Georgia's Defensive Line Ranked Outside of Top Five

Georgia football's defensive line unit ranked outside of one college football experts' rankings.

Georgia defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse (78) celebrates after making an interception during the second half against Missouri in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

Georgia football's defensive line unit ranked outside of one college football experts' rankings.

There's a saying in football that games are won in the trenches. That's exactly what Georgia's football program has believed in ever since head coach Kirby Smart arrived. The Bulldogs place a priority on making sure they land some of the best talent the nation has to offer at both offensive and defensive lines every year. That approach has shown up on the football field over the years.

Since 2020, Georgia has had 11 offensive linemen drafted and six defensive linemen drafted. The Bulldogs have also compiled three straight undefeated regular season records and have lost just two games since the conclusion of the 2020 college football season. A big part of that has to do with how dominant Georgia has been in the trenches over that time span.

During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Georgia's defensive line was littered with NFL talent—names like Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, Jalen Carter and Travon Walker to name a few. The team took a bit of a step back in that position group after the 2022 season, which is to be expected when a program loses that much talent upfront over a two-year time span. The Bulldogs still had one of the better units in the country, but it wasn't what fans had watched during their two national title-winning seasons.

Now leading into the 2024 college football season, one college football expert does not believe Georgia will have a top-five defensive line unit. Phil Steele released his top 25 defensive line rankings and he had Georgia listed at seventh. The teams ahead of them, in order, were: Texas A&M, Nebraska, Michigan, Utah, Penn State and Ohio State.

Georgia has a lot of names returning on the defensive line this year. Mykel Williams is the most notable name and seems to be a shoo-in as a first-round pick for the 2025 draft class. Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson both elected to return for another season instead of declaring for the draft. Georgia will also be expecting big seasons out of players like Christen Miller, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Jamaal Jarrett and transfer Xavier McLeod.

Coach Smart's program by no means lacks the talent to be one of the best defensive lines in the country this season. In fact, they have plenty of bodies in the defensive line room to be a special and impactful unit this year. The only question that remains is if the players who returned and the players who added another season to their college resume take the steps forward that are required of them to be even better than they were a season ago. If those boxes get checked off, then the expectation should be that the Bulldogs are back near of top when it comes to defensive line rankings for the 2024 college football season.

Other Georgia News:

• Kirby Smart Will Reach This Historic Milestone During the 2024 College Football Season
• Brock Bowers Continuing to Make Strides in Camp With Raiders
• Georgia Amongst List of Overrated Teams in College Football

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