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Much-needed Smael Mondon return gives Georgia depth, play maker at linebacker

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•09/12/23•

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Smael Mondon
Sep 9, 2023; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. (2) moves in to tackle Ball State Cardinals wide receiver Malcolm Gillie (7) during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

ATHENS, Ga. — Smael Mondon was back in the starting lineup last Saturday. After a foot injury ended his spring early, caused him to miss all of fall camp and limited him in a large way for the season-opener, the star linebacker was there for his team this week.

Mondon, who led the team in tackles in 2022 with 76 stops in 13 games, finished tied for first among all Bulldogs with four tackles in the 45-3 win over Ball State. Of those, a team-high three were solo stops.

“It felt great. Even last week felt good for sure too,” Mondon said on Saturday after the game. “Just going through the rehab process and fighting to get back, it felt good just to be out there.”

While Mondon’s 23 snaps would have been fewest he played in a game last season, it was an improvement from just six in the opener and another step in the right direction towards getting him back to full speed.

“The other guys got to play when he was out the first game. So we got to get depth from those guys. But I thought he played well the other day,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said when asked about Mondon on Monday. “He’s still not — like, he had gone a long time without practicing. So when you go 20 something practices without practicing, you could say, ‘Well, he’s played for two other years.’ Yeah, he started one year. He went through most of spring. I can’t remember how many days he got in spring, but he missed all of fall camp. So I think he’s still kind of knocking the rust off a little bit. And he flashes and shows you.”

“Really smart, man. He’s a really good leader,” Smart continued. “Him and Pop (Jamon Dumas-Johnson) are comfortable together, but we have to have three to four guys to be able to play that position. And that’s the part that we’re still a little unsettled on, is really the rotation there for who’s going to be the guy that goes in like Rian and Trezmen did last year or Channing did the one year.”

Speaking of Dumas-Johnson, he had a chance to comment on the play of his partner there in the middle. Both second-year starters in their third seasons with the program, Dumas-Johnson and Mondon have developed alongside each other every step of the way. That being the case, it’s been weird for one to be on the field without the other.

“It means a lot,” Dumas-Johnson said when asked what it meant to get Mondon back. “It creates depth in our linebacker room, starting with me and him. Then it goes to Sorey, Jalon Walker, CJ, Raylen. All those guys. Basically, it just creates depth for us. A lot of comfortable people in that room. A lot of leadership in that room. The older guys show the younger guys how to do it and that’s how we lead the room.”

“Y’all go back and watch the interviews, I’ll say we know what one is comfortable with and what one is not comfortable with,” Dumas-Johnson added. “I feel like this offseason, we worked on that. We made our weaknesses our strengths. We’re just ready to go out there and play at this point. We worked on things we had to get fixed up and I think we’re ready to do that.”

Mondon, Dumas-Johnson and the Dawgs open SEC play this coming weekend with South Carolina coming to town. Kickoff time between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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