out on the big stage this weekend. Georgia’s defensive line has been one of the most disrespected units in the SEC this season. All analysts have talked about is how the Dawgs have given up too many yards on the ground and that’s the fault of the DL. While it’s true that Georgia has struggled at time to stop the run, the fact is that the DL has been playing better every week. The problem is that they don’t have an all-world talent like Roquan Smith doing the tackling behind them.
Coming into this game, taking on a Kentucky team that ran the ball well, a lot of pundits expected the Wildcats to move the ball with ease. But that never really happened because Georgia’s defense took another step forward, particularly on the DL. Jordan Davis has been a revelation since stepping into the rotation at nose tackle. His play has freed up the likes of Tyler Clark and Julian Rochester to disrupt the offensive line and we saw both of them do just that in this game. Clark, in particular, looked like he was finding the form we saw last winter.
The player who really stood out in this game, however, was Jonathan Ledbetter. I’ve been wondering all season when we were going to see him take that next step and once again, it looks like it’s going to be in the business part of the season. He was terrific this week, accounting for two tackles for loss and a sack. When he’s playing at his best, this line is really difficult to handle. What’s more, their youth (more on that later) gives you the confidence that they are going to continue to get better as the season comes to its conclusion.