Kirby Smart evaluates how young linebackers performed during spring

Kirby Smart has been winning on and off the field, earning two straight national championships while recruiting at an extremely high level. To no surprise, landing highly-rated defensive prospects has been a bit of a specialty. Linebacker was considered a win for Georgia during the 2023 recruiting class.

Two linebackers enrolled early and were able to participate in spring practice in Athens. CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson both had standout G-Day performances. However, Smart decided to evaluate their entire spring, saying there is still a ton of improvement.

Making good plays in the spring game was good but does not write the overall story for Allen and Wilson.

“They probably had better days than they had springs,” Smart said. “I mean, they both showed up. And they had some mistakes and errors in the scrimmages. I wouldn’t say they’ve stood out. Today, they had a couple of flash plays. I thought CJ really burst and tackle some people and closed. And Raylen really made the play of the game there. It was a ricochoet play, ball that bounced off the right guy at the right time.”

Wilson finished with just four tackles but was able to record a pick-six. It’s the play Smart was referring to, taking an interception back 21 yards for a touchdown. As for Allen, he recorded five tackles and finished second on the Red Team in the category.

Going up against some of Georgia’s best players, an impressive performance from the two young linebackers.

Contributing during spring practice is always a positive but Smart believes both Allen and Wilson will do well for Georgia in the long term. He likes the character both true freshmen possess and believes the Bulldogs will be “better” because of them.

“They’re both talented and they’re both really high-character kids that are going to make our program better,” Smart said. “They push the standard the right way.”

Wilson played high school football at Tallahassee (FL) Lincoln, where he was a five-star prospect. He was the No. 29 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Allen was not too far behind his fellow classmate but was ranked a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He was the No. 6 ranked linebacker in the class and was considered an in-state recruiting win — being from Barnesville (GA) Lamar County Comprehensive.