Georgia's new-look defense features a lot of position changes and new faces. First-year Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has introduced a new 3-4 scheme defense for this year, which helps offset the loss of three defensive lineman to the NFL. Now, the weight of the defensive front shifts to the linebackers, which Georgia has plenty of. The defensive backs also feature new faces, filling in for other NFL-bound graduates.
So here it is:
Defensive tackle - Starter: DeAngelo Tyson. Backup: Kwame Geathers, Candler Cook. Tyson, a junior, will get his first chance as a starter in the middle of the trenches as nose tackle. He replaces a slew of memorable defensive tackles in Jeff Owens, Kade Weston and Geno Atkins, all of which were drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft. Pressure? Definitely, but hulking redshirt freshman Geathers is a developing talent, and will assist Tyson when Grantham calls for a nose guard.
Defensive ends - Starters: LE Abry Jones, RE Demarcus Dobbs. Backup: Brandon Wood, Kiante Tripp, Derrick Lott, Nick Franks, Matthew DeGenova. Dobbs is the only returning starter from last year on the defensive line and will have to be a leader of a fairly long lone. That's not to say that the line is weak; Jones, a sophomore comes out of Spring practices the surprising starter over Wood. At 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, Jones is as big as they come from left ends, and may see some time at nose guard. Wood and Tripp will also see some playing time, both with a few career starts under their belts.
Outside linebackers - Starters: OLB Justin Houston, OLB Cornelius Washington. Backup: Ruben Faloughi, Darryl Gamble, Brock Boleman, Chase Vasser, Ricky Lowe. The linebacking starters are a big surprise to those familiar with last year's defensive depth chart. Two of the starters--Houston and Washington, were defensive ends last season. Now that Grantham has called for an extra linebacker on the field, the best at blitzing go out on the outside as added pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Houston and Washington can do just that, as they combined for 11.5 sacks last year.
Inside linebackers - Starters: Christian Robinson, Akeem Dent. Backup: Marcus Dowtin, Mike Gilliard, Richard Samuel, Hakeem Hebron, Jason Veal, Jeremy Sulek, Jackson Griffeth, Chris Grund, Micah King. The Bulldogs have a ton of depth at inside linebacker, but not a whole lot of experience. The most seasoned of the bunch is Dent, who started 10 games in 2008. Robinson, on the other hand, has yet to start a game. But if either go down or a third linebacker is needed for the play, there's a slew of guys with at least some playing time to come in, including Dowtin (third-leading tackler in 2009), Samuel (who was a running back last year), or Hebron.
Free Safety - Starter: Bacarri Rambo. Backup: Jakar Hamilton, Eric Elliot. Rambo didn't start any games last year, but his presence was still felt, highlighted by a pair of interceptions. Now that 2009 starter Bryan Evans has graduated, Rambo is the go-to guy at free safety. He'll have to stay healthy to avoid a depth problem, though, as his primary backup is Hamilton, a recent signee from the junior college level.
Strong Safety - Starter: Nick Williams. Backup: Quinton Banks, Shawn Williams, Josh Murray. The Rashad Jones era is over. After three years of obliterating receivers in mid-field, Jones has left for the NFL. And so the Nick Williams era (if we can call it that) has begun. With one start at linebacker last season, Williams is roughly the same size as Jones was, limiting the downsizing of the Bulldogs' defensive secondary.
Cornerbacks - Starters: Brandon Boykin, Vance Cuff. Backup: Branden Smith, Sanders Commings, Chad Gloer, Jordan Love, Corey Dunson, Blake Sailors, Luis Capella. Stopping the pass was a struggle for Georgia last year, as they finished 10th in the SEC in pass defense. Hopefully a year of problems served as a lesson learned for the defensive secondary, as many of them return for this year. 2009 starter Prince Miller is out, replaced by Cuff. Boykin, who had three interception last year, returns as a starter on defense and as the primary punt and kick returner. Smith also saw decent playing time on both sides of the ball in 2009 as a freshman, and should do so again this season.
That does it for the defense, a side of the football that has a ton of question marks entering the regular season. After struggling for a majority of 2009, it'll be interesting to see what a new coordinator can do make the defense more efficient.
I'll conclude my breakdowns later with special teams, hopefully by tomorrow.
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