Two Georgia football players who ought to be switched up on the 2024 depth chart FanSided college football writer Josh Yourish is aware that Georgia has an almost flawless roster, but he has a suspicion that Kirby Smart may rearrange the players at these two crucial defensive positions.
It’s challenging to identify any weaknesses in the Georgia Bulldogs squad. Georgia’s 29-game winning streak came to an end in the SEC Championship game against Alabama, an unprecedented degree of dominance in the modern period. It’s reasonable to argue that the Dawgs were among the top four teams in 2023 and that they’ll be among the top 12 in 2024, guaranteeing a trip to the College Football Playoffs.
Kirby Smart has stated that he would still like to get better at a couple positions throughout the offseason. Perfection is required when a national title is the goal, and Georgia might move a little bit closer to perfection with a few modifications made to the depth chart.
These are the two players that I believe could provide gaps in Georgia’s formidable defense.
The roster turnover that is becoming into the new standard in college football also affected the Bulldogs. They’ve only brought six players to Athens from their 20 outbound transfers this offseason. But Kirby doesn’t use the gateway to build, and he has already locked up the top high school class in the nation once more. Perhaps some of those young players will get opportunities to play right away for one of the top teams in the country.
Nazir Stackhouse
Georgia lost the struggle in the trenches against an offensive line from Alabama that was larger than life and a quarterback that had the build of a linebacker and the feet of a running back in the SEC Championship. Even though the Bulldogs only gave up 114 running yards, the setback illustrated the incredibly narrow margins that separate an unbeaten national champion from an Orange Bowl champion with one loss.
Under Jalen Carter’s leadership, the Georgia defense in 2022 gave up just 77.1 running yards per contest. There was no terrifying defensive superstar to terrorize the rest of the nation in the 2023 iteration. The secondary was in charge of that defense, and although the running defense dropped from first to 20th in the nation, allowing 113.6 rushing yards per game, the passing defense improved from 54th to ninth.
The Crimson Tide took advantage of this defense’s weakness, yet it was still an excellent one that was capable of winning everything. Nazir Stackhouse led all defensive lineman for Georgia in snaps (409), yet he only recorded 24 tackles and two total quarterback pressures. Although both of his pressures resulted in sacks, he did not always cause havoc in the center of the defensive line.
Stackhouse decided to return at Georgia for his senior year, maybe due to the NFL’s lack of interest. The Bulldogs need to improve up front, and they might start by giving up snaps to an untested player like Jordan Hall, who will be starting his true sophomore season and had eight pressures in his 177 snaps last season, rather than Stackhouse, who is a proven commodity.
Walker Jalon
This offseason, one of Kirby Smart’s best decisions wasn’t adding someone via the transfer portal; rather, it was convincing Smael Mondon Jr. to postpone the NFL draft until next year.
It’s hardly surprising that Georgia, a club laden with talent at every position on the roster, has 20 outbound transfers. Even still, it’s shocking to see that two of those 20 transfers were starters and three of them were linebackers. Xavian Sorey transferred to Arkansas, Jamon Dumas-Johnson headed to Kentucky, and EJ Lightsey attended Georgia Tech.
Walker should get fewer snaps as a result of Georgia’s determination to keep developing its linebacking corps, which was cemented by those four plays at a critical position. Positioned as the group’s seasoned leader, Mondon is flanked by a talented collection of freshmen and sophomores.
In order to give CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson the opportunity to shine in their first collegiate seasons, Smart and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann offered them 390 and 177 snaps, respectively, last season. Walker, on the other hand, played 244 snaps, mostly at outside linebacker.
It could even be time to reduce the number of photos you take. Kirby should throw everything at Allen, Wilson, and five-star rookie Justin Williams—one of the highlights of Georgia’s top recruiting class—if he wants to see a youthful movement at the position.
The rookie linebacking corps may make a few mistakes, but if Georgia is prepared to play its best come College Football Playoff, Mondon will be the experienced player to mentor the young guns.
Although there are several institutions that are qualified to hold the status of RBU, Georgia has a strong case. Not just from the players that Kirby Smart has recently brought to the College Football Playoffs, who have taken the offense there more than once, but also from the greats, like as the player who guided the Bulldogs to a national championship under Vince Dooley.
With the honorable mentions removed, the players on this list totaled 33,505 yards and 328 touchdowns while attending Georgia. A Heisman Trophy winner and five first-round NFL draft selections are also included.
Excellent college running backs from Georgia have always been produced, and some of them even became better in the NFL. Like the NFL Hall of Famer who was our first honorable mention. Thomas Brown, Elijah Holyfield, and Terrell Davis
After transferring from Long Beach State University to Georgia, Terrell Davis never made a start for the Bulldogs. He never had a season with more over 1,000 scrimmage yards, but in his three seasons, he combined for 1,657 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. He was chosen in the sixth round of the NFL draft and was good, not spectacular.
With the Denver Broncos under Mike Shanahan, Davis found the ideal place to land and went on to win two Super Bowls, be named NFL MVP, MVP of Super Bowl XXXII, and two times as Offensive Player of the Year. He earns an honorable mention since his NFL career eclipsed his time at Georgia.
Brown and Holyfield were in the opposite circumstances. Brown has never played a snap in the NFL, despite being ranked 10th on Georgia’s all-time rushing chart. Holyfield only saw five special teams snaps during his whole college career, despite having one outstanding year in 2018 as a junior with 1,018 rushing yards.
