Kirby Smart reveals nickname for Jamon Dumas-Johnson along with improvements

Georgia lost many of its inside linebackers from the national championship team to graduation or the NFL Draft this offseason, but has started to see players emerge as the future stars at the position. Among those Kirby Smart expressed the most confidence in early this spring, sophomore Jamon Dumas-Johnson stands out.

During his Tuesday press conference, Kirby Smart revealed the nickname given to Jamon Dumas-Johnson, along with the improvements he has seen so far this year.

“I almost didn’t know who you were talking about, because he goes by Pop for us,” said Smart. “Pop’s done a good job, he’s getting opportunity, that’s the biggest thing. You could make the case that he’s probably where all those guys were – Quay (Walker), Channing (Tindall), Nakobe (Dean) it was their second year – when really he’s still in his first year if you really want to look at it in the gran scheme of things.

“This is a young man who didn’t play football his senior year due to COVID. So he came in a little heavy, he’ll be the first to tell you he was too heavy when he first got here. He had not played a season, so he was rusty, but he helped on special teams, played some time in games when we had leads. But he’s trying to take on a leadership role. There’s a real big void, and this common theme you’ll here is there’s a void there because of all the guys who left, and also the guys injured.”

In his first season, Dumas-Johnson played in nine games and recorded 21 tackles with two sacks and a pick six. Although he played a limited role, his impact was felt on the field.

Kirby Smart on leadership

As Georgia begins its national championship title defense with spring practice, head coach Kirby Smart is already calling out leadership questions about his new-look roster. After watching practice on Tuesday, he called out the veterans and newcomers alike with a concerning critique.

During a press conference, Kirby Smart called the leadership of his new Georgia team into question, telling DawgsHQ that they are not where they need to be yet.

“We’re not where we need to be with leadership, guys challenging guys,” said Smart. “I was a little disappointed in (today’s) practice.”

The lack of leadership might come as a surprise within such a big program with nature leaders on the coaching staff, but does not come without context. Georgia lost much of its dominant defense to the NFL Draft or graduation this offseason, along with several key offensive players.