Defensive Players With Most to Gain This Spring

Georgia football's defense is full of young talent that has yet to make an impact on the field. Numerous departures have created opportunities for those players.

Spring practice is almost here for Georgia football. The Bulldogs return to the field on March 16 and will spend a month developing players to prepare them for the 2021 campaign.

Over the last few years, Georgia's defense has excelled at developing players. Most of Georgia's top NFL Draft prospects each year come from the defensive side. Every year, despite losing great players, Georgia always replaces them with younger but equally capable players.

This year is no different. Georgia lost Azeez Ojulari, Monty Rice and Eric Stokes, but these three talented players once buried on the depth chart have a chance to make a huge impact this spring.

MJ Sherman, Edge

This is a player to be really excited about. Sherman likely would have played often in 2020 had Georgia not been so deep at edge rusher. It's hard for a freshman to stand out in a group that contains Ojulari, Adam Anderson, Jermaine Johnson and Nolan Smith.

Now two of those players are gone, leaving a void for Sherman to fill. It's hard to say where he stands as a pass rusher because he didn't play much last year. Sherman wasn't known as a pass rusher in high school and he missed his junior year because of an ACL tear.

As a run-stopper, Sherman was a near-finished product coming out of high school. Plus, he's athletic enough to cover running backs and most tight ends. If he lives up to his billing this spring, expect to see him on early and unpredictable downs this fall.

Rian Davis, Linebacker

Davis was one of the forgotten men on Georgia's defense. He committed with a lot of hype in 2018 as a guy who could make an immediate impact at linebacker. But a knee injury suffered in high school ultimately set him back. 

With Rice out of the picture, Davis has a chance to prove he can still be one of the better players on Georgia's defense. He was hailed as a do-it-all linebacker coming out of high school. Davis is the kind of linebacker Georgia has built its defense around in recent years. 

Jalen Kimber, Cornerback

Another forgotten man is Kimber. Like Sherman, there weren't many opportunities for him in 2020 because of the veteran presence ahead of him on the depth chart. Entering this spring, all of that veteran presence is gone, creating opportunities for players like Kimber.

Kelee Ringo is expected to run away with one starting cornerback job, but the other is totally up for grabs. This is a great opportunity for Kimber to escape the shadows and become a prominent player on Georgia's defense.