Georgia could be without its best pass-rusher for Week 2

Kirby Smart and Glenn Schumann’s defense held Clemson’s offense completely in check in Georgia’s 34-3 Week 1 over the Tigers. The Dawgs held Clemson to 188 total yards and just 46 yards on the ground, and they did it without plenty of key pieces on the defensive line. Now, for the Week 2 matchup with Tennessee Tech, Smart could get a chance to evaluate more of his D-line depth with Mykel Williams questionable to play. 

Williams generated two pressures on Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik before he was removed from the game for a lower-body injury. On Monday, an MRI revealed that Williams suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain Kirby Smart told reporters that, “It’s stable,” and that “he’s week-to-week.” 

While Williams is questionable for this week’s non-conference matchup, the injury is not of longer-term concern for Georgia or its head coach. If Williams cannot go, the second-team All-SEC defensive lineman will join Jordan Hall, who is recovering from a stress fracture in his tibia, on the sidelines. 

In Week 1, Georgia was also without South Carolina transfer Xzavier McLeod who has dealt with an oblique injury since fall camp. Warren Brinson dealt with an Achilles injury during camp and started the game against Clemson, but like Williams, he was removed. Smart told reporters that Brinson’s injury is, “some type of contusion.”

Missing Hall and McLeod, and losing Williams and Brinson, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins led the Georgia defensive line in snaps playing 45. Nazir Stackhouse played 33, Christen Miller played 29, and Damon Wilson Jr. played 21 snaps, mostly at edge. 

Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, Georgia’s 6-foot-4 275-pound true freshman saw 13 snaps in his collegiate debut and generated one pressure. Jonah-Ajonye could be the biggest beneficiary of Williams's brief absence, gaining crucial experience against Tennessee Tech. Then, in Week 3, Georgia travels to Lexington to face former Georgia quarterback Brock Vandagriff.

Georgia's defense will be fine if Williams and Brinson miss the next two contests, and it could be in Kirby Smart's best interest to leave both on the bench with a Week 4 bye ahead of a trip to Tuscaloosa.