UGA Football Sophomore Linebacker Continues To Impress Head Coach Kirby Smart

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ATHENS - If there’s one position group Georgia Bulldog fans can always count on, it’s at linebacker.

Even after losing Butkus Award winner Jalon Walker to the NFL, Glenn Schumann’s linebackers, both inside and outside, have a chance to shine once again this fall.

There’s been plenty of hype surrounding Georgia’s trio of sophomore linebackers and it appears all of them are ready to make an impact this season.

While it was Chris Cole who saw the most playing time last year, it’s clear former five-star Justin Williams is ready to see the field early on. Insiders say the Texas native had a strong second practice and has already won over head coach Kirby Smart. Georgia’s head coach has said multiple times this year that Williams brings as much fire, passion and energy as anyone on the team. He’s physically gifted, he’s talented, and he’s not going to be on the bench very much moving forward.

Smart spoke this week about where Williams has grown the most since entering the program.

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“Probably physically”, Smart said. “He came in very intelligent mentally, very instinctive, very bright-eyed, and loves football. He's got every part of the fire, passion and energy we want. He came in a little bit lighter and he's gotten a little bit heavier. He's able to take on things, and he understands the defense better. He's improving as a tackler. It's one of the areas that he really targets at getting better at, and he knows he has to work on that to be an effective player. I'm very pleased with where he is. I was very pleased with where he was last year in terms of coming in and doing what he needed to do.”

Williams brings the “alpha” mentality that you need to play linebacker at Georgia. You’re held to a higher standard with different expectations compared to other position groups.

There’s a legacy there.

Williams has enough talent and the potential to play to that standard. You could say the same thing about CJ Allen, Raylen Wilson and Chris Cole. Insiders say freshman Zayden Walker has also impressed during fall practice.

Then there’s Kris Jones.

A thicker linebacker with a versatile skillset at 6-foot-2 230-pounds, Jones is entering his second season with some promise. He’s smart, he’s healthy, and he’s someone Georgia fans need to keep an eye.

“He helps us because he has length”, Smart told reporters. “He has the ability to play on tackles. We multipurpose those guys. There's not an outside linebacker that hadn't been here that we don't ask to stack, fall over the top. You have to be able to play on offensive tackles and set edges, and he's able to do both those things. He's grown a lot at that position. He continues to grow. He's a kid that we want to be able to develop as both inside linebacker, outside linebacker. He does some packages on third down that allow him to play stack back and rush from standing up, things he's done in the past. It really just helps our team. He's got the ability to be versatile.”