Georgia football battling significant defensive line injuries out of fall camp

Heading into the 2024 season, Georgia doesn’t have its usual bounty of future NFL studs along the defensive line. Aside from Mykel Williams, who could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Kirby Smart’s defensive front will rely heavily on veteran stability rather than overwhelming athletic supremacy. 

The lack of star power has led to questions about Georgia’s defense, though not big enough to prevent the Bulldogs from checking in at No. 1 in the preseason coaches and AP polls. Well, fall camp hasn’t done anything to quell those concerns about a perennially dominant unit. Coming out of Georgia’s second intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, the official end of fall camp, four defensive linemen are dealing with injuries. 

Warren Brinson is the most important piece of the defense to enter the season banged up, though his nagging Achilles issue shouldn’t keep him off the field in Week 1 against Clemson. Brinson played the third most defensive line snaps of Georgia returners, only behind Williams and Nazir Stackhouse. 

Jordan Hall, however, won’t be back for the season opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 31 after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his tibia, a procedure he had previously gotten done on his other leg earlier this offseason. The 6-foot-4 320-pound sophomore played 177 snaps as a true freshman in 2023, contributing seven tackles and eight quarterback pressures from the interior defensive line. 

Beyond Brinson and Hall, Xzavier McLeod and Gabe Harris are both battling undisclosed injuries but should be cleared to play against Clemson. 

Those injuries could mean increased early-season snaps for redshirt sophomore Christen Miller and could even present an opportunity for four-star freshman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye to see the field right away. Jonah-Ajonye is listed at 6-foot-4, 275 pounds on the Georgia roster, so the Shenandoah, Texas product could have the frame to handle SEC football in the trenches. 

Without Hall, and potentially with limited production from Brinson, McLeod, and Harris, Georgia’s defensive line depth could be seriously tested early in the season. However, if Smart’s team survives against Clemson and the young players on the defensive front prove themselves, then the Bulldogs will be even better positioned to make a national championship run this year.