Georgia defense approaches old standard in strong performance
For Georgia defensive lineman Christen Miller, a signature moment in Saturday’s 45-7 win over Marshall came in the closing minutes.
Walk-on defender Clinton Barlow, playing in the final stages of the blowout, made a tackle. In a half-empty stadium and with viewers switching to other games, a multitude of Barlow’s teammates celebrated his effort.
“The whole sideline’s going crazy because we see how he prepared,” said Miller, a senior leader of the defense. “He goes down to scout team and gets hella reps to help our team and help us get ready for the games like this. That just brightens us up because it’s like everybody’s bringing it, from our guys that’s low on the depth to the high guys that’s starting. So it’s just like, that was a good moment for the whole team.”
To Miller, that moment signified that passion, fire, and energy Georgia’s defense is hoping to play with in 2025.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart saw that enthusiasm from the outset against the overmatched Thundering Herd.
“All we can measure is how hard we play,” Smart said. “We talked about how many plays we would have 11 hats outside the hash, and that’s a measurement for us. And I know the first couple plays we had all 11 hats all the way outside the hash where the ball was.”
The top-line defenders played for roughly two-and-a-half to three quarters. During that time, the Bulldogs looked more like some of the great defenses of the Smart era.
Marshall managed just 40 total yards and one first down in the first half. The Thundering Herd also went 0-for-7 on third down attempts in the first half.
Stopping the run has also been a point of emphasis all offseason. In the first half, Marshall rushed for just 23 yards on 16 attempts.
Those numbers might seem to be the case of Georgia facing an outmanned opponent. But one only has to look back to last November, when Georgia struggled at times against UMass, to remember previous poor efforts against lesser opponents.
“I think we practice against one of the best teams each and every day at preps, you know, our offense,” linebacker CJ Allen said. “So, you know, no matter who we’re playing, you know, we’re always going to play to our standard.”
Georgia will need its defense to hit its standard consistently if it hopes to reach its championship aspirations. For Miller, that all comes back to the enthusiasm and energy shown by the Bulldogs in the closing minutes of Saturday’s blowout.
“There’s still things that we’ve got to fix. There’s still things that we’ve got to go into the lab and get right,” Miller said. “But for the most part, we brought fire, passion, and energy. And I think that’s something that we’ve been trying to instill this whole offseason, the whole fall camp. So I feel like if we just keep on doing this, this defense is going to be special.”