Most of the hype this offseason regarding the Georgia linebacking corps has gone to preseason All-American Mike defender C.J. Allen. And rightly so, he has proven to be a difference maker on the Bulldogs defense.
But don't sleep on the man who lines up next to Allen, Raylen Wilson, who balled out in Saturday's 45-7 manhandling of undermanned Marshall Thundering Herd.
Wilson led the Dawgs in tackles in Georgia's win
Raylen Wilson was all over the field on Saturday, and the box score reflects how active he was, registering seven tackles and two big tackles for loss. He is already almost a third of the way to his total of seven tackles for loss from last season, which leads all returning starters.
Wilson wreaked havoc in the Thundering Herd backfield in both blitz packages and in straight-up run defense. He was shedding blockers and getting to ball carriers routinely and showed a much better sense of where the ball was supposed to go and where he was going.
Despite only playing in the first half, Wilson showed speed and energy
The game was well in hand after two quarters, and Wilson played less than half of Marshall's total offensive snaps. Still, he played with so much energy that he was able to rack up team-leading stats even as the 2nd and 3rd stringers got plenty of playing time on Saturday.
If Wilson continues to develop like Coach Glenn Schumann and Kirby Smart believe that he can, the Bulldogs will have arguably the best one-two punch at inside linebacker in the country.
Of course, the competition will only amp up following next week's home game against Austin Peay, but it appears as if Wilson is ready to take that next step and begin to be mentioned alongside Allen as an All-SEC and All-American candidate.