Georgia Football: Final defensive grades for 2019 season

Georgia football had the No. 3 defense in the nation last year. How did each unit grade out?

Kirby Smart has done a heck of a job putting together his Georgia football defense. The 2019 season was the first season in which Smart was using just the ingredients he picked up from the store himself. These were his guys with the defensive coordinator that he handpicked. Together they formed one of the best defenses in the nation.

The 2019 Georgia defense was Smart’s best since coming to Athens. It is his only top-five defense since becoming the head coach.

Every great defense needs to be able to stop the run. Football starts on the line of scrimmage and whoever controls that controls the game. Georgia excelled at holding the line of scrimmage, evidenced by their No. 1 ranked rushing defense, according to CFBstats.com.

When the Bulldogs’ opponents took to the air the defense wasn’t quite as effective, finishing with the No. 31 ranked pass defense in the nation. Of course, this ranking is also tied to their lack of constant pressure. The defense as a whole improved their pass rush from a year ago going from 24 total sacks in 2018 to 31 total sacks in 2019.

They also brought up their pressures this year, going from 50 quarterback hurries in 2018 to 137 quarterback hurries in 2019. However, as the saying goes, the only place a quarterback can’t throw from is on his back. Georgia has to convert those hurries into sacks.

ALSO READ: Georgia Final 2019 Offensive Grades

Overall it was a very good year for Georgia’s defense, but there is room for more improvement. Here is how each individual position group graded out.