Kirby Smart fires back at notion Georgia pass rushers don’t put up stats

When the NFL has needed elite defensive linemen over the past few drafts, Georgia has usually been the first call. Back-to-back national championships have been due to the dominant play at the line of scrimmage. The depth stands out more than anything though, with the Bulldogs being nearly two-deep with elite talent during the run.

A lot of talent comes into Athens but somehow, fellow SEC programs are going to have to recruit against Kirby Smart. During his Tuesday press conference, a reporter pointed out teams might be selling high school guys on current Georgia players not putting up too big of numbers. To no surprise, Smart did not agree with the idea.

In fact, there is a pretty good point Smart can bring up if needed. Opposing coaching staffs cannot counter too much against it.

“We usually fix that when we show them how many we have drafted and that gets silenced,” Smart said. “When we put Travon (Walker)‘s sacks up there and say he went No. 1 overall. We put Devonte (Wyatt) up there and say he went in the first round. We put Quay (Walker) up there, we put Nolan (Smith) up there, we put Jordan Davis. And then they don’t say anything.”

In the past two NFL Drafts, Georgia has had seven defensive linemen or EDGE players selected. An outstanding six of them occurred during the first round and as Smart mentioned, Travon Walker was the first overall pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

At the time being, there are no Georgia players projected to go in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. ESPN’s latest mock has three Bulldogs being selected on Thursday night but none are the big boys on the line of scrimmage. But we all know someone is going to break out this year while Georgia marches toward another national title.

If not, there is more incredible talent coming in the near future. Looking at the 2023 recruiting class from Smart, the top two players Georgia signed are defensive linemen. EDGE Damon Wilson and DL Jordan Hall were five stars and top 25 prospects, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

So, Smart is most likely right. Schools make all the negative recruiting pitches to prospects they want but thus far, the idea is proving to not be true. Nobody is producing defensive linemen like Georiga at the moment.