Skip to main content
georgia logo

Georgia defense adamant there's more in the tank

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•10/08/23•

palmerthombs

Syndication: Online Athens
(Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK)

ATHENS, Ga. — Jamon Dumas-Johnson has never been one to shy away from his actual feelings when asked about the Georgia defense. In the past, the junior linebacker has harped on the standard, called his own play average and been tough on the unit as a whole. After Saturday’s 51-13 win over No. 20 Kentucky, he felt a little bit better.

“This is what our defense looks like on a good day,” Dumas-Johnson said. “We have bad days, everybody has bad days, but this is what our defense looks like on a good day … There’s more to come.”

“For years Kentucky has wanted to be a physical team and try to match the Georgia physicality. They run the ball, and this was an opportunity for us to man up,” he added. “The d-line, all of us in the trenches, it was time to man up and show the world what we really do.”

Dumas-Johnson and the Dawgs did just that. For a third straight game he totaled four tackles, but it was his 1.5 tackles for loss that made the difference. Both came on sacks of Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary and were a result of what Kirby Smart said was a Bulldog plan to bring more pressure with Leary and the Wildcats sticking to the pocket more than other quarterbacks Georgia had played.

In his answer on Dumas-Johnson and the pressure, Smart said he’s seen “great leadership” from the inside linebacker. That’s something the head coach has maintained for a while now with Dumas-Johnson, the man in the middle, even through his early-season struggles.

Dumas-Johnson isn’t the only leader though, and those other leaders also assessed Georgia’s play as closer to their standard.

“We were all just connected. We’ve been connected for a long time. We were connected as we went out onto the field, went out and executed and played at a high level,” Kamari Lassiter, who shared on of Dumas-Johnson’s sacks with him, said. “I think we definitely showed that we can come out and be fast and physical, start fast and be able to have a complete game, but I think that there’s a lot we can get better at too.”

“We know what we can be when we communicate and all are on the same page as a unit,” Malaki Starks added. “Be one link. For us to come out and be who we are, show what we can do against a great team that had a very good plan, for us to do what we did was huge for us.”

Dumas-Johnson summed it up well too. In his mind, the win doesn’t mean that everything was perfect.

“Communication still got to get better. Strain can get better. Eyes got to get better. But overall, I think we did good things tonight,” Dumas-Johnson said. “I think we’re coming together. It took six weeks to do it, but I love this team in and out. I knew we had a chance coming in here to take advantage of the opportunity we had … I still think we have a lot to go, but I think we were good tonight.”

Georgia hits the road to Nashville this Saturday to take on Vanderbilt. Kickoff time is set for 12:00 p.m. ET, 11:00 a.m. locally, on CBS.

You may also like