Bulldogs play elite ‘D’ minus elite stars
ATHENS, Ga. — There are multiple enjoyable aspects when it comes to being a member of this season’s Georgia defense.
First off, there is the undeniable success.
The Bulldogs are yielding just 260.3 yards and 10.1 points per game, ranking among the top five nationally in each category, and they are the first college football program at any level in more than 20 years that hasn’t allowed a rushing touchdown through the first nine games.
Secondly, but just as enjoyable, is the fact that this productivity can be shared by many.
“We’re just guys who want to go out there and do their jobs,” senior safety J.R. Reed said. “It’s not about one person. It’s about all guys working hard.”
Georgia will look to continue its defensive success under firstyear coordinator Dan Lanning at Auburn this Saturday, when the No. 5 Bulldogs (8-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) and No. 13 Tigers (7-2, 4-2) collide in the 3:30 p.m. EST game on CBS. The Bulldogs are No. 4 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, while the Tigers are 12th.
Auburn’s offense has been inconsistent this season with freshman quarterback Bo Nix and with injuries to running back Boobie Whitlow and receivers Anthony Schwartz and Seth Williams. The Tigers had an open date last week and could be the healthiest they’ve been all season, which coach Gus Malzahn realizes is an understated plus given what his offense will be facing inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I think it starts up front with the quality depth they have,” Malzahn said. “They play a lot of guys and don’t have any dropoff. They’ve done a great job of stopping the run and making teams one-dimensional.”
Tyler Clark, Jordan Davis, Michael Barnett, Malik Herring and David Marshall have started across Georgia’s defensive front that also includes Travon Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Michail Carter, Julian Rochester, Tramel Walthour and Justin Young. The Bulldogs are also very deep at outside linebacker, with Azeez Ojulari, Walter Grant, Jermaine Johnson, Nolan Smith, Robert Beal and Adam Anderson heading that area.
For most of this decade, someone such as Justin Houston, Jarvis Jones, Leonard Floyd or Roquan Smith served as the elite player among the front seven for Georgia, but this year is different.
“We don’t really pride ourselves on trying to be a superstar,” Barnett said. “We try to fit in the scheme of the defense and do whatever the coach tells us. As defensive linemen, we try to play our gaps and techniques, so we don’t look at stats.
“Did we make the tackle? Did we miss the tackle? Did we make the interception or miss the deflection? We really just worry about our technique and fundamentals.”
Georgia’s defense should not, however, be confused for the Island of Misfit Toys, with Smith the nation’s top signee in the 2019 class and junior safety Richard LeCounte a five-star recruit in 2017. Yet two of its most valued members are Reed, who began his career at Tulsa before transferring, and senior inside linebacker Tae Crowder, who was headed to Georgia Southern as a running back before the Bulldogs swooped in with a late scholarship offer in 2015.
“The number one thing that stands out to me is their work ethic,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. “I mean, they work really hard every day. The game-planning meetings are a joy to be in, because they’re very interactive, meaning they communicate with you.
“They don’t just sit there and listen. They answer questions. They ask questions. They take on the personality of their defensive staff, which is energetic.”
Georgia already has posted three shutouts for the first time since its SEC championship season of 1981, and the last time the Bulldogs blanked four foes was during their SEC title year of 1976. Shutting out Auburn could be a tall order, but the Bulldogs have held the Tigers to 13 or fewer points seven times in the past nine meetings.
The “No-Name Defense” was coined for the undefeated Miami Dolphins of the 1972 NFL season and may not be the most accurate description for this season’s Bulldogs, though they continue to excel without much fanfare.
“This group probably doesn’t have just the star elite player,” Smart said. “There is no guy on there that you can say is just going to be a first-round pick. That’s not what this is made of. It’s made of a group of guys that buy in to doing it the right way and play team defense.
“We’ve been very fortunate with that and have to continue to do that down the stretch run.”