Georgia Football 24 for ’24: Smael Mondon
We kicked off our 24 for ’24 series with 24 days to go until the turning of the calendar from July to August. With Georgia getting fall camp started around then, what better time to turn the attention to the season and the team’s most important players.
Importance can have different meanings. We’ll try to explain our thinking for you with each individual. In some cases, it’s about their ability on the field and the difficult the Dawgs would have in replacing that. Others could be important for reasons outside of that.
Yesterday, our attention was on wide receiver Dominic Lovett, who came in at No. 5. Today, it’s further into the top-5 with No. 4: linebacker Smael Mondon.
Smael Mondon
Class: Senior
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 230 pounds
Hometown / High School: Dallas, Ga. (Paulding County)
Georgia’s defense over the years has seen some special linebackers come through the system. Smael Mondon hasn’t finished his career in red and black, but it feels safe to say he’s among the best Kirby Smart, Glenn Schumann and company have coached.
A two-year contributor already, Mondon has started 24 of the last 29 games for Georgia. He missed two in 2022 due to injury as part of a championship winning defense, still managing to lead the team in tackles with 76 stops including 8.0 for loss.
Mondon returned in 2023 with high hopes. Playing through injury the entire season kept him from reaching those goals, but he still was strong. A total of 68 tackles (second-most among UGA defenders) earned him All-SEC Second Team honors but wasn’t enough for him to feel comfortable going pro. There was more to accomplish in Athens, and that’s brought Mondon back for another season between the hedges.
When healthy, there are few linebackers in the country that can match Mondon’s game. He is strong and physical but plays with the speed to go sideline to sideline tracking down ball carriers. While the offseason has left more to be desired from the veteran leader on the Bulldog defense, Mondon should have the ability to make folks forget his off-field incident and leave them talking about what he was able to accomplish during his final season at Georgia.
In Case You Missed It…
No. 24 – Raylen Wilson
No. 23 – Warren Brinson
No. 22 – Roderick Robinson
No. 21 – Rara Thomas
No. 20 – Chaz Chambliss
No. 19 – Jalon Walker
No. 18 – Oscar Delp
No. 17 – Joenel Aguero
No. 16 – Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
No. 15 – Jared Wilson
No. 14 – Nazir Stackhouse
No. 13 – Dillon Bell
No. 12 – Ben Yurosek
No. 11 – Colbie Young
No. 10 – Earnest Greene
No. 9 – Daylen Everette
No. 8 – CJ Allen
No. 7 – Tate Ratledge
No. 6 – Trevor Etienne
No. 5 – Dominic Lovett
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