Position Week: Three questions for the Georgia DL in 2024

The summer is here and after enjoying an extended break in May, Georgia players have made their way back to Athens to participate in workouts. The calendar has turned to July and the team will spend the next few getting bigger, stronger, faster, and more connected before preseason camp begins

That work will be done out of sight but not out of mind. In order to make sure everyone knows Kirby Smart’s ninth Georgia team as well as possible, DawgsHQ is providing readers with a week-by-week look at every room on the roster with our Position Week series. Today we’ve got three questions for the Georgia DL in 2024.

What will Mykel Williams‘ role be?

The former five-star prospect isn’t done on the defensive line. While he is transitioning to more of an OLB/EDGE role, Williams still spent a large portion of his practices with the defensive line this spring. Georgia is still going to ask him to put his hand on the ground and control blockers at the point of attack but we’ll probably see a lot less of him playing inside the tackle. That means Williams and an outside linebacker on the field at times but how much? How often will we see him share the field with a defensive end on the other side?

Can Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse make the most of “contract years?”

Both of these guys are back because they weren’t as consistently impactful as they wanted to be in 2024. It’s safe to say that their draft stock just wasn’t where they wanted it to be and coming back offers them the opportunity to raise it.

For Stackhouse that means gaining strength while getting leaner. He played at the heaviest weight of his career last season and was nowhere near as consistent as he was in 2022. Stackhouse has second-round potential at his best and Georgia would love to get a lot of that out of him in 2024.

Brinson has to get better against the run. He’s good at getting into the backfield and being disruptive, especially as a pass rusher, but he hasn’t consistently done the things that Georgia asks of its interior defensive linemen against the run. Brinson has to strike and control blockers better at the point of attack if he wants to play a high number of snaps and catch the collective eye of the NFL scouting community.

How many first or second-year players make a move?

This is a really important are for Georgia in 2024. The Bulldogs have a good core group of veterans but they also need a couple of other guys to enter the mix. Jordan Hall comes to mind quickly because he was a factor last year. He’s capable of being a difference maker. Gabe Harris is another guy who has generated plenty of buzz and can cause problems for the opponent. Jamaal Jarrett is another guy we’ve discussed.

Then you look to the first-year guys and players stand out. Joseph Jonah-Ajonye had a really good spring and got a ton of reps with Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins working his way back from foot surgery. There’s a good chance that Georgia needs the Texas native at some point this season. Nasir Johnson, at 6-foot-6 335 pounds, is another guy to keep an eye on. He got to campus a month ago and has an SEC-ready frame already.

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