Kirby Smart provides breakdown of where Jalen Carter must grow

After losing three defensive lineman to the NFL Draft, Georgia must look to rebuild that unit as it hopes to repeat as national champions. Junior Jalen Carter leads the way as the biggest contributor from last season to return, but head coach Kirby Smart wants to see improvement as the role changes.

During a spring practice press conference, Kirby Smart provided the biggest area where Jalen Carter must improve entering the 2022 season for the Georgia defense to have success.

“Just consistency, I think he and I have talked about stamina,” said Smart. “He has flash plays and he’s really athletic, just playing with consistent effort. Because the talent is just oozing. It’s a matter of, can he play every play with maximum intensity and be able to sustain? He was in a three-man weave triangle last year and it was easy to sub him because you weren’t having any drop off when he went off the field.

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“We need him to play more snaps this year. We need him to be on the field, we need him to be active, we need him to be able to play first, second, third in a row. Not first, second, and then some thirds. So can he do that? Can he go through offseason workouts and put himself in a position to be like Travon (Walker) from a stamina standpoint. And Devonte (Wyatt) worked so hard in practice that Devonte could play any number of snaps and still be fresh. We’ve got to get Jalen to be able to do that. And lead, set an example for the other players.”

Over two seasons at Georgia, Carter has 51 tackles and three sacks, adding 11.5 tackles for loss and a pass deflection.

Kirby Smart on linebackers

In addition to replacing the defensive line, Georgia must overhaul the inside linebacker position after losing nearly all its 2021 production there. Kirby Smart also provided a candid response about the standout linebackers from the new group.

“We’re just really young,” said Smart. “We don’t – you say stand out- there’s nobody that stands out, not compared to what just left that room. Nobody like that. There’s guys filling a role, there’s a difference. There’s a standard at Georgia when you play inside ‘backer and outside ‘backer. We’re probably not playing to that standard right now.

“But it’s not because they’re not trying hard enough and not because they’re not talented enough. It’s because they don’t have the experience and the reps. We’re catching up on that everyday as fast as we can. (Xavian) Sorey’s taken a lot of reps and he’s got a long way to go. Jalon Walker’s taken a lot of reps and he’s got a long way to go.”