Chaz Chambliss embracing new role as old man of OLB room
ATHENS, Ga. — Chaz Chambliss hasn’t been on his college campus but a few months more than two years, but he’s already considered an old man. Headed into his third season with the Georgia Football program, Chambliss is the oldest in the Bulldog outside linebacker room. Gone are the days of looking up to Robert Beal and Nolan Smith. Now it’s Chambliss that’s expected to be the leader of “The Wolfpack.”
“I mean, obviously it’s kind of weird ’cause I had [Robert] Beal, a sixth-year, Nolan [Smith]. I had Adam [Anderson], all those guys that were older than me or at the age that I was right now when I came in. But right now it’s just embracing that role and trying to help the young guys,” Chambliss said. “You know, just being there for the young guys like they were for me. They were there for me and helped me get through all the times together as a freshman because that’s a long journey to where you get to playing shape.”
Chambliss was thrust into a larger role last season when Smith when down due to injury in Georgia’s eighth game. Up to that point, the Carrolton, Ga. native had recorded just one tackle in fur games on the season – missing a few too due to an injury of his own. Then, when Smith was sidelined for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, Chambliss went from being a role player to a regular on Georgia’s defense.
“I felt like a whole different player from the beginning to the end. From Oregon to Ohio State to TCU, it just felt like a whole different game,” Chambliss said. “Comfort. Just being in the defense and not really seeing the big picture but looking, like, into the year.”
Chambliss still has areas to improve. That’ll be important with an even bigger role this year. Not only does he want to take steps forward off the field as a leader but also on it as a player.
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“Being more fluid in my coverage,” Chambliss said about targeted areas for improvement this spring. “Being more fluid in my coverage and also just perfect the pass rush.”
While experience might not be there, talent isn’t a concern for Georgia’s outside linebackers. Class of 2022 five-star Marvin Jones Jr. is on the mend this spring but folks have high hopes for him in the fall. Darris Smith and CJ Madden are both coming into a second season too and growing as they’re available this spring. Don’t forget about the possibility of Jalon Walker, a top-5 linebacker in the Class of 2022, putting more time into playing on the outside. Then there’s the freshmen: Damon Wilson, Sam M’Pemba and Gabe Harris – all three of whom were top-10 EDGEs in the Class of 2023. Needless to say, Chambliss will have competition for his snaps come the fall.
“It’s probably the youngest position on the roster. I think we have five players in their first spring or their first year. So the three midyears, CJ. I guess I’m counting — I’m counting those five guys, and that isn’t even counting Marvin. So there are six guys within that one-year span. That’s a really young position,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about the position before the Bulldogs opened spring practice. “Chaz is kind of like the old vet there now. We’ll see how it goes. Those young guys have looked good in workouts. When you talk about how our guys run around and how they move, there’s a really good group of guys, but we’ll need a lot of reps and work there to replace the Nolans and the Beals who have been there forever.”
Georgia passed the halfway point of spring practice this week – now eight sessions in. The Bulldogs will go through the first of three spring scrimmages on Saturday, all leading up to the annual G-Day spring game set for 4:00 p.m. ET on April 15th, airing on ESPN2.
