A former five-star linebacker recruit out of Florida, Xavien Sorey, took the podium for the first time in his Georgia career yesterday. Sorey was a part of quite an impressive defensive haul for the Dawgs back in 2021 bringing names like Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon into play for the Dawgs– both of whom are Georgia’s current starting linebackers.
But since coming to Athens, Sorey has had yet to see much playing time. That is until this season. He didn’t wind up contributing any numbers to the stat sheet against UT Martin, but he played against both Ball State and South Carolina, contributing 4 stops total to the cause.
Of course Sorey committed to the program with bigger aspirations in mind. One thing to note was that Sorey sparked against South Carolina pushing a tackle down and getting a QB pressure. Plays like that will get him more time and soon enough, he, Dumas-Johnson, and Mondon will be on their way to doing what they set out to do when they first got here: be a “three-headed monster.”
“We came in, and we’d always say we wanted to be the three-headed monster like Nakobe, Quay, and Channing was,” Sorey said, alluding to the goals he and the rest of the trio share.
The three actually live together– originally freshman roommates and now moved off-campus in a house together it sounds like. Living with them is all ball according to Sorey. He joked that once he got home after the interview his roommates would probably have a play to show him from that day’s practice. It’s never ending with them, but their success drives Sorey to do better:
“We came in together. Just seeing them boys, you know, play and do all that. They motivate me… You know, just working with my teammates. That’s been the biggest thing for me. Just being a team defensive player that’ll work with everybody.”
Xavien Sorey has waited his turn and appreciated the team-focused role he’s had in this defense thus far, but something’s telling me this guy is going to be different this season. Look forward to the three-headed dragon Georgia is soon to tout at linebacker.