Bulldogs looking at total rebuilding job on defense in 2013
Who replaces this guy for the Bulldogs next season is a huge question mark. (AP photo)
It’s pretty clear that Georgia’s offense will be reloading next season. Depending on the decision of quarterback Aaron Murray — it’s not as cut-and-dry as you might think — the Bulldogs should be returning 10 starters (only WRs Marlon Brown and Tavarres King graduating).
The same can’t be said of the defense. In total, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is expected to lose 12 players who started games for him this season. Three of those are underclassmen who I expect will turn pro shortly after the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl: outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, inside linebacker Alec Ogletree and defensive lineman Kwame Geathers.
The other nine are seniors who have exhausted their eligibility: Safeties Bacarri Rambo and Shawn Williams, cornerback Sanders Commings, noseguard John Jenkins, defensive ends Abry Jones and Cornelius Washington, linebackers Christian Robinson and Michael Gilliard, and versatile defensive back Branden Smith.
So Georgia will be totally rebuilding on defense. It’s no wonder the Bulldogs already have 17 defensive prospects committed in recruiting, with more expected to come between now and national signing day.
Here’s an early look at how the defense might stack up next season. This was done without the consultation of Grantham, who’s not known for his penchant for sharing, so it’s just an educated guess. Feel free to agree or disagree and add your two cents worth. . . .
GEORGIA DEFENSE
2012 season (starter; backup) – 2013 season (starter; backup)
DE
Garrison Smith, Jr.; John Jenkins, Sr. – RETURNING STARTER, NEW BACKUP (Jr. Mike Thornton or So. Sterling Bailey)
- Comment: Smith is a budding all-star. Dogs in good shape here as long as he remains healthy.
NG
John Jenkins, Sr.; backup Kwame Geathers, Jr., – NEW STARTER (RFr. Jonathan Taylor), NEW BACKUP (Incoming freshman or JUCO transfer)
- Comment: That’s right, not expecting Geathers to return. A Geathers has yet to complete his college eligibility. But coaches very excited about Taylor.
DE
Cornelius Washington, Sr.; Ray Drew, So. – NEW STARTER (Drew, Bailey or Thornton), NEW BACKUP (same)
- Comment: Very suspect situation here. Undersized on current roster (see Alabama game). Opportunity for incoming players.
OLB
Jarvis Jones, Jr.; Ramik Wilson, So. – NEW STARTER (Jordan Jenkins), NEW BACKUP (Sr. T.J. Stripling, So. Josh Dawson, or So. James DeLoach)
- Comment: Jenkins switches sides to become Bulldogs’ primary pass rusher, ie: Jarvis Jones
OLB
Jordan Jenkins, Fr.; backup Josh Dawson, Fr. – RETURNING STARTER (Jenkins switches to Will), NEW STARTER (Sr. Chase Vasser, Dawson or DeLoach)
- Comment: Experience in Vasser augmented by developing talent.
ILB
Amarlo Herrera, So.; backup Michael Gilliard, Sr. – RETURNING STARTER, NEW BACKUP (Brandon Burrows, Kosta Vavlas or incoming player)
- Comment: Herrera an exemplary player but depth needed as he’ll need to be spelled
ILB
Alec Ogletree, Jr.; backup Christian Robinson, Sr. – NEW STARTER (Wilson?), NEW BACKUP (Incoming player)
- Comment: If “Tree” enters draft as expected, Georgia can expect significant drop off no matter who fills in here.
CB
Sanders Commings, Sr.; Devin Bowman, RFr. – NEW STARTER (Jr. Damian Swann), SAME BACKUP
- Comment: Swann will move from nickel to boundary, the most physical of corner positions
CB
Branden Smith, Sr.; Damian Swann, So;. – NEW STARTER (So. Sheldon Dawson), NEW BACKUP (Bowman or incoming player)
- Comment: Coaches excited about Dawson’s potential.
FS
Bacarri Rambo, Sr.; Connor Norman, RSo. – NEW STARTER (Corey Moore or Norman), NEW BACKUP (Norman or incoming player)
- Comment: This is where Georgia could use a newbie to come through big.
