Georgia football: This under-the-radar Dawg has been excellent

Georgia football has a team full of talented players, but not all of them get equal love. After losing Devonte Wyatt and Jordan Davis on the defensive line, the Dawgs needed more than Jalen Carter to step up, and Nazir Stackhouse is just one of those players who has grown into his role.

After his performance against Kentucky, Stackhouse earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for the first time in his career. He has filled in for Carter and played a lot this season, getting better each week.

His efforts have helped the Dawgs maintain that elite rush defense and see hardly any drop-off from the generational one in 2021. Stackhouse is one of many Dawgs that have earned SEC honors this year. Christopher Smith has won Defensive Player of the Week twice, Brock Bowers has won Offensive Player of the Week twice, Branson Robinson earned Freshman of the Week after Auburn, and Jack Podlesney has won three weekly honors, including this one with Stackhouse.

Stetson Bennett, Jalen Carter and Malaki Starks have also been honored by the SEC this year. The Bulldogs are getting a lot of love from the SEC, and rightfully so. Georgia has been almost unstoppable and is on track to win a conference title and possibly a second-straight national championship.

Georgia football defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse is proving his worth one game at a time.

However, this article is about Stackhouse and how he has grown so much this year. Against Kentucky, he recorded five tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, and two quarterback hurries. On those five stops, they total just nine yards, including one that was a 1-yard loss. That tackle for loss came on a crucial 4th-and-1 down on Kentucky’s first drive of the game.

He was the anchor of that defensive line and was a brick wall in the middle of that line. The Dawgs held Kentucky to 89 yards on 25 rushes, averaging 3.6 yards a touch. Georgia held Kentucky scoreless for three quarters, but Stackhouse and that group did a great job in a frigid environment.

On the season, Stackhouse has 25 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 12 quarterback hurries. These numbers are great for a defensive lineman coming into his own and earning more playing time. He has been such an asset on the defensive line, so to see Stackhouse get this recognition is huge for his confidence moving forward.

Georgia football has many talented guys on that defensive line, and Stackhouse continues proving he is one of the many forces in this room. The Dawgs have a Dawg in Stackhouse, and it’s about time he got some recognition.