Few things draw the attention of college football fans during a spring game than an ongoing quarterback battle.
However, even with many eyes trained on the play of Gunner Stockton and Ryan Puglisi during Saturday’s G-Day scrimmage, plenty of points were proven on the defensive side of the ball as well during the Red Team’s 34-17 victory.
That included a pair of interceptions by Daniel Harris and Dominick Kelly as well as a combined 17 tackles by Justin Williams and CJ Allen. Chris Cole also prevented the offense from getting into the end zone, knocking down a pass near the goal line to force a field goal.
“It’s a big deal,” Georgia linebacker Raylen Wilson said. “We pride ourselves on getting the ball off of others, especially the offense and on special teams and all around, so it’s a big deal.”
At offensive skill positions, evaluation is a bit easier since one-on-one matchups are easier to see and evaluate via statistics. Defensively, however, measures are in place to prevent injuries, such as quarterbacks wearing no-contact jerseys.
“It’s not really a challenge, because we always find something to get better at on this defense,” Wilson said. “So, it’s not too hard to find something that we can develop more.”
Georgia defenders, including linebackers Allen and Wilson, plus Cole, Kris Jones, and Zayden Walker, are prepared to take on more significant roles this year on a unit that lost most of its sack production from last season.
The legacy of the linebacker position at Georgia in recent years sets a high ba,r with names such as Nakobe Dean and Roquan Smith topping the list. This season, the Bulldogs must replace Jalon Walker, Mykel Williams, and a few others.
Allen said the expectation to excel is something those in the position room do not take lightly or shy away from.
“When you come here, you’ve got to make a decision; and with that decision, you’re going to work hard, you’re going to get coached hard, and you’re going to be accountable for everything,” he explained. “So, I just think those guys are just buying into that standard that’s in the linebacker room. My goal is to set it and keep on pursuing it.”