SS
Shawn Williams, Sr.; Corey Moore, So. – NEW STARTER (Moore or Josh Harvey-Clemons); NEW BACKUP (Jr. Marc Deas or incoming player)
- Comment: See above. Lots of options for secondary coach Scott Lakatos.
NB
Damian Swann, So.; Josh Harvey-Clemons, Fr. – RETURNING STARTER (Swann switches to boundary corner; Harvey-Clemons takes over.); NEW BACKUP (Swann, Bowman or incoming player)
- Comment: Intriguing possibilities here. Grantham tweaking nickel into “Star” position specially for Harvey-Clemons, who should be able to stay on field in all situations.
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266 comments Add your comment
WHY?
December 11th, 2012
8:00 am
Why do you idiots continue to give Sponge Bob the time of day. Ignore that tech troll!
Glenn Ridings
December 11th, 2012
8:07 am
Many of these guys were great individual players and I wish them well in the NFL. That being said, that individual greatness never translated into a great team defense. Missed tackles, blown assignments, they were far too common. I hope with a new crop of defensive talent coming up we can finally play some good aggressive defensive football. I don’t know if its the scheme or just a general lack of intensity but defensively we are SOFT. I miss when Georgia was known for it’s defense and feared. That’s a reputation I’d like to see come back.
DIT
December 11th, 2012
8:07 am
To the person that thought they were swift in thinking that they were calling out Tampa Gator. Stop being a moron! Tampa Gator is a breath of fresh air on this blog and knows his football.
For those that think the Gators will be down next year, that’s just not true. They will be good next year.
Yes our Dawgs will have a very young, green what ever you want to call it defense next, but they will be hungry as well. It won’t be as bad as some think. I’d be surprised if Murray leaves for the NFL, but feel confident in Mason taking over. Our O-Line will have experience AND our RB’s will help take the presure off him.
For now, Just whip Nebraska! Go Dawgs!
Herschel Pollack
December 11th, 2012
8:12 am
We are losing GREAT talent, but face it, we could not stop the run or a really good offense anyway. Maybe some new guys will step in, bond and actually play as a TEAM.
Vampire Bill
December 11th, 2012
8:14 am
Not so sure Kwame is leaving? His family is wealthy so he might stick around another year. Better draft pick for him next year.
tell the truth
December 11th, 2012
8:15 am
Look’s like Ga. would look forward to have some different defensive players,Ga. had one of the most awfull run defenses in recent memory,couldn’t stop Kentucy from getting 1st downs on 3rd and +10 yards at numerous times,I’m ready for some different defensive players,seems like they only played hard when the mood hit them.
poopdawg
December 11th, 2012
8:15 am
Atticus , Andrew Luck had another yr of eligibility and he is doing fairley well. But your right most don’t do well. I think Murray is gone and will be successful in the NFL under the right circumstances.
Hail Varsity: Hot Reads: Last Stand
December 11th, 2012
8:29 am
[...] carry to the Tide, the most in a game since 2008. And, like Nebraska, this is an experienced squad. From the Atlanta Journal Constitution: In total, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is expected to lose 12 players who started games for [...]
dwayne
December 11th, 2012
8:30 am
next qb for uga cant do any worse than murray did against top 10 teams. anyway, i hope uga wins 10 or 11 games next year.
GTBOB
December 11th, 2012
8:32 am
Tech will beat Georgia next year!
bubba4dawgs
December 11th, 2012
8:35 am
Well, the “D” really didn’t live up to expectations despite all the talent. It took Shawn Williams’ “calling out” the defense to get them fired up and moving which really is Todd Grantham’s job. there’s something wrong with this picture. The fact that they were on the field so long during the second half is the reason for the loss to Alabama. Will they have better talent next year? It is doubtful! So, how do you fix it? Perhaps better player rotation can help. This begs the question…..what about better coaching? They sure could have used better tackling. Which still goes back to better coaching. Hmmmm, what are we missing here? Superior talent, just worn out in the 4th quarter. Seems that’s what happened when they played LSU in 2011. GO DAWGS!!
