Georgia Football: Dog Bones Awarded Vs Kentucky
Monty Rice – Inside Linebacker
Roquan Smith, last years Dick Butkus award winner for the best linebacker in college football, has been impossible to replace. However, freshman linebacker Monty Rice is doing his best to impersonate the irreplaceable Roquan.
Monty Rice lead the Dawgs defense in tackling against Kentucky, registering eight tackles. He had a tackle for a loss, and was almost always in the right run gap for the UGA defense. Rice added one sack of Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson. Rice also did a great job covering UK backs out of the backfield.
The performance Monty Rice delivered was not a surprise. He has been a great player for the Dawgs all season long. He’s second on the team in tackles for the year. Rice has shown the best instincts and awareness of all the Dawgs’ inside linebackers, despite being a true freshman.
Its tough on a kid to be compared to a legend, but Monty Rice is clearly a better player now than Roquan Smith was as a freshman. That’s not to say he will develop to be as good as or better than Roquan, but he’s certainly trending in the right direction.
Against Kentucky, PFF gave Monty Rice a grade of 78.0, second on the Georgia Bulldogs defense. ATL All Day gives him a well earned Dog Bone.
Juwan Taylor – Inside Linebacker
Senior linebacker Juwan Taylor is not a starter for the Bulldogs, but has excelled as a coverage linebacker in the nickel defense all season long. In recent weeks Taylor has been given more snaps on early downs. He delivered great results against Kentucky.
Juwan Taylor was fourth on the Dawgs in tackles vs Kentucky. He had four tackles in the game, all solo. He was solid in coverage as usual, but stepped up in the run game to take on blocks and make key stops. He also forced a key fumble on Wildcats tight end C.J. Conrad late in the first quarter.
It was a banner day for Juwon Taylor, and Pro Football Focus recognized that by giving him a grade of 74.6. That’s the third highest on the Dawgs defense. He certainly deserves and gets a Dog Bone, for stepping up in his new role.