Georgia football: 2018 defense will need help

D'Andre Walker #15 of Georgia football reacts after the sacking Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners during the third quarter in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

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Linebackers

First the good news. Natrez Patrick returned to the Georgia football team for spring drills. If he minds his Ps and Qs, he will start and star for the Dawgs at middle linebacker.

Now the bad news. Roquan Smith is gone, and no combination of players, scheme, or force of nature can replace Smith’s ability to shed blockers, run to the ball, cover in the secondary, rush the passer, and overcome poor schemes or bad plays. The Dawg’s defense will be much weaker on the inside in 2018.

On the outside, the Dawgs must replace two containment and pass rushing superstars, Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy. Carter also served as a super-athletic “fix it” man , excelling as a hands on the grass trench warrior, pass rushing speed merchant, Velcro pass defender, and turnover scavenger.

One possible super-star linebacker has emerged on the outside, D’Andre Walker.

A rising senior, Walker toiled behind Bellamy, Carter, Jordan Jenkins, and Leonard Floyd. “I’m proud and happy that I finally get a chance to show my talents,” Walker told Wilson Alexander of the Macon Telegraph.

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