ATHENS — Before fall practice had even begun, head coach Kirby Smart had some bad news to deliver about the defensive line.
That’s not what this group needed following a substandard 2023 season, one that saw the Bulldogs finish outside the top 5 in rush defense for the first time since 2019.
Senior defensive tackle Warren Brinson is dealing with an Achilles. Sophomore Jordan Hall had surgery on his tibia after suffering a stress fracture. Defensive end Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins is working his way back from a foot injury.
Smart was optimistic about the future’s of all three. Hall has a chance to play against Clemson, but it’s still up in the air. Ingram-Dawkins is getting close to 100 percent and Smart doesn’t Brinson’s injury to linger.
But for a group that was already facing questions about how good it could be, it did not need any health concerns.
It was seen as a big deal when Brinson and fellow senior Nazir Stackhouse announced they would return to Georgia for another season. At the very least, the pair helps give Georgia depth on the defensive line, provided they’re healthy enough to play.
“Warren’s dealing with a little bit of a nagging injury that he’s dealt with, and he’ll push through that,” Smart said at his press conference on Thursday. “Naz has been great.”
The key to the group though will be those younger defensive linemen. Hall was expected to be among those who made a noticeable leap this season after playing sparingly as a freshman. Whether it be Christen Miller, Gabe Harris or 5-star freshman Joesph Jonah-Ajonye, the ceiling of the defensive line will be determined by how much those players progress.
If there’s a silver lining to the Brinson and Ingram-Dawkins injuries, it’s that those players should now get more practice reps.
“We’ve gotta get the young guys to play,” Smart said. ”You never have enough defensive linemen, so just from the jump street, we’ve got some big bodies in that room, but we’ve got some inexperienced big bodies. So it’s really important that we establish depth, that we’re looking at a potentially longer season.”
Jonah-Ajonye was one of five 2024 signees on the defensive line. Georgia also dipped into the transfer portal to pull Xzavier McLeod from South Carolina. Zion Logue was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, while Jonathan Jefferson left via the transfer portal.
From a raw numbers standpoint, the Bulldogs are in a better spot than they were a season ago.
“They will provide our depth in that room that when guys get injured, and guys get injured at that position, they’ve gotta be able to step up and play,’ Smart said.
Georgia in a pinch could move Mykel Williams back down to a full-time role on the defensive line. But the team believes he’ll help the most as an outside linebacker.
As Smart points out, the lack of quality defensive linemen isn’t an issue unique to Georgia. Outside of maybe Ohio State and Alabama, there might not be a better program with better depth on paper than Georgia.
But Georgia isn’t aiming to be better than most programs. It’s trying to be the best. To do that, the Bulldogs need the defensive line to be more impactful than they were a season ago.
At the moment, Georgia isn’t too worried about the opener against Clemson. The Bulldogs have another 30 days before they take the field in Atlanta. It gives Georgia time to get Brinson, Ingram-Dawkins and possibly Hall healthy.
Because if Georgia is going to navigate a thornier 2024 schedule, it is going to need its defensive line to play more like it did in 2021 than it did in 2023.
“That’s an area we’ve gotta continue to develop and grow,” Smart said. “I mean, everybody does. Nobody has enough of them.”
