Georgia football: Who are the defensive leaders going into spring practices
Georgia football begins spring the first of 15 practices on March 17. The spring season wraps up with the G-Day Game in April 16.
Spring is the time for new leaders to emerge, even on a Georgia football defense which returns many starters from the great 2019 team. Entering spring practices, here are the two players the rest of the defense is looking up to.
Richard LeCounte III
Richard LeCounte III really became a leader in November. Watching him play and how he carried himself on the sidelines, it was obvious, not only was he returning for his senior year, he was coming back to be the face of the Georgia defense.
LeCounte can lead by example and through words. He intercepted four passes last year, forced two fumbles and recovered three. He wore the “savage pads” more than anyone else last year.
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Nothing fires up a football team like a turnover, so in that regard, LeCounte is one of the teams best motivator. But you can’t discount him as a vocal leader. His knowledge of Georgia’s defensive schemes allows him to organize the players in front of him. He uses his experience to tutor younger players. And the passion he displays infects the rest of the team.
Monty Rice
Monty Rice is all about leading by example. He led the team with 89 total tackles and those tackles were sprayed all across the field.
The inside linebacker can make stops in the trenches, near the sidelines, deep in the backfield or into the third level. The rest of the team sees that effort and they want to play every down as hard as him.
Rice has had the blessing of playing under similar leaders his entire career at Georgia. As a freshman, he played behind the great Roquan Smith. In his sophomore year, he played with senior Natrez Patrick and junior Tae Crowder. Then last season, he played alongside Crowder. Rice knows what leadership looks like and this spring, he’ll leave his own stamp in the middle of Georgia’s defense.