Road Scholar
December 11th, 2012
8:37 am
UGA hasn’t even finish this year and you are talking about next? What a slap in the face to your senior players, esp the defensive ones, who got you into the SEC Championship and a good bowl game. Nothing is ever enough….By the way, that SEC game was the game of the year …so far… and that is from a GT fan! You’ll have 9 months to do this…and dream about your alleged Nat’l Championship!
MY Dawg
December 11th, 2012
8:38 am
I thought the Dawgs had a great year! That being said, I have a few lingering thoughts from the SECCG. How many times did they go after Swan? He is going to be a star, but he was the least experienced db and they exploited that. There was no help over the top on the game winner to Cooper. Gilliard was in the game with Herrara on the side line. MG was getting man handled. AH is a much more physical run stopper, so wth ? On the defense next year, you never can tell about these things. I expect an excited bunch who are eager to play, and added depth that will rival anyone, even Alabammer…….
Atticus
December 11th, 2012
8:38 am
Poop you are correct, my mistake, I forgot about Luck but he is the exception. But scouts also said he was the best QB prospect to come out since John Elway. Murray is no John Elway or Andrew Luck for that matter. Not close. He needs another year to learn how to lead while the game continues to slow down.
Atticus
December 11th, 2012
8:41 am
Bubba if you watch the replay of that game 2 defensive players stood out as wholly inadequate and very poor tackling. The rest played pretty solid. And we had NO depth on the defensive line which is a function of poor recruiting/management of the roster.
Gorilla Biscuit
December 11th, 2012
8:45 am
“Tech will beat Georgia next year!”
You better wake yo’ azz up and apologize fool.
ugab
December 11th, 2012
8:56 am
It looks like alot of these defensive players could come back. We all money talks. I don’t know how coaches like Saban and others get their players to come back for their final year. HMMMM!! CMR has always pushed players to go ahead to the pros. Our defense got pushed around this year by teams that run the ball. We relied on Tree way to much. Our big men did not impress me. I think GARNER needs to step down or go coach somewhere else. You do not ever hear his name called in recruiting these days. It woud be nice to bring a great DL coach to teach these players some technique and fundamentals. Alabama had a field day with our DL. I am more worried about AM staying. He will be highly missed if he goes pro. Mason has not proven his self. I thought that was the reason Mason did not play this year so Murray could come back for his last season and Mason would have one year to play.
ugab
December 11th, 2012
9:01 am
Our defense tried to strip the ball to much in the Alabama game. Alabama got about 5 extra yrd while Ga players were trying to strip the ball. Sabans players are taught ball protection. Ga should of just concentrated on making a good solid tackle.Oh well.
bill arp
December 11th, 2012
9:04 am
A lot of teams in the NFL need a QB, KC, Jax, AZ, NYJ, Minn, Oak, just to name a few. And several have current QBs that are getting up there in age also..If I were Murray, I’d be leaving, he’s ripe for the picking this year, not next. Late 1st round, maybe 2nd.
I’m hoping the guys on D aren’t going to lay an egg in the bowl game. I can see them playing NOT to get hurt.
robodawg
December 11th, 2012
9:19 am
This just shows we’re not a very deep team. I hate to see us counting on incoming players to fill out the 2nd team, especially at the line of scrimmage. Kids need a year or two of conditioning to be strong enough to play there.
watcher
December 11th, 2012
9:25 am
Bottom line you cannot start Feshman and win in the SEC you want to look at BAMA look at them they bring in 5 star guys every year and 1 at there position but they are not asked to start. Just last year alone Reggie Ragland, Landon Collins, TJ Yeldon, Amarii Cooper, Cyrus Jones,Cyrus Kouandjio, HaHa Clintdix. Trey Depriest these are there top guys the last 2 years and only 2 of them start thats called very good depth when 5 stars are on your second team waiting for the 5 star infront of them to become a JR so they can turn pro!!
