Georgia football linebacker Monty Rice is due for a breakout season, and I believe 2019 will be the year.
There are a few Georgia football players that I think blows up in 2019 and one of those players is Monty Rice.
He is heading into his junior year at Georgia, and it’s time for him to put it all together. We saw a glimpse of it last season, but now it’s time to do it week in and week out and not sporadically.
Earlier this summer, Pro Football Focus posted a tweet on Twitter about him being the surest tackler in the SEC.
Rice played in 10 games in 2018 and recorded 59 total tackles. He was the third leading tackler for the Bulldogs.
Monty Rice was the surest tackler in the SEC last season by only missing two tackles the entire season. pic.twitter.com/sSeQXWYy0t
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 4, 2019
Of those 59 tackles, 25 of those were solo while the other 34 were assists. Rice had 1.5 tackles for loss fo 15 yards and one sack for 13 yards. He also had one pass break up, two quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble.
According to PFF, Rice missed two tackles all season, and yet he didn’t lead the team in tackles. Granted, he fought off an injury he suffered in pre-game against UMass and missed four games. So if he had played every game, would he have led the team in tackles? Perhaps.
For a defense that seemed to have tackling problems, Rice was a bright spot.
2019 is the year where he can come in with a clean slate, try and stay as healthy as possible and rule this defense.
I did a piece on how Nakobe Dean could end up being a general this season for the defense and in my honest opinion, I think Rice is the other general. He’s an upperclassman now, and it’s time for him to own his role.
The defense in 2018 wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t explosive and as exciting as the 2017 defense, and well, to be honest, it’s hard to top that year because it was so epic. However, I think the biggest thing from last year was the lack of a true leader.
Rice plays the position where the Dawgs need a guy to step up and command that field. I did not forget about Tae Crowder and other Inside backers because they’re essential to the equation too, but Rice is the x-factor.
His freshman year, he was in Roquan Smith’s shadows, and last year he got the injury and still managed to be as good as he was. The talents there, he knows the playbook, now it’s time to mix it all together for one badass football player.
What’s going to be interesting is seeing the graphic PFF does on him after this season to see how many missed tackles he had.
If he cannot put it together in 2019, Rice could lose his spot to a younger, hungrier player. While I don’t think that’ll be the case, it still should be in the back of his mind.
I’m excited to see a fully healthy Rice on the field this season and to see him lead this defense. He’s the guy now and it’s his time to lead his troops to another SEC Championship game and back into the College Football Playoff.