The Georgia defense lost two of its biggest leaders in edge defender Nolan Smith (Philadelphia Eagles) and safety Christopher Smith (Las Vegas Raiders) this offseason.
The Bulldogs look to be in good hands with defensive back Javon Bullard and inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, who enter their junior seasons.
Bullard praised Dumas-Johnson’s leadership after a fall camp practice session on Thursday.
“He’s (Dumas-Johnson) the voice. As a middle linebacker, you have to take on that role. It’s something that we don’t take lightly,” Bullard said. “He’s been under great leadership prior to getting here. It’s big shoes, but he’s taken on that role and embraces it. He comes to work day in and day out. He’s a close friend of mine that I look up to on the defense. We have to be on the same page. I’m excited for his future and the things he’s going to do this season.”
The previous leadership Bullard referred to came from guys like current NFL linebackers Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Channing Tindall.
Head coach Kirby Smart called Dumas-Johnson and fellow starter Smael Mondon Jr. into his office after the duo had an unsatisfactory start to spring practices.
“Coach don’t praise you or check you unless you’re really doing that bad or really doing that good. When he told us that, we had to really look ourselves in the mirror and actually, you know, be truthful with ourselves about what Coach was saying,” Dumas-Johnson said. “He actually showed us some film and some clips of us that sophomore fall camp going into our sophomore year, and he was right as if we looked at it. And we were hungry. So fast forward to now, you know, you’ve just got to keep the same energy.”
Georgia’s defense has the talent to continue its success this season, but leadership is a need if the Bulldogs want another chance at a national championship.
“My goals are for the team to do what we came to do and set out to be who we set out to be,” Dumas-Johnson said. “I ain’t really worried about my goals anymore. In a team meeting, my coach showed us a lot of players that they had on the third-team coming into the season that went first round, so I swiped that off my mind.