G-Dawg
December 11th, 2012
9:28 am
If Geathers goes…better start rethinking these 4 man fronts.
askanyone
December 11th, 2012
9:29 am
Nice run for UGA this year w/ an ACC-like WEAK schedule. Next year, you will lose 3-4 games and come back down to where you should be, a team loaded w/ talent that can’t be coached up.
Please sign another “DREAM TEAM” in FEB cause UGA can’t win real games on the field. I’m sure there are 10 or more 4/5-STAR players committed to UGA. UGA will start out next year ranked in the TOP 10. Again, recruits will realize AFTER they sign that UGA is nothing more than a PAPER CHAMP!
monty
December 11th, 2012
9:42 am
Our defense was way over rated anyway. You don’t allow, even good teams, with good offenses, to just brutalize you as BAMA (350 yards rushing!!!) did our guys in the 2nd half, same thing that happened against LSU the year before, both those games the offense was pretty much one dimensional(run!) and we knew it was coming and we had no answer for it. So, lets move on , I’m ready to see what the future hold. Not sure why such a senior laden team couldn’t stop a run game they knew was coming. THoughts? Scheme, talent, or coaching or all of the above?
monty
December 11th, 2012
9:46 am
agab-”Our defense tried to strip the ball to much in the Alabama game”
Good point. They should have focused on proper tackling instead of being carried an extra 5 yards down the field. Kirby would have never put up with that junk.
monty
December 11th, 2012
9:49 am
Mason has never faced a FL or SC defense in the heat of battle. THere will be a learning curve no matter how much talent he has.
MFG
December 11th, 2012
9:52 am
Time to step up pups!
Bwkdawg
December 11th, 2012
10:32 am
Poop and Atticus Luck did not leave early. RG3 did though.
bigcalidawg
December 11th, 2012
10:40 am
Most glaring weakness is at ILB. Reuben Foster, come on down!
Bo Duke
December 11th, 2012
10:47 am
Why don’t you worry about your bowl game first!!! You puppy fans always think your #1!!!! I bet you don’t win your bowl game!!!!!!!!!!!What about them Georgia Southern Eagles one win away from playing in there NC game!!!!!!!! I know you wish ya’ll could be more like them!!!!!!!!! See you in about 30years!!!!!!
Bulldogs looking at total rebuilding job on defense in 2013 – Georgia – Dawg News
December 11th, 2012
10:48 am
[...] here to see the original: Bulldogs looking at total rebuilding job on defense in 2013 ← Back to Home Tags: alec, amarlo herrera, cornelius washington, dawgs, defensive, [...]
JD Clowney
December 11th, 2012
10:51 am
Dear Erin, please come back for you Senior year, I need to increae my sack total.
Walk on
December 11th, 2012
10:52 am
Dit sounds like he is in love with Tampa Gator, and from the post someone Googled it looks like Tampa is just a blowhard, or is DIT really Tampa Gator…
We have to replace a great deal of players, we will and we will be okay.
Walk on
December 11th, 2012
10:55 am
Mason is Not the answer and is not tested for SEC play and that falls on Richt and Bobo.
truedawg
December 11th, 2012
10:57 am
I think with the talent on offense, we’ll be fine. No more gloom and doom. We laid one egg at the chicken stadium. Gave the best team in college foortball all they could handle and it took a tipped ball and a stumble for Bama to win. Hats off to Bama, whip up on the green puppets. We beat UF for the second year in a row. What do you want UGA fans? The program is moving the right direction. Also, UF didn’t give the game away with 6 turnovers..THOSE TURN OVERS WERE FORCED!! GATA!!
Only concern I have is the nose, and making up for losing Rambo. GO DAWGS!!!
McDawg
December 11th, 2012
11:11 am
have to hope Garrison Smith stays
Jimmy
December 11th, 2012
11:14 am
Not looking good if the best DB we got coming back is Swann. He got torched against Ala. and they really not a passing team!!!
dawgfacedboy
December 11th, 2012
11:14 am
I’m not expecting much next year, 8-4, with Murray. If Murrray leaves we are looking at 6-6 best case. In my opinion. That’s the secondary sting of losing to Bama. We won’t be on the radar again for a couple of years, minimum. Gurley and Marshall probably won’t compete for the East again while they are at UGA.
