Georgia Football: 5 things to watch in 2019 G-Day game

3. A pair of freshmen, blue-chip linebackers

A pair of early enrollee freshmen linebackers have made some early waves during spring practice for the Bulldogs. Five-star outside linebacker Nolan Smith and five-star inside linebacker Nakobe Dean could both be counted on to play roles as true freshmen in 2019.

Georgia lost a lot of talent at linebacker last season, including top edge-rusher D’Andre Walker and MIKE linebacker Natrez Patrick.

Smith was the No. 1 overall prospect in the 247 composite rankings, and has looked the part during spring practice. He has impressed the coaching staff, earning early rave reviews from his head coach. Smith plays with a high motor, constantly swarming to the ball. There’s still some mental sides of the game that he’ll need to get figured out if he’s going to play a major role as a freshman, but early returns have been extremely positive.

Smith might be Georgia’s top recruit, but Dean might be the most important. Patrick served as a stop-gap after Roquan Smith went to the NFL, but he was unable to fill the void completely left by Smith, who was a generational talent. As a result, Georgia was a bit softer in the middle in 2018 than they were the year before, leading to a bit of a step back on defense.

Putting too much on Dean’s shoulders too quickly would be foolish; he’s not likely going to earn a starting role as a true freshman, but his development is vital to Georgia’s future on defense. It’ll be interesting to see how he looks on Saturday, and if he can provide some sort of contribution as a true freshman, on his way to an eventual starring role for the Bulldogs in the future.