Kirby Smart reveals secret behind Georgia's development of elite linebackers
Head coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs are having one of their best seasons of late behind the dominant play of their defense. Arguably the strongest area on defense for Georgia is their linebacker core. And after dismantling SEC east rival the Florida Gators, Smart let everyone in on his secret to developing quality linebackers.
“Number one, that credit goes to both Dan (Lanning) and Coach (Glenn) Schumann. They both do a tremendous job,” said Smart. “One has the outside, one has the inside but Dan does a good job calling the defense. Glenn has done a tremendous job developing young linebackers and growing those guys so they can go on to be NFL players. I think when guys make decisions on where they want to go to school they want to see what you’ve done in terms of teaching, developing, growing players.”
“We’ve been really fortunate, inside backer and outside backer, to put a lot of guys at the next level. And that’s because the defense we play is very similar to what they do in the NFL and because we have good players. You want big size, speed guys. We’ve been able to recruit to a certain size, speed criteria. In the NFL, they are constantly looking for backers that can play all three downs and can run. There’s a limited number of those guys. We’ve been able to get some and develop some. I’m really pleased with those guys. We’ve taken on some injuries in that position that have made it really tough between Trezmen (Marshall) and Rian (Davis), so our depth is limited there,” Smart said in closing.
Dean steps up big for Georgia
Linebacker Nakobe Dean showed off his innate instincts, soft hands and impressive speed all on one play. With Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson looking to get some points for the Gators before the end of the half, Dean ensured the opposite would happen.
In what was a 3-0 game with Florida looking to get points just a couple minutes before the half, Georgia has blew the game open. It’s been a shocking turn of events, turnovers turning into touchdowns — leading to a 24-0 lead for the Bulldogs. Georgia scored 21 points in 2:16.
At halftime, the Florida locker room was dejected, while the Georgia locker room was partying. The Bulldogs defense propelled Georgia once again. The score remains 27-0 at the end of the third quarter. But the Bulldogs defense let up a little, allowing a touchdown run in the fourth quarter to Emory Jones. Georgia won convincingly 34-7 and moves to 8-0 on the season. Their next game will be next Saturday against the Missouri Tigers.