Addressing the media following Tuesday’s practice, Nakobe Dean sported a clean-shaven head—or what was a far cry from the full head of hair the junior inside linebacker has exhibited in the past. “I’m just starting over. I’m going to grow it back,” Dean said regarding his completely shaven head, while grinning.
Dean’s new look is somewhat fitting, considering the new team role he has assumed since the start of spring practice: a coaching presence. Having undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder, he's been limited to conditioning drills during the spring session. Still, considering his limitations on the practice field, Dean has stepped up his game along the Georgia sidelines.
“For the most part, I’ve just been out there coaching, getting my mental reps in, and basically seeing myself out there, making sure everybody upholds the standard,” Dean said. “On this team, more than ever, the players should be the ones upholding the standard. We shouldn’t have to depend on the coaches for that. So I’ve been yelling and everything [at practice]. I get my conditioning in toward the beginning of practice, and, after that, I’m kind of like a coach out there, getting everybody right, making sure everyone knows what they’re doing.”
According to head coach Kirby Smart last Saturday, Georgia didn't “tackle well enough defensively” during its scrimmage, the second of three this spring. According to Dean, for the Georgia defense to uphold the standard, so to speak, it must tackle well.
“We pride ourselves on getting chest-to-chest and thudding anybody with the ball, so that’s part of the defense’s standard. It’s something we uphold,” Dean said. “Basically, taking anything less is not good enough. So we need to get chest-to-chest, thud them, and be able to stay up [when tackling].”
In the looming 2021 season, Dean will be part of what is anticipated to be perhaps the best front seven in the SEC. Besides the Butkus Award semifinalist from a year ago, Georgia returns projected starters junior Nolan Smith and seniors Quay Walker and Adam Anderson at linebacker, and junior Travon Walker and seniors Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt along the defensive front.
According to Dean, there’s one key ingredient in order for the Bulldogs’ front seven to be as successful—maybe even more so—than expected.
“Just communication—communication, knowing we've all got that central role,” Dean said. “We’re working for something bigger than all of us as individuals. So if we communicate with each other—and we continue to keep that fresh in our minds—and we just keep working every day and not getting complacent, keep our foot on the gas, I feel like we’ll be all good.”
Finally, although Dean has seemingly excelled in his new coach-like role, he’s more than ready to be 100 percent healthy and return to the field of play. Once he returns, you can be assured he will uphold the standard of the Georgia defense, while making sure his teammates do the same.
“I’ve got to work like I always do. I feel like I have to work harder,” Dean said. “Not being able to have my spring to work like I wanted to, when I’m cleared to do everything, I've got to work just as hard to get everyone else on board, along with myself.”
