No question, the Georgia defense made tremendous strides under first-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt during the 2014 football season.
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The Bulldogs led the SEC and finished fourth nationally with a +16 turnover margin, which was the fourth-best mark in school history. The season before Pruitt came to Athens, Georgia struggled mightily in that department with a -7 turnover margin. Overall, the Bulldogs improved five spots to finish No. 5 in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing 20.7 points per game. Georgia scored 110 points off 29 turnovers in 2014 and the defense scored four of those touchdowns.
[su_spacer size=”40″]But certainly, there were some glitches in the team’s defensive performances last autumn. In a 38-20 stinging upset loss to Florida, the Gators pounded the Bulldogs to the tune of 418 yards on the ground and in another 30-24 upset loss to Georgia Tech in the regular season finale, the Yellow Jackets rushed for 399 yards against the Georgia defense.
[su_spacer size=”40″]That said, Pruitt’s defense certainly bounced back to acquit itself well in a 37-14 Belk Bowl victory over Louisville, limiting the Cardinals to only 62 yards net rushing.
[su_spacer size=”40″]Now, the big question is, with six defensive starters and several other players who saw considerable action returning from the 2014 unit, what will Pruitt’s stop-em crew look like going forward into the new 2015 campaign?
[su_spacer size=”40″]And, subsequently, who will be the standouts and leaders of this year’s Georgia defense?
[su_spacer size=”40″]Almost to a man during the recently-completed spring practice, the Bulldogs’ returning starters expressed confidence that the defense will ratchet things up to another level this coming fall, primarily because of the fact they’re in their second year of learning under Pruitt’s tutelage.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“I feel like we have one of the best coaching staffs – if not the best coaching staff – in the nation and I take pride in listening to what they tell me to do and try to execute it to the best of my ability,” said sophomore outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter who, despite his youth, is drawing accolades from his teammates, not only for his outstanding physical skills but for his leadership on the field as well.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“I think the coaches knew what they were getting in me (fierce pass rusher) so they’ve been working with me, trying to get me to reach my full potential,” Carter pointed out. “I don’t think Coach Pruitt has changed any from last year,” he said. “He is just continually teaching us what we need to know about his defense. He’s been intense since the day I met him and he’s going to stay that way (laughing) so there’s nothing new.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“We just feel comfortable as a defense right now. I feel like we’ve had pretty good practices (this spring). I feel like we have a lot of players that can play for us right now so we’re just going to have to wait and see who the coaches pick.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“We’re all working hard as a team to get better and I feel like if we’re not pushing each other we’re not doing each other a favor,” Carter continued. “We’re just hurting each other. I feel like with the offensive linemen, we’re competing against each other as hard as we can in practice so I’ll get him (John Theus) one time and he’ll get me another time. We’re just going back and forth, it’s a battle.”
[su_spacer size=”40″]Carter said the Bulldogs’ outside linebacker unit is really a tight and close-knit group.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“We just call ourselves the Wolfpack,” he said. “We’re that tight and when one person slips up in a play, we’ll all jump on him. We won’t let anybody slack off. It’s a group thing, making sure each player is doing the best that they can and if one player is doing better than another player, we’ll give him his credit to keep doing what he’s doing. The lead wolf? We’re mostly alpha wolves, alpha dogs. Of course, I’d have to say myself because I’m the best (chuckling),” Carter said. “Nah, we look up to Jordan (Jenkins) because he’s been here and has a lot of experience. Leonard Floyd, even though he’s hurt, he’s still in the meeting with us making sure that we play attention. I’ll still lean over there and ask him a question about a coverage or two. Davin Bellamy, we all have our roles.”
[su_spacer size=”40″]Outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins thinks the defense will get good leadership from this year’s group of seniors.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“All the leaders as seniors, me, Josh Dawson, James Deloach, Sterling Bailey … we just all have to step up in a new role and get more playing time,” Jenkins said. “I learned a lot from the first year under Coach Pruitt just by observing guys like Mike Thornton and Toby Johnson playing there. I understand the concept that it required a little more finesse plus group strength so I had to learn that. Coach Pruitt basically has the same scheme and same stuff and he’s just like tweaking them a little bit and improving on them so even the new guys get a hang of things. Coach Pruitt has the same goals and the same mentality because we didn’t reach our goal last year … winning the national championship,” declared Jenkins. “That’s still our main goal and just to improve every day in the effort.” Sophomore cornerback Malkom Parrish says Pruitt’s expectations never change.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“He still wants us to work hard and do the right thing every day,” Parrish said. “He’s not hard to please but he is a hard-working guy that wants perfection. He knows he’s not always going to get perfection, but he expects us to do as good as we can. If he doesn’t like it he will get on you but that’s a good coach in my eyes.”
[su_spacer size=”40″]Certainly, Georgia players on both sides of the ball think Lorenzo Carter and sophomore free safety Dominick Sanders, who started all 13 games as a freshman last year and recorded two interceptions in the Belk Bowl win, will be among the very best performers on the Bulldogs’ defense this coming season.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“Right off the bat I just want to say Lorenzo Carter is going to be one of the greatest defensive players to come through this university,” senior LB Jenkins said. “He’s a young man who is gifted athletically, gifted mentally and just has all the tools you want in a kid. If he stays focused and commits to the offseason and commits to getting better, the sky is the limit for that guy.”
[su_spacer size=”40″]“The biggest difference I’ve seen in a player on the field, offense or defense, is Lorenzo Carter,” offered senior offensive tackle Theus. “I have to go against him every day. He was special last year but he’s that much better this spring. It’s kind of freaky and scary at the same time. I’m glad he’s on my side of the ball come Saturdays and he makes me better every day. He’s going to be a special player.”
[su_spacer size=”40″]Senior tight end Jay Rome is especially high on Sanders.
[su_spacer size=”40″]“I’m really proud of what Dominick Sanders has been doing,” Rome said. “And I think people could see especially towards the end of the season just what kind of caliber of player he could be and he’s going to be. And he’s continuing on that path, of just being a ball-hawk, and a great football player.”
[su_spacer size=”40″]With other defensive regulars such as Leonard Floyd, Quincy Mauger, Sterling Bailey, Josh Dawson, Devin Bowman, Aaron Davis, Chris Mayes, James DeLoach, John Atkins, Tim Kimbrough, Reggie Carter, Davin Bellamy, Reggie Wilkerson and Tramel Terry all also being ready to step up their game in their second year under Pruitt’s watch, combined with the influx of outstanding freshman talent, this Georgia defense could indeed become a band of mean Junkyard Dogs in the 2015 football season that lies just ahead.football season that lies just ahead.