Georgia football: how the Bulldogs will improve at linebacker

Despite losing linebackers Natrez Patrick, D’Andre Walker and Juwan Taylor, Georgia football will certainly improve at the position in 2019.

Georgia’s linebacker corps in 2018 had a lot of talent, but not a lot of depth. The starting lineup of D’Andre Walker, Walter Grant, Monty Rice and Natrez Patrick was as good as it gets in the SEC. Behind them however, was a mixed bag of inexperienced underclassmen and knowledgeable upperclassmen.

The lack of depth really hurt Georgia football this year, especially when Monty Rice got injured. Rice is not quite on Roquan Smith’s level yet, but he has the same skill set and is developing into a player of Smith’s caliber. But not having him against Alabama, especially when Jalen Hurts entered the game, was tough. The Dawgs shut down Hurts last year because Smith stayed in front of him, preventing Hurts from running forward and looking downfield. Without Rice, Hurts was free to run and gun in the SEC Championship Game. That is why he led the comeback in the fourth quarter. Rice’s absence was also troublesome against Texas.

If Rice can stay at 100-percent in 2019, he might be an All-American. That’s the potential he has. But he will definitely have more help in the linebacker corps as the uber-talented, but inexperienced players improve through the spring. Many of whom received valuable reps throughout 2018. The quantity and quality of the freshmen and sophomore linebackers will produce heated battles at each linebacker position going into the 2019 season.