Kelee Ringo weighs in on the emergence of Jalen Carter this spring for Georgia defense

Last season, a star-studded defense led the Georgia Bulldogs to a national championship. Now, after losing quite a few players to the NFL, the Bulldogs are looking for other players to step up. That is exactly what defensive lineman Jalen Carter has done throughout the spring and summer for Georgia.

Coming out of spring ball, Georgia defensive back Kelee Ringo was asked about the growth he’s seen from Carter this offseason. Carter’s emergence has been huge for Georgia, and Ringo has seen the benefits from that development, too.

“It’s huge, man,” Ringo said of Carter’s emergence for Georgia. “He’s a massive guy, he’s a great player. He’s definitely somebody you can rely on, especially up in that front seven. And he definitely brings energy to the rest of the guys and guys feed off that. So that definitely helps the back end as well.”

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As a freshman in 2020, Carter played a reserve role on Georgia’s defense and totaled 14 tackles. Last year, he emerged into a more consistent role, finishing the season with 37 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and one pass defended. With holes to fill and production to replace next season, Carter is an obvious candidate to become the next star for Georgia on the defensive side of the ball.

Ringo, Carter will be pivotal parts of Georgia’s defense in 2022

If Georgia wants to repeat as back-to-back national champions next season, Ringo and Carter both need to emerge as consistent leaders on and off the field. Last year, Ringo played a solid role for the Bulldogs. He had 34 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, eight passes defended and two interceptions. One of those interceptions came on the biggest stage in the nation, as he returned a pass 79 yards for a touchdown in the national championship game.

While Carter and Ringo have both showed what they’re capable of on the field, whether or not they’re able to step up as leaders could be a key recipe to next year’s success. On3’s J.D. PicKell isn’t concerned about the talent, but wonders which player will step up into that key role as a voice on the unit.

“And I’m not concerned about the personnel,” PicKell said of Georgia’s defense. “I mean, Georgia’s Georgia. They recruit freaks everywhere and anywhere. They’re going to have ballers on the field. But those other eight guys, who’s their leader? Who’s telling them where to go? Who’s getting them lined up? There has to be a leader on the field because Nakobe Dean was doing a lot of that for Georgia a season ago. He was the coach on the field. So the ability’s going to be there. But do they have the same leadership on that side of the football? I think they need to have it in order to get back to the mountaintop this coming season.”