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Young linebackers Patrick, Smith have become Georgia’s defensive anchors
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In Kirby Smart’s first season as Georgia’s head coach, the noted defensive mind inherited quite a bit of youth on that side of the ball.
Georgia’s entire front seven had a new look and included several underclassmen in key positions. Two underclassmen, sophomore linebackers Natrez Patrick and Roquan Smith, are emerging as playmakers.
Patrick and Smith are the Bulldogs’ leading tacklers, with 55 stops apiece. They have shown a penchant not only for making a lot of plays, but also opportune plays.
Smith jumped onto the radar during Georgia’s season-opening win against North Carolina, when he diagnosed a screen play and forced a safety to give his team a surge of momentum.
“Who would deserve it better?” Smart said about Smith after the 33-24 win. “You’re talking about a guy that works so hard and buys into everything we preach. He practices faster than he plays sometimes. I mean, he literally loves the game of football. And everybody told the kid he was too small. All he has done is overcome that.”
Since that game, Smith has continued to develop and improve. In the past four games, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker from Montezuma, Ga., has 33 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
Patrick has been Smith’s partner in crime during that time. The 6-foot-3, 238-pound linebacker from Atlanta shows the ability to get into an opponent’s backfield and has 4.5 tackles for a loss this season.
These numbers pale in comparison to those of the top linebackers in the conference, Vanderbilt’s Zach Cunningham or LSU’s Kendall Beckwith, but Patrick and Smith are still young with a lot of room to grow.
Among the SEC’s younger defenders, however, they are making their mark. Georgia’s linebacker duo is fourth in total tackles among underclassmen at their position in the conference. Considering Smart’s tendencies to rotate defenders on defense, Patrick and Smith are making the most of their playing time.
That time on the field was in serious doubt ahead of the Florida game, though, as both were involved in a situation with campus police that involved items associated with marijuana use. Charges were never brought against either player, and both were cleared to continue with the season.
“We brought the matter to a conclusion today,” Smart said at his Monday press conference before the trip to Jacksonville. “I’m happy for these two young men. They get to move on to football and not have to deal with the distraction. I will say, on the field, these two young men have been exemplary leaders, especially for sophomores.”
Leadership is another aspect these two linebackers have developed. Before the season, Smart lamented the lack of veteran leaders and said the coaching staff had to work to fill that void.
As this season progressed, that problem disappeared and more players stepped into a leadership role, especially among the sophomores. Patrick and Smith are obvious choices to fill that leader role on defense. Talented young linebackers, they are in the middle of the action and have a stake in the new direction the program is headed under Smart.
Patrick and Smith seem destined to become a vital part of a defense that could be among the conference’s best once fellow young players like Trenton Thompson, Julian Rochester, Deandre Baker and Jonathan Ledbetter come of age.
In year’s past, linebacker pairs like Alec Ogletree and Jarvis Jones have given way to Ramik Wilson and Amarlo Herrera. That steady combination in the middle is something that Georgia’s defense has been missing in recent seasons.
If Patrick and Smith continue along the path they are headed down, that playmaking defensive tandem won’t be missing for long.
William McFadden covers the University of Georgia for Saturday Down South. For news on everything happening between the hedges, follow him on Twitter @willmcfadden.
