Kirby Smart is among the top defensive coordinators in football. Year after year, Georgia fields one of the top defenses in the nation, full with players with NFL potential. Smart’s defenses have a particular flair, even from his time at Alabama. Because college football is so fleeting, each version of Smart’s defense may look a little different, but the basic scheme remains the same: two deep safeties, three down linemen, and a few burners at inside linebacker. But when he has a game-changing guy on the defensive line, his squad really shines.
Jonathan Allen, Jarran Reed, and A’Shawn Robinson were the star players on defenses that won national titles while Smart was Alabama’s defensive coordinator. Under the leadership of Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, and Travon Walker, Georgia won its first national championship in forty years, and Jalen Carter helped the team win two more straight. Every one of Smart’s successes on defense can be attributed to his genuine threat. Someone who takes up multiple blocks and modifies the way an offense is carried out. Last season, Georgia’s defense struggled in just one area: that. Despite the fact that a large number of Georgia’s defensive linemen from the previous season would play in the NFL, none of them showed that they could take over a game. The best Georgian was Christen Miller.
Jalen Carter, on the other hand, had 8.5 in 2021 as a backup. Jordan Davis finished with 5.0 from the nose tackle position, while Devonte Wyatt and Travon Walker added 7.0 and 7.5, respectively. Kirby Smart has espoused the idea of causing “havoc” on the transgressions of the enemy. That starts at the front. The Bulldogs will face a lot of elite offensive teams in 2024, so they’ll need a defensive standout to make an impact on games.