Fall Camp Position Battle Update: Does Tyrion Ingram Dawkins Start Over Walthour?
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Georgia is heading into the 2022 season without three first-round picks along the defensive line from a year ago. With fall camp in the rearview mirror, the time for figuring out how to adjust to life without Travon Walker, Jordan Davis, and DeVonte Wyatt, is over.
Come September 3rd at 3:30 PM (EST); it will be time to play football.
With a front seven looking to embed new, younger starters into the rotation in 2022, Georgia will need all the help it can get upfront. Despite not being considered a "starter," defensive tackle Jalen Carter is a known commodity in Georgia's defensive front. Outside of the former five-star recruit, the Bulldogs are leaning on the development of defensive line coach Tray Scott and his ability to develop young, inexperienced football players.
Throughout this offseason, a potential breakout player emerged in Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. Ingram-Dawkins, another formerly highly touted recruit, a member of the 2021 signing class, will earn his first opportunity for not just meaningful playing time but potentially a starting role as a redshirt freshman.
His main competition throughout fall camp Tramel Walthour battled back from an injury that saw him held out of spring practice, is the more senior player at defensive end. Suppose past precedence is anything to go off of. In that case, a Kirby Smart-led football team favors seniority regarding position battles that are neck and neck between a younger player and a veteran. For example, Julian Rochester took snaps at defensive tackle over Jalen Carter as a freshman at the beginning of the year before Carter played his way into getting those snaps. The latest instance is how Ameer Speed started over Kelee Ringo at the beginning of last season.
Ingram-Dawkins shined the absence of Walthour during Georgia's G-Day game as Dawkins recorded a sack, 2.5 tackles for a loss, and a pass deflection, taking reps with the first-team defense against the first-team offense.
Sources have indicated that Ingram-Dawkins is the player, alongside Jalen Carter, that has flashed the most on the defensive front this fall camp. He's a viable pass-rushing threat and has always shown an ability to anchor down against the run. Georgia will certainly be rotating players at the defensive end position, they are simply too talented.
Following Dawkins and Walthour comes highly touted freshman Mykel Williams. So far, many are looking to Williams as one of the potential few freshman names that breakout in their first year on the field at the college level. A five-star prospect out of Columbus, Ga., Williams was the fourth-best prospect in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite ranking. An early enrollee this past January comes with plenty of hype as many look at his 6-foot-5, 280-plus pound frame and dream of comparisons to Travon Walker.
Yes, Ingram-Dawkins and Walthour will garner most of the reps with the first and second-team defenses, but a Kirby Smart-defense rotation has been a constant, especially up front. This continuous rotation of bodies allows up-and-coming freshmen to see the field early on while still developing behind the scenes.
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