Does UGA Have the Best LB Corps in the Country?

For as long as I can remember, Georgia has been very strong at linebacker. Year after year, the UGA LB corps ends up losing NFL-caliber talent to the Draft and still finds a way to anchor the Dawgs defense. This year DC Jeremy Pruitt loses seniors Ramik Wilson to the Kansas City Chiefs and Amarlo Herrera to the Indianapolis Colts. Should Coach Pruitt be concerned? As much as we all will miss Ramik and Amarlo at ILB, Pruitt just might have the best LB corps in the nation in 2015.

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UGA has three outstanding pass rushers in LBs Lorenzo Carter, Leonard Floyd, and Jordan Jenkins. All three thrive on the outside and look for Pruitt and his LB Coaches Mike Ekeler and Kevin Sherrer to find creative ways to get all three OLBs on the field at the same time.

I’ve really like Carter’s ability to line up anywhere in the front seven. His on-field talent was so obvious that he broke into Georgia’s very deep linebacker rotation as a true freshman. Jenkins has started every game for the Dawgs the last two seasons and I sense a strong senior campaign from the veteran of the group. And then Leonard Floyd is absolutely terrifying rushing from the outside. If he can improve in run stopping and can play inside on occasion, opposing offensive lines aren’t going to know what hit them as the UGA pass rush is coming from everywhere.

On the inside, Tim Kimbrough, Reggie Carter and UAB senior transfer Jake Ganus give ILBs Coach Mike Ekeler more than adequate replacements for Herrera and Wilson. Carter and Kimbrough have made many big hits on special teams that got me out of my seat. From what I’ve seen they play a little more aggressive than Herrera or Wilson did at ILB. Maybe these linebackers can find their way into the other teams’ backfields with more playing time as Herrera and Wilson played almost every snap at ILB the last few seasons.

When UAB’s football program wrongfully came to an end after last season, UGA was fortunate to grab Jake Ganus from the Blazers. Ganus was UAB’s leading tackler in 2014 and led the Blazers to bowl eligibility from Conference USA. This guy is a high IQ, sure-fire tackler playing on the inside. Not only is Ganus playing for the Dawgs this fall, he’s playing for the Blazers in spirit, too. I can’t wait to see Jake make plays for the Red and Black.

And then there are still so many quality linebackers playing for the Dawgs in 2015. Davin Bellamy, Chuks Amaechi, Detric Bing-Dukes, Ryne Rankin, and so many others. While there are definitely college football programs in the Power 5 with CFP aspirations that have great linebackers, I’m not sure if there is a deeper LB corps than what Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs have in 2015. If the secondary continues to improve under Jeremy Pruitt’s watch and Tracy Rocker can keep up the good work with his defensive line, UGA might be in for a very special season in 2015.

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