Georgia football opens their season against Tennessee State in just a few days, but they will do so without defensive lineman Xzavier McLeod.
McLeod was a veteran defensive lineman for the Bulldogs, but reports surfaced Monday night indicating that he is no longer on Georgia's roster and will not be on the team this season.
BREAKING: Georgia DL Xzavier McLeod is no longer with the Bulldogs.🫣 pic.twitter.com/ZVIbhnWsw9
— 🚫 LEE Ring (@HBTFD1) August 31, 2026
Xzavier McLeod is no longer on Georgia's roster ahead of 2026 season opener
McLeod reportedly posted on social media last week saying that he was retiring from football. That post was deleted so that is probably why these reports didn't surface until Monday night.
McLeod however is not listed on Georgia's official roster online anymore, so that confirms that he is no longer with the team.
It's unclear what led McLeod to retire from football. He however is leaving a hole that Georgia has to replace, and only having a few days before their first game to fill that hole is unfortunate timing.
Georgia's defense could strggle to recover from Xzavier McLeod's departure
McLeod was one of the veteran players on Georgia's defense this year. He began his career at South Carolina before transferring to Georgia ahead of the 2024 season where he then played the last two seasons of his career.
McLeod was never a player who racked up a lot of stats, but he still played his role extremely well. His job was to clog up run lanes in the middle of the defensive line, and he did that well enough to start a few games towards the end of last season.
Throughout his career at Georgia he recorded 30 tackles. That may not seem like a lot over the course of two years, but he knew what his role was and he executed it when he took the field.
Georgia now will have to find a way to adjust to life without McLeod. He wasn't a superstar player for Georgia, so they will be able to call the next man up to fill in for him just fine. McLeod's departure gives Georgia one less depth piece though, so if injuries ever stack up on the defensive line throughout the season then his departure will be felt at a greater magnitude.
Only time will tell how Georgia does without McLeod. The Bulldogs have the talent to recover from this loss, but it's hard to have a lot of confidence in their defensive front after they finished dead last in sacks in 2025. All it takes is a few big games from the big guys up front for that confidence to come back though, but Georgia will have to do it without McLeod.
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