UGA Football Star Smael Mondon Leads The Way At Linebacker
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ATHENS - During Georgia’s big 30-21 win over Missouri last week, the Bulldogs lost a key defender for a significant amount of time when starting linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson went down with a pectoral injury.
One of Georgia’s veteran starters, Dumas-Johnon is third in the team in tackles right now, and his presence in the middle of Georgia’s defense will be missed.
Head coach Kirby Smart spoke about that during his press conference earlier this week.
“As far as (Jamon Dumas-Johnson), still not sure how long his absence will be”, Smart said. “He's going to try to find some innovative ways to get back and be able to play but won't know the extent of that until a couple more days. But really excited to see those other guys get opportunities. We got other guys that have played, and thank goodness, at linebacker, we use that as a normal rotating position. We have guys that roll in and play. We've averaged playing four guys at that position each and every game.”
Thankfully, the Bulldogs have plenty of depth and talent at linebacker, and it starts with Smael Mondon Jr. Georgia’s leading tackler, Mondon brings plenty of size and talent, but his leadership is what he brings now more than ever.
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“(Smael’s) already a vocal leader”, Smart said. “He does a great job. He calls the defenses when (Jamon Dumas-Johnson’s) not in there anyway, and when Pop is in there, they share. So that's not a big concern, to be honest with you. The two freshmen, they don't practice and play like freshmen. They know the calls, and they do a great job. So Smael will do an awesome job of calling the stuff.”
Those two freshmen are CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson. Allen, a former 4-star prospect from Lamar County (GA), has played in every game this season and has made 12 total tackles. Wilson, a top high school prospect from Tallahassee, Florida, has played in seven games this season with seven tackles.
“Well, go back, they both (Allen and Wilson) were here midyear”, Smart added. “So, we do so many walk-throughs and so many practices and so many in between. They're both very intelligent kids. They pick up on things really well. They're both very conscientious. They both played more and more, Raylen (Wilson) more recently, C.J. (Allen) throughout the whole year; and very pleased with where they are. And they're in a room where they're asked to learn a lot of information and be able to command the defense, and they do a good job of that. I got a lot of confidence in those two guys.”
Without Dumas-Johnson, that should allow the young freshmen, along with Xavian Sorey, Jalon Walker, and a few others, to see more time at inside linebacker. And against a high-caliber Ole Miss offense who likes to run on the perimeter, Georgia’s middle linebackers will need to be at their best on Saturday night in order to slow them down.