When Georgia defensive line coach Tray Scott looks around this spring, he won't see Jalen Carter.
Projected as one of the top picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, Carter leaves Athens as arguably the most dominant defensive tackle in all of college football.
While this would qualify as bad news for most, Scott just smiled.
"I don’t know how it’s going to look, but I know it’s going to look good because that’s the standard," said Scott, who has cultivated the Bulldogs' defensive line into one of the strongest units on the entire Georgia team.
Just like Georgia did a year ago when the Bulldogs had to replace Jordan Davis, Travon Walker, and Devonte Wyatt, next year's team must replace the talented Carter.
"The pressure of what Travon, Devonte and Jordan built, and even those before them, Malik Herring, Jonathan Ledbetter, David Marshall, John Atkins, those were the guys who six years ago created the culture there. Those guys who I just mentioned who played in the Rose Bowl and got us to our first national championship game, those guys left a legacy," Scott said. "They helped me and Kirby [Smart] develop a culture for our group that puts pressure on the current players to uphold our standard. If you look up the standard definition, you’ll see 'the quality of something' and those guys have the pressure of making sure that quality stays like it is."
We'll hear more from Scott as well as we take a closer look at what the Bulldogs have back on the defensive line in 2023.
Even with the loss of Carter, the Bulldogs return plenty of talent on the defensive line with seven lettermen back from last year.
We'll start with Mykel Williams, whose hard work and desire made him one of the top freshmen defenders in the SEC.
"I love him because he’s a really hard worker, and is a willing learner," Scott said. "That has helped him tremendously. He’s good versus the run, he’s a natural pass rusher, bend, and an athletic guy, but those are the things that helped him as a player."
Williams is not done yet. Scott says he believes the rising sophomore can and will get even better.
"When you become a virtuoso at something, you do it so well that you can’t mess it up. We’re not to that point yet," Scott said. "There’s always little nicks and knacks that we can work on, like 'Hey, let’s make you step this way because if the running back is over here, you want to be able to do this. Or, ‘Hey, let me do this with my weight,’ so we’re always tweaking on it and we’re searching for perfection knowing that we never could get there."
Junior Nazir Stackhouse played a huge role, especially when the Bulldogs were still without Jalen Carter.
"I would have been lost without Stack this year. Stack did a tremendous job of owning the burden of responsibility when there was a time when Jalen was a little bit unhealthy," Scott said. "He waited his time behind our guys last year. He learned from them and he kept preparing like he was going to play every play and every down."
Freshman Bear Alexander had to lose 40 pounds when he first arrived. But once he did, the Texas native quickly showed he was worthy of the five-star ranking bestowed on him as a high school senior.
Alexander was a fixture in Georgia's third-down defensive package, and played big roles in Georgia's wins over Ohio State and TCU in the College Football Playoffs.
“That was a role that was created for him when we recruited him, one that he’d be able to bring value to that,” Scott said. “You always want two or three guys who can do the same thing," Scott said. "So, when Jalen was unavailable, or when Warren (Brinson) was unavailable, or Naz (Nazir Stackhouse), then Alexander was in a position to be like hey, I got it, next man up.”
Rising senior Warren Brinson is a player who also started to come into his own.
"I’m so excited to see how he continues to develop throughout this year. Hopefully, we can do a good job and keep him here," Scott said. "He’s got the potential to leave right now if he wanted to, but it’s one of those things where he’s really self-aware, so he’s really trying to improve in his small world and fundamentals to make sure he maximizes his value, too."
Zion Logue is another veteran player who will bring tons of experience into next season's defensive line room.
"One of the secret guys in our group. Zion is a quiet leader with a strong mindset. Zion cares about the team, first. It’s been great to see his maturation since 2019 and he’s really been able to show and grow, and bring more value to himself, really over these past two years," Scott said. "Last year we had three first-rounders in our room, this year we have another one (Carter). He (Logue) could be right in there. He brings a lot of value."
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins offers depth at defensive end with Williams and Walthour.
"He's a really big defensive end, that gives us value on the edge and also value as a pass rusher as well. I’m excited to see his progress," Scott said. "Between him Tramel Walthour and Mykel Williams, they’ve made my job really easy because all of them work hard, they play similar positions and they’re each other’s biggest fans. I’m excited to see what he does wrapping up his second year and going into this third year."
