Kirby Smart gives update on Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia LB situation

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s inside linebacker room is going to be a little bit thinner this Saturday when the Bulldogs take on Ole Miss. On Monday, head coach Kirby Smart addressed the expected absence of Jamon Dumas-Johnson after suffering a forearm injury against Missouri while also indicating that the team expects to have Xavian Sorey (personal reasons) available again.

“Expecting to have Sorey back as well as Raylen (Wilson), CJ (Allen), Smael (Mondon), Jalon (Walker), Terrell (Foster). All those guys will be competing at those spots. As far as Pop (Dumas-Johnson), still not sure how long it’ll be, how long his absence will be,” Smart said. “He’s going to try to find some innovative ways to get back and be able to play, but won’t know the extent of that until a couple more days.”

Dumas-Johnson has started the last 24 games for Georgia at inside linebacker, earning Butkus Award finalist status last season along with several All-American nods both in 2022 and 2023. This year, Dumas-Johnson is third on the team in total tackles (34) and second in tackles for loss (5.5), having a season-high seven stops on Saturday prior to his exit at the end of the third quarter.

“I think Pop is doing a good job holding up. Definitely think he’s going to do what Brock (Bowers) has done as far as, right now we need him to be coaching up the next guy, telling him what he sees out there,” Dumas-Johnson’s defensive running mate Tykee Smith said of how the linebacker is holding up after the injury and whether he can still help the team from the sideline. “I think he’s still going to be able to help this team big from the sideline.”

As for Sorey, a redshirt sophomore who missed Saturday’s win, he played in each of the first eight games totaling 14.0 tackles. The Campbellton, Fla. native had a season-high six stops against UAB and followed it up with a sack in the road win over Auburn.

In the absence of Dumas-Johnson at inside linebacker, the Bulldogs will likely have to turn to some of their youngsters. Freshmen CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson have seen action throughout the season and could be called upon more. Sophomore Jalon Walker, while still providing a pass rushing presence, is also an option for Glenn Schumann at inside ‘backer.

“Go back, they both were here midyear, so they were — we do so many walk-throughs and so many practices and so many in between. They’re both very intelligent kids, they pick up on things really well,” Smart said of the freshmen. “They’re both very conscientious. They’ve both played more and more. Raylen more recently, CJ throughout the whole year. Very pleased where they are. They’re in a room where they’re asked to learn a lot of information and be able to command the defense, and they do a good job of that. I’ve got a lot of confidence in those two guys.”

“Really excited to see those other guys get opportunities,” he added on the position as a whole. “We’ve got other guys that have played, and thank goodness at linebacker we use that as a normal rotating position. We have guys that roll in and play. We’ve averaging playing four guys at that position each and every game.”

Kickoff time for Saturday is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. The network’s premier pregame show College GameDay will also be on Georgia’s campus to feature the contest Saturday morning starting at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Ole Miss enters Athens with an 8-1 record and ranked No. 10 in last week’s initial release of the College Football Playoff rankings. The Rebels still have a small chance to win the SEC West, needing help from Alabama.

Ole Miss ranks third in the SEC in both scoring and total offense, averaging 38.8 points and 478.9 yards per game. The Rebels have the third-ranked passing offense and fourth-ranked rushing offense thanks to quarterback Jaxson Dart, running back Quinshon Judkins and pass catchers Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins and Dayton Wade. Meanwhile, Ole Miss’s defense is closer to the bottom end of the league at No. 7 for scoring defense (22.9 points per game) and No. 11 for total defense (365.7 yards per game).