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Georgia to use the versatile Leonard Floyd all over the field
By John Hollis
Published:
Funny what great length and athleticism can do for increasing the options available to you.
Georgia’s Leonard Floyd has been blessed with both, meaning it’s unlikely that he’ll leave the field very often this fall, even when the Bulldogs tweak their defensive looks.
Floyd is too good of an athlete to holster along the sidelines. But Georgia’s glut of talented outside linebackers such as senior Jordan Jenkins and sophomore Lorenzo Carter meant defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt had to devise a way to keep Floyd on the field.
The answer appears to be a hybrid position in which he will play his customary outside linebacker in addition to inside linebacker and nickelback, depending on game situations. A rangy 6-foot-4, 231-pounds with excellent lateral ability and a penchant for the football, Floyd is a true football player who no longer subscribes to any one position.
“We’re very fortunate to have a guy that’s got the ability to do multiple things like that,” Pruitt told the website DawgNation.com. “So the good thing about Leonard is he can help everybody else right. Until we figure out the other pieces of the puzzle, he’s gonna kind of do all three.”
Floyd seems perfectly suited for the assignment. He’s played outside linebacker for most of his first two years at Georgia, registering 6.5 sacks as a freshman and a team-high 6.0 last fall. A testament to his range , he also saw action in the nickel package as the Bulldogs’ fifth defensive back.
With his size, Floyd is big and strong enough to take on opposing blockers on the inside of Georgia’s 3-4 defense. He’s athletic enough on the outside to drop into coverage and effectively rush the passer. And he’s agile and tall enough to serve as another high-quality defensive back.
Floyd enjoyed his best game at Arkansas last year, tallying a career-high 10 tackles to go along with a sack and fumble recovery to help fuel a 45-32 Bulldogs victory. He finished the season with 55 tackles, including 8.5 stops for losses.
Opposing coordinators can’t be excited at the news that Georgia’s defense will feature Floyd, Jenkins and Carter, perhaps the nation’s best trio of pass-rushing linebackers, on the field at the same time. Expect NFL scouts to swarm to Bulldogs games this year to get a look, as well.
If Georgia’s defense helps the team win an SEC East title, Floyd’s versatility will have been one of the keys.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
