Chris Cole has been a fall camp darling for a couple of years now, and he is ready to make a name for himself during the 2026 season.
It’s hard not to see why. He’s a former five-star recruit and a converted high school defensive back who’s now listed at 6-foot-3, 235 lbs. He’s a hybrid linebacker with both coverage chops and pass-rush juice, along with gobs of athleticism to boot.
Cole earned a role in 2025 for Georgia as a sophomore. He appeared in 14 games and logged 59 tackles, seven for loss and a team-high 4.5 sacks. He was only credited with one start though, leaving plenty more room for him to contribute in his junior season.
Chris Cole is flexing his muscles during Georgia's fall camp
Based on what's been said out of fall camp, that expanded role seems like it could be ready to come to fruition. Cole has generated lots of buzz surrounding his performance in camp, for a team that could certainly use that production.
With all of his physical talent and potential uses, head coach Kirby Smart singled Cole out for something that gets the coaching staff even more riled up, his motor.
"There's not a higher-character player on our team than Chris Cole," Smart said. "This guy is the hardest worker, he hits the highest speeds, he plays with the most energy and enthusiasm. There's not a day that we don't show a clip in the team meeting of a guy that's chasing down a ball and running down a ball. He never saves up.”
“He embodies what we want in terms of effort, toughness.”
Cole’s sacks last year came against Alabama, Tennessee, Austin Peay and Charlotte. Only 2.5 were in SEC games, and one of those was a sack on Alabama receiver Germie Bernard on a botched trick play. He feels like there’s more he could have done.
“I feel like last year I left a lot on the table,” Cole said. “A lot of missed sacks, but this year I want to come for it all.”
Cole said working on his pass rushing this offseason was his main point of emphasis, and that the best aspect of his game is his coverage ability. Sounds about right for a former safety.
Chris Cole is on a similar path as former Bulldog Jalon Walker
His career feels like it’s on a similar trajectory to former Georgia star Jalon Walker. Walker was another inside-outside linebacker hybrid who played sparingly as a freshman. He flashed some real upside as a sophomore in a reserve role with two sacks against Alabama (sound familiar?).
Walker was then given a full-time starting role as a junior and won the Butkus Award for the nation’s outstanding linebacker.
The dual responsibility of an off-ball linebacker and edge rusher is a lot to ask mentally of a young player in Georgia’s defense. It makes sense that the first year is spent mostly learning in the background, before a ramp-up in reps as a sophomore and a full-time role as a junior.
That’s what happened with Walker, and it could be the path Cole is on as well. Cole described his freshman-year teammate as his “role model” and “mentor” when asked about Walker’s recent torn ACL in training camp with the Atlanta Falcons.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking and an unfair comparison. But Georgia needs all the pass-rush help it can get, so an expanded role for the player who led the team in sacks last season doesn’t sound all that unreasonable.
The Bulldogs had the fewest sacks of any team in the SEC last season with 20. This year’s secondary looks like it could be one of the nation’s best, and the off-ball linebacking corps led by Raylen Wilson, Justin Williams and, well, Cole, also looks stout.
The missing element is a formidable pass rush. Smart said the defense has “got to generate more havoc”, and pointed to Cole as having “one of the best offseasons” of anyone on the team.
If he’s indeed taken a step as a pass rusher, Cole looks like he’s first in line to provide the havoc Georgia needs, both as a blitzer through the gap and a rusher off the edge.
Swiss army knife, chess piece, weapon, whatever you want to call it, that’s what Cole can be for defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. He might wind up as one of the most important players on one of the nation’s best defenses.
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