Georgia Football: Todd McShay includes six Dawgs in top 50, 10 in top 200

Todd McShay released his rankings of the top 50 NFL Draft prospects, plus position rankings for 200 players in the class on Wednesday. Several of the same names that found themselves in the ESPN 100 – also released on Wednesday – made McShay’s list as well, including four Georgia players in the top 20.

Jalen Carter came in at No. 2 overall and was joined in the top five by Nolan Smith at No. 5. Carter was tops among defensive linemen while Smith was No. 2 at his position, trailing only the No. 1 overall player on McShay’s list, Will Anderson of Alabama.

“Carter is far more disruptive than his stats — 45 tackles, three sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss in 2021 — indicate. He fires off the ball with an explosive first step, and he shows very good torso flexibility and excellent strength to advance his pass rush while engaged. He has every tool in the box necessary to emerge as a top-tier NFL pass-rusher early in his career. Against the run, Carter is strong, active and disciplined. He rarely gets stalemated in one-on-one situations, and he’s even strong/flexible enough to hold up against some double-teams.”

Todd McShay

“Smith has very good closing burst to the quarterback and quick hands, but he is still very unpolished with his pass-rush moves. He frequently lacks a plan and tries to win solely with his outstanding speed, though he does have an effective outside-in move and is able to occasionally get offensive tackles off-balance with stop-start moves. Smith is a menacing run defender, though. He creates a lot of havoc with how quickly he penetrates the backfield, and while he lacks size, he more than makes up for it with excellent leverage and hand placement. He sets a hard edge, has snappy hands to disengage quickly and shows excellent change-of-direction quickness. He registered 52 tackles (10.0 for loss) and 3.5 sacks in 2021.”

Todd McShay

Seeing Carter that high is far from a surprise. He’s been included on just about every possible list this offseason including All-American teams, NFL Draft boards and lists for the top players in all of College Football. The third-year Dawg out of Apopka, Fla. has been overshadowed at times due to being on the same defensive line as three first round picks from last year’s NFL Draft. Now that they are gone, it’s his time to shine.

Meanwhile, No. 5 is higher than I’ve ever seen Smith, the former No. 1 overall player in his Class of 2019, before. That’s no knock on him, he’s an incredibly talented player, but a top five spot stood out to me. He finished fifth on the team in tackles last season and contributed greatly to Georgia’s success on defense. He’ll be asked to do that and more this year, helping lead the team both on and off the field.

Kelee Ringo and Arik Gilbert were the next two Georgia players included coming in at No. 12 and No. 16 respectively. Ringo was the No. 1 corner which could get him higher on draft boards than McShay has him right now with a premium put on pass defense in the NFL while Gilbert was the No. 2 tight end.

“A former sprinter in high school, Ringo can match speed with any vertical route and does an excellent job of contesting jump balls. However, his route recognition and eye discipline are still works in progress, and he has tight hips, which lead to redirection slowness and allows for too much separation surrendered to quicker receivers. Ringo has solid ball skills and the elite length to bat down passes when reaching around receivers. Last season, he hauled in two interceptions and allowed just 37% of opponent completions while in coverage (13th-best in the nation). In run support, he keeps blockers off his frame and lassos ball carriers in space.”

Todd McShay

“Gilbert began his career at LSU before transferring first to Florida and then to Georgia, and he last caught a pass in 2020. He’s smooth and sudden, but he’s a raw route runner who relies purely on his great size and speed to separate. He does a great job of high-pointing the ball and securing it in traffic, and he shows impressive body control to adjust to passes outside of his frame — though he has too many drops. Gilbert has the speed to threaten vertically and is a strong runner after the catch. And he excels as a run blocker, consistently getting his hands inside, locking out and driving defenders off the line of scrimmage.”

Todd McShay

Ringo returns to Athens for a third season as the unquestioned top player in the secondary for the Bulldogs and as one of few players that contributed greatly to Georgia’s dominant defense last fall. He had 34 tackles last season with eight pass breakups and two interceptions, one that will have him in Georgia lore forever. That puts more pressure than ever before on the former No. 1 cornerback in the country, and based on what we’ve seen so far this fall, Ringo seems ready.

As for Gilbert, there’s not much to say about him other than how incredibly talented he is. That’s because Gilbert wasn’t with the team during its run to the National Championship last season, dealing with personal matters off the field. But the potential of what he could add to an already talented offense is exciting to everybody in Athens. Gilbert, a Peach State native, stood out this spring in his return to the field during G-Day with three catches for 49 yards including two touchdowns as well as a 27-yard reception to help set up the game-winning score.

Two names that didn’t crack the ESPN College Football top 100 but did make McShay’s rankings for the 2023 NFL Draft were Kenny McIntosh and Sedrick Van Pran. McIntosh was No. 33 overall and No.. 3 among running backs while Van Pran came in at No. 38 overall and No. 2 in the center category.

“McIntosh has a compact running style, running low to the ground with good lower-body flexibility. He is quick with a really good center of gravity, and while he is not overpowering, he also doesn’t go down easily. McIntosh is really smooth stringing together multiple cuts and frequently makes the first defender miss, but ball security has been a slight issue. In the pass game, he has reliable hands and is comfortable lining up in the slot and out wide. He has only 130 carries over three seasons, but he has averaged 5.8 yards per carry and scored six times on the ground.”

Todd McShay

“In pass pro, Van Pran is still developing after 15 starts in 2021. He is strong against power rushers, showing the core strength and lower-body flexibility to sink his hips and stalemate. But his hand placement tends to be too wide, which impacts his ability to latch on and generate torque. And if he misses with his initial strike, he tends to get out over his skis or get too high — and then he loses balance and leverage. Van Pran shows very good initial pop in the run game, has adequate mobility and takes solid angles.”

Todd McShay

McIntosh is taking on a bigger role than every before in the Georgia system having served as a rotational piece behind Zamir White and James Cook so far throughout his career. While having been featured on specific drives – not necessarily in entire games – McIntosh has showcased his versatile skillset with 328 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on top of 242 receiving yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns. Meanwhile, Van Pran started all 15 games for Georgia last season in the middle of the offensive line and played more snaps than any Bulldog during the season including every sanp in eight games.

McShay also included his list of the top players position by position, expanding those rankings out to 200 players in total. Kearis Jackson (No. 20 wide receiver), Broderick Jones (No. 5 offensive tackle), Christopher Smith (No. 14 safety) and Darnell Washington (No. 5 tight end) made those on top of the Georgia players that were included in the top 50 overall. Former Georgia players that made the list included Latavious Brini (No. 13 safety), Jermaine Burton (No. 27 overall, No. 4 wide receiver), Brenton Cox (No. 7 outside linebacker) and Tyrique Stevenson (No. 28 overall, No. 4 cornerback).