ATLANTA - Georgia's tradition at inside linebacker is staggering if you think about it.
Look at the players who have manned the middle of the Bulldog defense under Kirby Smart. Roquan Smith, Tae Crowder, Monty Rice, Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker, Channing Tindall—each excelled between the hedges and is now playing in the NFL.
This year, the burden has fallen primarily at the feet of Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon. Those two have carried the torch and helped keep Georgia's elite defense playing at an elite level.
"They did not place any limitations on themselves because of their experience or age," co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann said. "I think that's reflected in how they've matured. They've put pressure on themselves, they've matured throughout the year. When it hasn't been up to the standard, they've been hard on themselves."
The standard of the inside linebacker room isn't something that goes unspoken. Schumann said anyone who comes to play linebacker in Athens has high expectations for himself on the field.
Dumas-Johnson and Mondon are their own harshest critics. Through the learning curve that accompanied the early part of the season, they continued holding themselves to that lofty standard.
The learning curve appeared as a steep mountain, to be sure. There's so much more to playing linebacker at Georgia than covering and making tackles.
"In our defense, there's a lot of communication involved," co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said. "A lot is communicated up front based on formation recognition. A lot of this is happening in a tempo setting where it's very fast; there's a lot of things going on. And these two young men have done a phenomenal job of getting us in the right spots defensively, because we have a lot of things that we check based on formation and things."
The key according to Dumas-Johnson is making the most of the early days. True freshmen aren't the ones getting the lion's share of reps in recent years. Each of the previous inside linebackers has had time to watch and learn.
"That first year I took it seriously, paid attention to a lot of things, letting Nakobe take me under his wing and teach me certain things," Dumas-Johnson said. "He really just took me in and I learned the defense hand to hand. And I'm here now, and it paid off, and I give a lot of credit to him for taking me under his wing and teaching me the things he taught me."
Georgia's inside linebackers got a little extra spotlight in last year's national championship game.
Everyone remembers the famous clip of Dean lighting into Tindall after a mistake. On the next play, Tindall sacked Alabama quarterback Bryce Young to force a field goal.
Those two are now gone. But the legacy remains alive and well in the middle of the Bulldog defense.
"They said last year in our 'backer room, they say it every year: 'We lead a good defense, and we get everything straightened out,'" Dumas-Johnson said. "We start things off. We are just the start of the motion of our team. If you don't have a voice in that inside linebacker room, it ain't going to work for the defense. I think everyone respects us because they know what we do and they know what we have to do."
