Georgia defense earns nation-best three on Nagurski watch list
The Georgia Bulldogs and dominance on defense have become synonymous terms over the course of Kirby Smart’s tenure in Athens. Don’t expect that to change this year with the Dawgs having three players on the Nagurski Trophy watch list for the best defensive player in all of college football.
Defensive lineman Mykel Williams and safety Malaki Starks are both coming off of Freshman All-American caliber seasons. Then there’s linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson who was a finalist for the award that goes to the nation’s top linebacker last season. All three are on the Nagurski watch list.
Williams led Georgia in sacks last season. With 4.5 to his name, including one in each of the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff contests, he’ll be looking to improve upon those numbers with a year of experience under his belt.
Williams missed time this spring with a foot injury. Kirby Smart said at SEC Media Days that he’ll be full go for fall camp, good news to any Georgia fan wanting to see more out of him as a sophomore.
As for Starks on the back end, he had two interceptions in his first three games last season. Finishing third on the team in tackles with 68 stops.
Starks will be the veteran in the secondary this year. Gone is Christopher Smith from the spot beside him. Instead, it’s likely to be Javon Bullard making the move from STAR to safety. With that, expectations are high for Starks not only to be a leader with his production, but be a helping hand in making that transition easier.
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Finally there’s Dumas-Johnson in the middle of it all. He was second on the team in tackles recording 70 in total. Of those, a team-high 9.0 were for loss. He returns for another season as a starter after last year was his first in place of NFL Draft picks Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Channing Tindall.
Dumas-Johnson’s production slowed down a bit as the season went along. With Georgia’s wealth of talent and depth in the linebacker room, don’t be surprised to see Glenn Schumann take it easy on the junior so he’s playing his best football when it matters most for the Bulldogs.
Georgia has had finalists for the award in each of the last two seasons. Last year, safety Christopher Smith was among the three that made the trip to Charlotte for the presentation while the year before defensive lineman Jordan Davis did the same. Both watched as Alabama linebacker Will Anderson took home the hardware, becoming the first back-to-back winner of the award since the 1990s.
The Bulldogs’ only previous winner of the Nagurski Award is Champ Bailey for his 1998 season that saw the cornerback register 52 tackles including four for loss, three interceptions and seven pass breakups. Bailey played on both sides of the ball that season, also adding 47 catches for 744 yards and five touchdowns on offense.
