Kirby Smart wants to wreak havoc.
Georgia’s head coach wants his defense to cause problems, create turnovers and sow chaos for its opponent. Smart himself has said that he wants to put the other team out of rhythm, in the hopes that his Bulldogs will be able to take advantage of the confusion.
There’s just one problem — havoc often comes down to the defensive line’s ability to pressure a quarterback. When the quarterback drops back to pass, can the defense force him into making a bad play?
Past Georgia teams had players like Travon Walker, Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter along the line, consistently making life difficult for opposing offenses. Smart said he isn’t sure that this year’s team has a lineman capable of filling that void.
“You need someone that can anchor and handle double-teams and strike blocks,” Smart said. “We have guys that can be disruptive, but we just don’t know if they can consistently do it and stop the run as well without guessing sometimes. Our defensive linemen are perfectly capable, there’s just not that kind of guy.”
The line has a number of players who have been valuable additions to Georgia’s national championship teams, adding depth and allowing Smart to rotate his linemen in and out of the game when one of them needs a breather. Now, those reserve pieces — seniors like Nazir Stackhouse, Zion Logue and Tramel Walthour — have risen to the top of the rotation.
Stackhouse led the way for that cohort last year, appearing in all 15 games and recording 33 tackles in the process. Stackhouse himself generated a lot of hype from the media, as he earned preseason All-SEC first-team honors. His numbers could improve as he and his fellow seniors receive more playing time.
The seniors aren’t the only members of the defensive line who could make an impact this season. There are a number of talented young players on the team who could thrive if given the opportunity, with sophomore Mykel Williams at the head of that bunch.
Williams recorded Georgia’s only sack so far this season against UT Martin, but others like Jordan Hall, Christen Miller and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins have all seen
the field at times through the early parts of the year.
Despite all that potential along the defensive line, Smart has been critical of the unit at times in both spring and fall camp. Warren Brinson, another senior on the line, pushed back against his coach’s comments. Brinson said that the depth of talent on the defensive line — from the seniors down to the freshmen — was one reason to be optimistic about that group.
“You say, ‘Not having any game-wreckers.’ I feel like I can wreck the game,” Brinson said. “We’re going to see as the season goes on. We don’t have any of the ‘big names’ but by the end of the season, we could all be big names. It’s really just us working hard, having a good season, you’re going to see people wreck games.”
Brinson and his teammates will get put to the test this year. A dominant defensive line can change the course of a game, and Georgia fans have gotten to watch their fair share of talented defensive linemen come through Athens over the past few years.
If this year’s defensive line can harness the potential of its veteran talent and its newcoming prospects alike — whether the line has any ‘game-wreckers’ or not — it could be the stabilizing force that propels Georgia to a third-consecutive national championship.
“As you get into third down [against] more sophisticated teams, they are going to drop back and pass on you and you’ve got to affect the quarterback,” Smart said. “It’s one of the No. 1 things that you have to do on defense. You have to have people who can rush the passer, especially when you get to the upper-echelon and you start playing your SEC opponents.”
