Georgia Football takes a title in College Football Position U 2022

ESPN’s David Hale put out one of the most awaited pieces of the offseason on Monday, College Football’s Position U 2022. While fans will debate the topic for hours, ESPN Stats & Information did its best to add a method to the madness by going back to the start of the BCS era (1998) and assigning points to schools for their all-conference and All-American selections, draft picks and success at the next level. How did Georgia fare? Well, Bulldog fans might be happy with what it had to say in some categories while upset in others. Let’s dive in.

Linebacker U

Congratulations Georgia. You are LBU. Here’s what Hale had to say…

The disrespect to Nakobe Dean — the star linebacker at LBU — was immense. Dean dropped all the way to the third round (No. 83 overall), where the Philadelphia Eagles nabbed him. Regardless, Georgia easily retains its crown atop our linebacker rankings. It has been a heck of a run for the Bulldogs, who’ve had 15 linebackers drafted, including five in the first round — in the past decade. Georgia has had 15 All-SEC linebackers since 1998 and seven All-Americans. Alabama (eight All-Americans, including returning star Will Anderson) and Ohio State (19 All-Big Ten selections) are within striking distance, but the path to LBU figures to run through Athens for a while.

Georgia comes in at No. 1 ahead of Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State and USC who round out the top five. Clemson is listed as best in the ACC at No. 8 while Temple is the top non-Power Five at No. 36.

Hale certainly is right that Nakobe Dean might have been slighted in the most recent NFL Draft, but as a whole, Georgia couldn’t have done much better, especially at linebacker. Quay Walker was the No. 22 overall pick by the Green Bay Packers while Channing Tindall went in the third round to the Miami Dolphins.

But the success at linebacker doesn’t stop there. In recent years, Monty Rice, Azeez Ojulari, Tae Crowder, Lorenzo Carter and Roquan Smith have all been drafted since Kirby Smart was hired in 2016. Guys like Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins, Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree, among others, add to the rich history.

And the position has a bright future too. Nolan Smith could be a first round pick this next year. Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Smael Mondon, Xavian Sorey, Jalon Walker and Marvin Jones Jr. are all talented linebackers on the roster. Don’t forget about Glenn Schumann already having the top linebacker in the country according to On3 as well as another two that are either top five according to either On3 or the On3 Consensus. Needless to say, Schumann doesn’t need any more help on the recruiting trails but is going to get it anyway with Georgia’s claim to LBU.

Other Positions?

Georgia fans have long claimed RBU to be in Athens. According to Hale, that might not be the case.

Georgia recruits running backs as well as anyone else in the country, inking 20 blue-chip backs since 2006. What happens from there, however, has been something of a mixed bag. Some have blossomed into college superstars (Knowshon Moreno, Todd Gurley) whose NFL success was short-lived. Others, like D’Andre Swift, appear to have bright futures at the next level. And a handful — Richard Samuel, Caleb King, Washaun Ealey — washed out before they came close to reaching their ceiling.

And while the offense has been built around those running backs and the ability to ground and pound, Hale notes that the Bulldogs are noticeably missing from the top tier when it comes to landing wide receivers.

We mentioned the Bulldogs’ rich history at running back. Receivers, though? Eh, not so much. Perhaps it’s fitting that a school that won the 1980 national championship by completing just one pass in the Sugar Bowl and won last year’s title on the strength of eight defenders selected in the NFL draft checks in at No. 20 here, but the truth is, Bulldogs receivers have been a mixed bag. Between A.J. Green in 2011 and George Pickens (No. 52) this year, Georgia had just one receiver selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.

Noticeably missing from my eye, Georgia and any mention of its tight ends. The Bulldogs have had a player picked at the position in each of the last four drafts. They’ve got one of the most loaded rooms in the country with any position with its tight ends this year with Brock Bowers, Darnell Washington, Arik Gilbert and Oscar Delp. The history is strong too. Ben Watson was a first round pick and went on to have an incredibly successful NFL career. Randy McMichael, Leonard Pope and Martrez Milner were also selected in the 2000s. And don’t forget about Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch this past decade on top of the four straight (Isaac Nauta, Charlie Woerner, Tre’ McKitty and John FitzPatrick). While there’s an analytical element to how this article was done, Georgia passes my eye test as TEU, and I’d guess that they’re on the way up in the ESPN rankings before too long.