UGA Football Coach Kirby Smart Raves About Major True Freshman
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ATHENS - It appears one highly-ranked Georgia Bulldog true freshman is already living up to the hype.
That’s five-star defensive lineman, Elijah Griffin.
The Pooler, Georgia native was Georgia’s highest-ranked signee in the 2025 class who was ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect in the country. After a dominant high school career at Savannah Christian, it’s safe to say expectations are sky-high for the game-changing lineman.
Sources say Griffin opened a lot of eyes this spring and Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart spoke highly of his true freshman last week at SEC Media Days.
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“Elijah’s been great,” Smart told reporters. “He had a great spring. You don’t have to tell him something twice. He’s very consistent. He’s a great kid.”
That consistency part should make Georgia fans happy. Everyone knows he has talent, but it’s his work-ethic and competitive drive that could win over the defensive staff. His ability to learn, adapt, and take to coaching is how he’ll see the field this fall.
And yes, Griffin is going to play this fall. He may not be starting against Alabama, Texas and Florida, but the young man is going to get his snaps. He still has to earn them, but the staff loves to rotate guys on the line and wants to give younger players snaps whenever there’s a chance to do so.
Here’s what Smart had to say about the rest of his defense line...
“It’s not an old defensive line group,” Smart said. “It’s just different. 54% are in their first or second year. Christen (Miller) has played meaningful snaps. When he’s healthy he’s really good. Jordan Hall is still coming back. He wasn’t 100% this spring. I feel good about the defensive line. There’s just so many snaps lost.”
Those lost snaps will obviously go to others. Thankfully, there’s several second-year players who are hungry to take advantage of their big opportunity. Here’s what Smart had to say about some of those players this spring...
“I’ve really been impressed with Nnamdi [Ogboko] and Jordan [Thomas] and Nas [Johnson]. They're working their tail off to get better. They're buying in. They've seen what Trey has done with guys in their second year, with guys in their third year, and then guys in their fourth year really do well here. So, they're buying into that.”
Second-year player Joseph Jonah-Ajonye is another lineman who has a chance to take a big step forward this fall. He played early in the 2024 season last year before an injury derailed the rest of his season. If you’re looking for a “breakout” player on the defensive line, Ajonye could be that guy.
However, all the interior linemen need to fight off Elijah Griffin. This is a young pup with the potential to be one of the league’s best defensive linemen sooner than later. He’s already turning heads and will likely see significant minutes at some point during the 2025 season.