Uzo-Diribe Changing The Mold at OLB for Georgia

The University of Georgia hasn't been a stranger to talented outside linebackers, but the shape and mold in which they've selected them appears to be changing.

Chidera Uzo-Diribe is in the midst of his first spring practice with the University of Georgia. A former edge rusher himself, Uzo-Diribe arrived in Athens with nothing but the future ahead of him now as a football coach. 

Being a position coach at Georgia means you have access to the best football players at your position in the entire country on the recruiting trail, but it also means it's your room. Georgia is very unique in the sense that for the most part, who the position coaches recruit is their prerogative, and it's also their livelihood. In other words, the success of your unit is on you. 

So, as regimes change, so do the body types and players at that position. And after two months of Uzo-Diribe's tenure in Athens, it's clear some things are changing, drastically. 

Length and Athleticism

Take a look at the players Uzo-Diribe has offered and prioritized at the position in the recent months: 

• 2023 EDGE Bai Jobe - The No. 1 player in Oklahoma, Jobe is a 6'5, 220 pound converted basketball player and a direct sign of Uzo-Diribe's ties to the midwest and his preference of projection and length. 
• 2023 EDGE Caleb Herring - The No. 1 defender in the state of Tennessee, it didn't take long for rumors of a 6'6, 215-pound EDGE defender playing inside linebacker at the Pylon 7on7 for Uzo-Diribe to offer. 
• 2023 EDGE, Gabriel Harris - Recently on a visit to Athens, the 6'4, 240-pound edge defender out of Valdosta is already SEC playing weight. 
• 2024 EDGE, King Joseph Edwards - 6'5, 230, by now you should have noticed a theme here. 

Uzo-Diribe is clearly seeking length here, and so is Georgia. The Bulldogs rounded out a 2022 OLB class prior to Uzo-Diribe's arrival that saw four Avatars enter the equation. 

• Mykel Williams - 6'5, 245
• Marvin Jones Jr. - 6'6, 235
• Darris Smith - 6'6, 230
• Carlton Madden - 6'4, 240

Nolan Smith has been an incredible football player and leader for Georgia, Chazz Chambliss will likely turn out to become the same. MJ Sherman was a promising prospect in high school and is on the verge of a promising junior campaign in 2022, but physically they are much different than what Georgia has coming their way. 

• Nolan Smith - 6'2, 240
• Chaz Chambliss - 6'2, 250
• MJ Sherman - 6-2, 250

Those inches add up on the edge, the NFL knows it, and Georgia seems to have figured it out as well. 

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