Georgia defensive line confident in crew challenged with replacing lost production

Over the last six seasons, Kirby Smart and his staff have transformed the Georgia defensive line from a strong unit to one of the most dominant groups in all of college football. Tray Scott, who has played a vital role in the recruitment and development of this unit, has been compensated extremely well for his work. According to FootballScoop, Scott is the sixth highest paid defensive line coach in the country, making $760,000 thousand annually. While Scott and the rest of the Bulldogs’ d-line staff will have their hands full, replacing players like Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt, there’s plenty of reasons for Georgia fans to be confident in their returning linemen.

“I don’t question our talent at all,” Georgia defensive lineman Zion Logue said. “I feel like we have everything we need in our room to be a championship-caliber team, so we just have to put the work forward so we can get there.”

Out of Lebanon, Tenn., Logue is expected to receive a large increase in playing time this upcoming season. With one sack and 15 tackles during his 2021 campaign, Logue is being looked at as a breakout candidate for the Bulldogs in 2022. 

Alongside Logue, Georgia returns one of the best players in the nation for the 2022 season in Jalen Carter. Ahead of the start to fall camp on Thursday, Logue was asked to recall the best play that he has seen Carter make in his time with the Bulldogs.

“I dont even think he knows,” explained Logue. “I think he’s just being him. Just like being that strong enforcer, he’s not gonna be blocked. He’s not going to want you to block him, he’s not gonna want you to touch him. So, whenever he can quick-slam you or get you off of him, I think that’s when he’s at his best.”

While it would be fair for any Georgia fan to get excited at the prospect of Carter returning for his junior season, the defensive line isn’t made up of just one player.

Logue believes that Scott and the defensive coaching staff have put the defensive linemen in a position where they can benefit each other.

“I think we piggyback off each other,” he said of playing alongside Carter. “I think it makes both of our jobs easier because we know where we need to be, we know what we gotta do, so we can just look at each other and be like ‘Hey, we gotta go this’ or ‘Hey, we gotta do that.’ So, I think it kind of plays into both our hands.”

Smart is fully aware of the talent that the Bulldogs lost in the offseason, and is doing everything to prepare the next generation of defensive linemen at Georgia.

During his press conference before the first practice of the fall, Smart expressed his confidence in the young defensive linemen.

“Every day that we’re out at practice we make those guys go over and go against the first offense,” Smart said. “That’s what we call our developmental squad or scout squad. They got a lot of work in, they get a lot of bowl practice in. And this year, they got the extra week for the championship game. I mean, that’s a lot of work put in to get those guys prepared.”

“They’re not Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt and we’re not asking them to be. If they were those guys, they would have been out there last year a lot more often,” he continued. “We’re excited about where they are. Optimistic that those guys will be very productive. We’re asking, you know, Zion, Jalen, Naz (Stackhouse), Warren Brinson, Bill Norton, Jonathan Jefferson, all those guys, the two young guys, Bear (Alexander) and Christen (Miller), they’re going to get thrust up there and have to go out and compete and give us a depth and give us snaps because we play a lot of guys upfront. So I’m excited to see what all those guys can do on the defensive line. We certainly need some guys to step up at that position.”