Freshman Defenders Turning Heads Already For Georgia Football
It's not often you have three recruiting services — SI All-American, 247sports, and Rivals — all agree upon one thing, but in 2020 it was universal, Georgia took home the top recruiting class in the country.
Just a week into fall camp, several of those incoming freshman are already turning heads of the defensive staff on the defensive side of the football. Dan Lanning spoke to the media Friday about several young men that have caught his eye already.
Mekhail Sherman entered Georgia with high expectations after a senior season at St. John's in Washington D.C. Sherman is a member of the outside linebackers group at Georgia. So, with Lanning being his position coach, the defensive coordinator has gotten a really good look at him since his arrival this summer.
"MJ [Sherman] is a tremendous person, he’s got a great mindset, he’s hungry, comes from a really good family, works really hard and he’s conscientious. He’s got all of those things and then he’s got strength, power and agility which we think can be a good asset for him moving forward. I’m excited about his development and to see what he can do.”
We here on Dawgs Daily on SI.com have been adamant about the role Jalen Carter has the potential to play as a true freshman this fall for Georgia. He's such an athletic specimen that at the very least he has the ability to enter the mix on third downs and overwhelm SEC guards athletically in pass-rushing situations. According to Lanning, he's already making his teammates better on the offensive line:
"Jalen Carter, has plays to learn, but he's very strong, he's an explosive athlete. We definitely think he can make an impact for us. It's good to see his technique continuing to get better day in and day out. He definitely makes the guys across the ball better.”
Kelee Ringo may have been the cornerback prospect that drew the most attention this offseason. Being the nation's top defensive back prospect will do that. Though there's another freshman defensive back that has been making waves since his early enrollment in January. Jalen Kimber hails from Arlington, Texas and is as fundamentally sound as any young corner we've evaluated here on Dawgs Daily. That is showing true already in camp:
"Jalen has done a really good job you know, from an agility standpoint. He's still got a build some bulk and get in the weight room and work hard, but he is conscientious, he's really pays attention to detail. In fact, he's also on that list of guys we talked about player improvement he did something wrong early in camp, we identified it, Coach Warren worked on it in drills. Then the next day he makes a phenomenal play by executing the proper technique. So, I’m excited to see what he does moving forward."
Just like Kimber has been a bit overshadowed by a fellow member at his position in the 2020 recruiting class, the same could be said about Warren Brinson. Brinson is a Georgia native that spent his final years at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida similar to Nolan Smith from the 2019 class. Brinson's effort has stood out to the coaching staff early on.
"You know, the biggest thing that I was looking for early in Warren was effort, and he has done a really good job. The other day we're able to point out in practice him finishing twice. The balls thrown down the field and he's hauling butt from the line of scrimmage to finish and get in position to make a play on a wide receiver down the field. His technique still has some cleaning up to do, we'd love to see him strike with those hands and continue to develop them from a target standpoint, but he is definitely working hard to do that.”
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