UGA football roster: Malik Herring all grown up and ready to lead the defensive line
UGA football lost a lot of defensive linemen to graduation last year, but because of players like Malik Herring, the group isn’t expected to regress.
One of the best things about having such a deep defensive line over the last few years has been getting to watch players grow and mature. Since 2017, none of the young defensive linemen have been thrown into the fire, they’ve been allowed to work and develop behind mature and experienced players.
The player on the UGA football defensive line that illustrates that best is defensive end Malik Herring. The former four-star has spent his career in the shadow of the ever-consistent Tyler Clark, carving out niche’s on the team based on what he was already good at, while he developed the parts of his game that were lacking.
In 2018, Herring was a master run stopper. In a year where Georgia’s run defense was less-than-perfect, Herring’s playing time increased as the season went on. He had a great game against Florida that year after the Gators had some success on the ground in the first quarter, and he built momentum from there.
By 2019, Herring had grown into more than just a run stopper and he started playing on more passing downs. He even started finding ways to rush the quarterback later in the season. Because of his improvements, Herring earned opportunities to start and ended the season with nine starts in 13 appearances.
He’s developed the abilities to be productive on any down and in any defensive set. Herring is still an outstanding run stopper, capable of clogging lanes or busting through to make the tackle himself. But now, he’s able to occupy or overwhelm blockers against the passing game to add pressure and possibly create sacks.
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Herring is now a senior, with that comes even more roles for Herring. Now he’s a leader, a guy the rest of the unit is going to look up to. What better player to look up than Herring? He is a model for player development and for consistency on the field.