Georgia's 'green' OLB room staying engaged through spring injuries
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s outside linebackers are young. That’s not new news to anybody who’s followed the storylines of spring football in Athens. With Nolan Smith and Robert Beal off to the NFL, Chaz Chambliss, just a junior, is the oldest in the room with several players entering their first or second seasons on campus.
“Green. Extremely green. Never seen one as green. The issue is even the old players, Darris Smith, Marvin Jones Jr., and CJ Madden, none of them really have true playing experience. Marvin probably has the most and he’s out. CJ was injured all year, going through a shoulder surgery a lot of the year and kind of recovered from that so he’s out there getting reps. Then you’ve got the incoming freshman,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said last Saturday. “It’s very unique, but I like what we have. I wouldn’t trade the room for somebody else’s room because we’ve got some good players in there, they just got a long way to go. I go back to Nolan Smith’s freshman year and you watch all the clips and he wasn’t where he was year three. He’s not supposed to be. And they’re not. Jalon Walker last year played a lot in some pass rush situations so he’s been able to do that as well.”
Of those young players, Walker and Jones are really the only ones that played last season. Even they have limited experience with Walker being an inside linebacker when he arrived and slowly transitioning to the outside while Jones played through injury and was behind the likes of Smith, Beal and Chambliss. Both are out for the spring as they recover from shoulder injuries, but according to the elder spokesperson in the room – Chambliss – they’re staying engaged.
“You know, (they’re) just trying to learn as much as they can,” Chambliss said. “Try to be dual — knowing SAM and JACK — trying to know all the checks. Trying to be prepared.”
As for Smith and and Madden, they’ve both gotten their fair share of opportunities alongside freshmen Damon Wilson, Sam M’Pemba and Gabe Harris. Entering their second season within the program, they’ve been impressive with their work – much like the early enrollees.
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“I mean, obviously his speed. He’s a real good speed guy,” Chambliss said about Smith. “He’s able to cover like a DB — obviously ’cause he was at STAR at some times last year. He brings a lot of experience and coverage to our room.”
“You know, just getting better and better,” he added on Madden. “The more reps, the more comfortable you get. The more comfortable you get with our defense, the better plays you make.”
Georgia finishes up its fourth week of spring practice on Saturday before beginning the fifth and final week on Tuesday. The Bulldogs have four opportunities to take the practice field during the spring including the annual G-Day spring game on April 15th. Fans can either check out the action next Saturday coming to Sanford Stadium (tickets available here) or by tuning into ESPN2 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
