{"id":50069,"date":"2024-05-02T13:31:15","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T18:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=50069"},"modified":"2024-05-02T13:31:15","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T18:31:15","slug":"next-man-up-georgia-defense-trying-to-fill-shoes-of-key-cogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/next-man-up-georgia-defense-trying-to-fill-shoes-of-key-cogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Next Man Up: Georgia defense trying to fill shoes of key cogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kirby Smart\u2019s Georgia Bulldogs saw eight players get picked over the weekend in the 2024 NFL Draft including four on each side of the ball. We went through the offensive departures yesterday<\/a>, and today we do the defense where a trio of secondary stars went on day two (Kamari Lassiter<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Houston Texans, Javon Bullard<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Green Bay Packers, Tykee Smith<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Tampa Bay Buccaneers) before two defensive linemen found new homes on Saturday. Zion Logue<\/a><\/strong> was drafted to the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round while Tramel Walthour<\/a><\/strong> signed as an undrafted free agent later that night.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, there\u2019s a lot of production headed off to the pros \u2013 and thus a lot that must be replaced. Georgia is in a state with its program where there are no rebuilding years. The expectation is to reload with the next man up, somebody supposed to be equally as talented with the way Smart and company are recruiting.<\/p>\n

DawgsHQ is taking a dive into the UGA roster and the players that are departing for the pros and giving you our prediction on who that next man up will be for the Bulldogs in 2024\u2026<\/p>\n

Kamari Lassiter<\/h2>\n

Georgia\u2019s got one returning starter at cornerback in Daylen Everette<\/a><\/strong>. Opposite of him though, replacing Lassiter looms large. Luckily, Julian Humphrey<\/a><\/strong> and Daniel Harris<\/a><\/strong> both got opportunities to play last season and aren\u2019t new to the game.<\/p>\n

A pair of corners that ranked highly coming out of high school, both are solid options. Humphrey saw action in Georgia\u2019s first nine games last season before suffering a season ending shoulder injury. He was running with the first team and getting the reps of a key contributor when the injury occurred, seemingly making a push for even more playing time. Now back healthy, he\u2019s got the same goal as he did then: take a starter\u2019s role.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Harris. The long, youngster played in six games as a reserve defensive back. He saw increased action \u2013 especially in the Orange Bowl \u2013 thanks to the absence of Humphrey. While still a little raw, he\u2019s got the pieces to play and contribute. He\u2019ll have to beat Humphrey out for the starting spot if that\u2019s what he wants, but playing time is up for grabs either way. I\u2019m looking at both Humphrey and Harris as the guys to step up and fill the shoes of Lassiter.<\/p>\n

Javon Bullard \/ Tykee Smith<\/h2>\n

We\u2019re lumping these two departures here because they\u2019ve got a similar skillset. Bullard played STAR and split reps with Smith in 2022. The season after, they were both on the field as key contributors for Georgia in 2023 with Bullard at safety and Smith at STAR. Now, both spots are up for grabs.<\/p>\n

Many of the options to fill in in one spot are also options at the other. A player like Joenel Aguero<\/a><\/strong> is going to be on the field in some capacity. He\u2019s capable of playing either safety or STAR, likely getting the first look at STAR. Then there\u2019s JaCorey Thomas<\/a><\/strong>, somebody who has cross-trained over his time on campus \u2013 most recently spending the spring at safety to help with UGA\u2019s numbers issue with Malaki Starks<\/a><\/strong> out, recovering from shoulder surgery. However, Kirby Smart made sure to mention Thomas\u2019 ability at STAR too. Keep that in mind as competition continues into fall camp.<\/p>\n

Dan Jackson<\/a><\/strong> also spent time at safety this spring running with the ones while David Daniel-Sisavanh<\/a><\/strong> wasn\u2019t an option, at least during the spring game. Then Then there\u2019s Alabama transfer Jake Pope<\/a><\/strong> and five-star freshman KJ Bolden<\/a><\/strong> who should be considered too. If they can make strides during the summer, they can compete for the job. The experience of Thomas, Jackson and Daniel-Sisavanh will hold weight, but when talent\u2019s undeniable, it\u2019s tough to keep it off the field. That could end up being the case with Georgia at safety and\/or STAR.<\/p>\n

Zion Logue<\/h2>\n

If you listen to what the Falcons thought about Zion Logue, you know it\u2019s the size that attracted them to him. At 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, \u201che\u2019s going to block out the sun.\u201d Guys like that don\u2019t grow on trees. Finding the next man up in that role won\u2019t be easy, but lucky for the Bulldogs, they\u2019ve got options like Nazir Stackhouse<\/a><\/strong>, Warren Brinson<\/a><\/strong>, Christen Miller<\/a><\/strong> and Jordan Hall<\/a><\/strong>. All four are experienced, and all four played last season alongside Logue.<\/p>\n

Stackhouse and Brinson provide the veteran presence. You feel good about what you\u2019re going to get out of them. Then there\u2019s the younger two: Miller and Hall. Miller flirted with the transfer portal this spring before opting to return. Meanwhile, Hall was a five-star coming out of high school. They\u2019re the two that I\u2019d keep an eye on as stepping up. One more name for you to consider: Xzavier McLeod<\/a><\/strong>. A transfer from South Carolina this offseason, Kirby Smart and company are looking to bulk him up. They did that this spring, and he showed out. If he can keep it up, he\u2019s got the kind of size to help replace Logue as an interior presence for the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

Defensive lineman Tramel Walthour also signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens. More of an edge defender than Logue who plays on the interior, guys like Mykel Williams<\/a><\/strong>, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins<\/a><\/strong> and Gabe Harris<\/a><\/strong> are the ones to watch. If Williams ends up playing more stand-up outside linebacker, the latter two are primary options. Both Williams and Ingram-Dawkins played roles the past few seasons while Harris would be the new name emerging with Walthour gone. No matter what ends up happening with Williams, these three are names to keep in mind as the next man up.<\/p>\n

The post Next Man Up: Georgia defense trying to fill shoes of key cogs<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kirby Smart\u2019s Georgia Bulldogs saw eight players get picked over the weekend in the 2024…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50098,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50069\/revisions\/50098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}