Who Does Georgia Football Turn to Following Amaris Williams' Injury?

Who will the Georgia Bulldogs turn to now following the Amaris Williams injury?

The Georgia Bulldogs suffered a pretty significant set back this week during practice as reports surfaced that Amaris Williams might have to miss the 2026 season due to a knee injury. The severity of the injury has not been confirmed, but the initial reports are not good.

Williams was one of Georgia's top transfer additions this offseason. He came from the Auburn Tigers and was expected to increase Georgia's ability to rush the passer, something they were not good at last season.

So with Williams' injury, who will the Bulldogs turn to now?

Who Does Georgia Football Turn to After Amaris Williams' Injury?

Georgia defensive lineman Isaiah Gibson (29) warms up with Georgia offensive lineman Mason Short (75) before the start of the Georgia G-Day spring football game in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, April 12, 2025. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Quintavius Johnson and Gabe Harris will be the starters at JACK and defensive end this season as expected. The players behind them who will have to step up now are guys like Chase Linton, Isaiah Gibson and Darren Ikinnagbon. All of whom are entering their second year with the program.

JJ Hanne, Justin Greene and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye will be fighting for reps at defensive end this season, but there won't be many of those to hand out as Harris hardly ever comes off the field.

Other names that could factor into helping Georgia get after the quarterback this season are Zayden Walker and Chris Cole. Both players showed signs of being able to do that last season; in fact, some would say Walker was Georgia's best pass rusher late in the year despite being a true freshman.

It will also be interesting to see how Georgia performs in that department this season after hiring Larry Knight as the new outside linebackers coach. After Chidera Uzo-Diribe was hired by the Dallas Cowboys, Georgia hired Knight, who had been a "pass rush specialist" at previous jobs before coming to Athens.

The Bulldogs did not load up on transfer portal players like some other programs did this offseason, so losing one of them certainly hurts for the upcoming season. That's also why Georgia continues to recruit the way they do at the high school level. Depth still matters in college football, and Georgia can at least say they have that at the moment. The question is whether or not that depth is ready to contribute consistently on the field.

Georgia fans will get a look at these players this Saturday during their annual spring game. The game will kickoff at 1 PM ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

Add us as a preferred source on Google