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What's Georgia's Biggest Remaining Offseason Question?

Georgia's defense will look to replace a lot of firepower from a season ago.

The Georgia defense will be feeling the brunt of Georgia's growing pains after seeing a record-breaking 15 players selected in the NFL Draft. A little over half of that number were from the defensive side of the ball, eight, with five going in the first round alone, four being from the front seven.  

2021 saw a "generational" Georgia defense that led the Bulldogs to its first national championship in over 40-years. They avenged their SEC Championship game loss to Alabama in the national championship game with the 33-18 win, capped off by the game-sealing pick-six from Kelee Ringo. 

As ESPN's Alex Scarborough and Chris Low point out, "nobody is going to feel sorry for Georgia" after losing eight players from the defense that gave up just 10.20 points per game while holding opponents to under 100 yards rushing per game and just over 100 yards passing per game. 

Following spring ball, Georgia still has plenty of questions to answer as they await the beginning of fall camp. But one question stands out more than any other, as Scarborough and Low discussed in their SEC Spring Football Recap, where they broke down "what we learned" and "what we need to learn by week one." 

Eight players from last season's generational defense are headed to the NFL, with five taken in the first round. That's a ton of talent exiting, even for a program that has recruited as well as Kirby Smart & Co. Who are the emerging stars on this next Georgia defense?

The pair point to defensive tackle Jalen Carter as someone who Georgia can look to for filling the void left behind by Travon Walker, Jordan Davis, and DeVonte Wyatt, all three first-round picks this past draft. But beyond Carter, Georgia still needs others to step up in the front seven. Beyond the front seven, the Bulldogs will be looking for a new partner at safety for Christopher Smith and at cornerback next to Kelee Ringo.

Post-spring, there are some clues as to who we might see step into larger roles this season. Defensive lineman Zion Logue, linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, and cornerback Kamari Lassiter, to name a few, took some steps during spring practice to position themselves to battle for a starting role come the fall. 

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