Georgia Football’s Defense Has Something Special Cooking

One of Georgia football’s biggest emphasis is improving the defense. We take a look at the defensive line and linebackers to see who could make an impact in 2019.

Just like the main focus for Georgia football’s offense is the run game that has also been a priority for Georgia on the defensive side of things.

Competing in the SEC will not be very easy without some big bodies up front in the trenches on both sides of the ball. In previous seasons, Georgia is notorious for having one of the better run defenses in the country.

Last year, that was not quite the story. In 2018 Georgia finished with the 32nd best run defense which was very out of character for the Dawgs.

Looking at the list of names that the Bulldogs have on the roster at the D-line position for the upcoming year things are already looking very promising.

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Two guys that jump out at me are Julian Rochester and Tyler Clark who are both rising seniors. Clark stands at 6’4 300 lbs, and Rochester 6’5 300 lbs are players that I expect to have great senior seasons.

The next guy on the list is probably the one that I am most excited to watch this upcoming season.

Malik Herring was very impressive in his sophomore season and came into his own by the end of the season.

Herring is a very athletic guy for his size with tremendous length.

After another offseason working with Kirby and the strength and conditioning coaches, Herring should be set to have a big year in 2019.

This list would of course not be complete without talking about Jordan Davis. Fans did not see much of the 6’6 320 lb frame that Davis carries until much later in the year last season. Based on the way he performed in those games though I would expect a significant increase in the amount of playing time for Davis.

Right behind the big boys up front is a stud group of linebackers.  Georgia has playmakers across the board at this position, and I could go on and on about these guys.

Monty Rice, Brenton Cox, Tae Crowder, and Adam Anderson are just a few that stand out to me. Let’s not forget about the new additions of Nolan Smith and Jermain Johnson either who Kirby has already said he is very excited to watch.

The defensive line can only do so much by themselves, so to be successful, the linebackers will have to have to step in and help out as well.

Kirby has recruited some of the top talents at each position. Going into his fourth year at Georgia the upcoming season will be a big test to see how well Coach Smart has done developing these kids.

Bulldog fans watched some very young secondary players ball out such as Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes, so if UGA can finally figure things out at the line of scrimmage, Georgia could very well have a top defense in the Nation.

If I were to put together a starting lineup, my picks would be Malik Herring, Tyler Clark, Julian Rochester, and big Jordan Davis as the starters in 2019. A blend of veteran players and prosperous young talent could become a deadly concoction for opposing offenses.

It has been a while since Georgia has had a stud defensive lineman drafted into the NFL. Could 2019 be the year that Georgia has a defensive lineman taken in the first round? The talent is there; it is now just a matter of if those players can execute their roles and come up big when needed.