ATHENS — Kirby Smart and his Georgia football players are always quick to acknowledge there’s room for improvement “everywhere” on the team.

This, despite the fact the Bulldogs are the preseason No. 1-ranked team and haven’t lost a regular-season game since 2020.

Georgia’s “elite or not” mentality, of course, is part of the reason the Bulldogs have stayed so successful.

All that said, there are some areas of the team that have more room for improvement than others, and the defensive front looks to be that place this season.

Georgia fell to No. 18 in the nation defending the run after the likes of former NFL first-round picks Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt (2022 draft) and Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith (2023) had moved on.

Veteran interior defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson, while big and athletic, are not the “train wreckers and havoc makers” UGA have become accustomed to, and the edge rush has also not been as effective.

ESPN recently cited the Dawgs pass rush as the area needing the most improvement after Georgia registered only 30 sacks in 2023, ranking ninth in the SEC in that category.

Rising star Mykel Williams is expected to impact the pass rush more this season, and he said the veteran defensive tackles, will, too.

“I feel like the main guys this year will be what it’s been, like Christen Miller, Warren Brinson, Naz Stackhouse, Jordan Hall,” Williams said. “All those guys that’s been here, I feel like they’re going to step up and make it happen this year.”

Williams, with his hybrid abilities to line up across the defensive front, is also expected to be dynamic.

Willams, at 6-foot-5 and 265, has a frame that enables him to play defensive end, defensive tackle or even some at outside linebacker.

“I’ve been working constantly this offseason and proving my pass rush ability and my run stopping ability,” Williams said, “and also my flexibility period in having that ability to bend around corners and edges. I hope that goes on display this year. "

Perhaps more than any other defensive player, Williams’ impact will prove pivotal.