Georgia Defensive Players to Watch In the Second Half
The Georgia Bulldogs come out of their bye week with multiple unknowns about their offense and what it may look like in the second half of the season. This has been the case since the start of the season, yet they have had one of the more successful offensive seasons under Kirby Smart. Unlike in the past, this season, the defense hasn't been the terrorizing unit they have been in the previous two national title runs. They still have had several big plays to allow Georgia's offense to be so explosive. These three players will be defensively worth watching as Georgia looks to complete another perfect season.
The First player you should watch is Georgia's leading tackler, Smael Mondon Jr. Mondon, who has 32 total tackles and two sacks on the year. He, alongside Jamon "Pop" Dumas-Johnson, have been continuing to wreak havoc from their inside linebacker positions and has helped clog up gaps and prevent the inside run from breaking off for big plays. In seven games through the season, Mondon has led the team in tackles in four games, leading them to be ranked tenth nationally in total rushing defense, only giving up 91.4 yards per game and 3.52 yards per carry. Mondon has been tremendous up to this point and will need to keep doing more of the same to help lead Georgia to where they want to go in 2023.
Helping Mondon clean up plays on the back end is safety Malaki Starks. Starks has made play after play this season to help keep Georgia an undefeated team. The sophomore safety has 25 total tackles, which is third on the team, and two interceptions to go along with it. Starks has had multiple pass breakups to go along with his two interceptions. Starks has been covering the deep thirds very well and has shown off the capability to read the play immediately after the snap and take away open routes. He has led Glenn Schumann's lockdown secondary and should likely bring the same explosive plays alongside some of his fellow DBs.
Georgia STAR, #23 Tykee Smith, dawned the savage pads after an interception during the 37-20 victory over Vanderbilt.
Schumann's STAR for the Georgia defense, Tykee Smith, has played other-worldly and could arguably be the defensive MVP of the first half of this season. Coming off an injury, Dawgs Daily reported during fall camp how Smith was looking to be back to his former All-American self like he was at West Virginia University. He has proven that notion right thus far, racking up the second-most tackles on the team with 27, a sack, and a team-leading four interceptions, ironically tied for fourth in the country. Smith has been one of the highest-producing players for Georgia's defense halfway through the season and will likely continue to do so in the back half of the year.
With their remaining few games against three of the nation's top-25 teams and the College Football Playoff rankings looming around the corner, the Bulldogs' defense and these key players will need to continue to hone down their assignments and improve overall as a team.
Other Georgia News:
- Georgia's Remaining Schedule - Who Could Be The Troublesome Game?
- Player Profile: How Can Oscar Delp Contribute to Georgia's Success?
- Reminder of What Georgia Has With Delp, Luckie, and Spurlin
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