Should Earn It
December 11th, 2012
11:22 am
Murray is NOT 6 1
3 stars
December 11th, 2012
11:24 am
SC will have the better defence. D-line has a Clowny and redshirt 3-stars coached tobe 4 stars. The offence is better than people give credit. 3 star Shaw coached to play well. Running backs play well….will this be 4 years in a row losing to a superstar and 3 stars?
bigcalidawg
December 11th, 2012
11:36 am
@Bo Duke…….You should be more concerned about your inability to spell, than with college football.
Joey
December 11th, 2012
11:41 am
Looks like plenty of talent still remaining on the D – can’t wait to see Jordan Jenkins at the other JJ’s spot next season. I really believe we won’t notice much drop-off – the new JJ is already bigger and faster. We will notice ‘Tree being gone more, I think.
Jville Dawg
December 11th, 2012
12:18 pm
I’m with you True Dawg and others. I mean sheesh, do we have a bunch fans wearing panties now?
I mean c’mon people, seriously. If we had made it to the NC game and won, I swear some of you would still be whining and crying about SOMETHING.
We have a lot more talent than people realize. And don’t be surprised if the defense actually performs better overall as a group. Sometimes when you have 2-3 stars people look for them to make the plays. When you don’t have many stars I think it makes them play a more complete game. Look at Bama’s defense this year, before the game how many players on their defense were household names? I think back to when we had AJ Green, in a lot of ways it was like the other WRs were standing around in awe of him. Look we have an offense that AVERGAGED 32 pts a game, and Grantham is a good DC. We may have to out point our first few teams, but as an earlier poster noted, SC, Clemson and LSU are losing a lot of players as well. If Murray comes back next year, we definitely can make a run.
beanster
December 11th, 2012
12:26 pm
If JHC puts some weight on, he can be the new ‘Tree.
Hey 3 stars — Lattimore going pro won’t help SC’s running game much.
SecFan
December 11th, 2012
12:37 pm
Why worry about next year? Georgia was Georgia this year and Georgia will be Georgia next year.
beanster
December 11th, 2012
12:44 pm
So you’re picking UGA to win the East next year, SecFan? That’s a bold prediction given the talent UF is returning.
Put in Timeout by Ken Sugiura,Filtered by Mark Bradley, Banned once by Bill King & Chip Towers but only slightly loved by Jeff Schultz.
December 11th, 2012
12:46 pm
Many players don’t want to come back for their SENIOR season cause the schedule is harder and they know they SUCK in big games……….Murray better leave. He will not look good to the NFL after next year getting his Butt Kicked and not Padding his stats against Crappy teams.
Newnandawg
December 11th, 2012
12:49 pm
Nice roster management, Richt. 7-5 in 2012.
Stevedawg
December 11th, 2012
12:53 pm
I believe a galvanized O-line, a suitable signal caller (be it Murray, Mason, or Bauta), and Gurshall will establish the Dawgs early. I believe we can go 3-1 through the first month of the season when things appear to be difficult. The defense will come along and gel at the right time. In fact I don’t believe that many things need to line up straight for the Bulldogs to complete a perfect schedule in that early stretch. How good is Shaw without Lattimore? How bare is LSU defensive cupboard with all of their potential defensive NFL departures? Can the Bulldogs make Clemson’s defense look like Tech’s? Maybe I am biased (all fans are) but I believe the answer to those questions in that order is average, very, and easily. My prediction is that the East will be decided in Jacksonville, and the National Champions will be decided in Atlanta. Hopefully both sides of the ball will be solidified to the point that this year the Bulldogs will come out on the winning side in both instances.
beanster
December 11th, 2012
1:12 pm
“not Padding his stats against Crappy teams.”
like Georgia Tech, for example.