When Georgia kicks off spring practice in March, sophomore Marvin Jones Jr. will be stepping into the cleats of two former teammates he credits for showing him the college ropes.
Both Robert Beal Jr. and Nolan Smith are moving on to the NFL, leaving behind Jones and a handful of other relative newcomers to help fill those shoes.
“I would say Nolan and Robert Beal would be my two guys I kind of look up to and who have been there since I was a recruit to help me out,” Jones said. “Things like the mental aspect of how I should think and go through working, things like getting off the ball, being physical, stuff like that.”
Jones Jr. should have plenty of opportunities.
Along with Beal and Smith, Georgia’s outside linebacker room grew smaller after M.J. Sherman transferred to Nebraska, leaving fellow sophomore Darris Smith and junior Chaz Chambliss as the most experienced players back at the position.
The Bulldogs do have sophomore Jalon Walker, who received reps at both inside and outside linebacker, while Xavian Sorey could potentially receive some looks.
Otherwise, position coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe will be giving long looks to redshirt freshman C.J. Madden, along with true freshmen like Gabriel Harris, Samuel M’Pemba, and Damon Wilson.
‘It’s been a journey. It’s definitely been fun learning along the way,” said Jones. “It’s obviously a lot different than high school. There’s been a lot to learn, but it’s been fun for sure.”
For more on Georgia’s outside linebacker room heading into spring, let’s take a look below.
While Chambliss will be counted on to provide much of the leadership for what's going to be a very young group, Jones, Madden, and Smith bring tremendous upside.
“Between Marvin, Darris, and CJ, those are three guys who are young, who are uber-talented, but you also love the work ethic they have,” Uzo-Diribe said. “They come to work every day, try to work on their craft, and get themselves ready to the point where their numbers are called as well. The want-to those guys have, to be successful, to be the kind of football players that they want to be.”
We did not mention sophomore Jalon Walker in the chart above, but keep an eye on him.
Walker came to Athens as an inside linebacker, but later in the season repped on the outside.
Xavian Sorey is another inside backer who could potentially receive looks on the outside.
In the case of M’Pemba, Harris and Wilson, Uzo-Diribe said his outside linebackers room is about to get even better.
“M’Pemba, Wilson, and Gabe Harris, those three guys are three good guys and they’re going to help provide some depth that we’re going to need at this position after losing guys like Robert and Nolan,” said Uzo-Diribe, who added the athletic ability of all three jumps off the page.
“With Damon, what jumps out about him is his ability to rush the passer,” Uzo-Diribe said. “But he’s also very physical at the point of attack that you’ve got to have to be here for us.”
M’Pemba best days are yet to come.
“With M’Pemba, it’s the athletic ability that he has on the edge,” he said. “He’s still new to the position; he’s just scratching the surface, so he’s going to have a high upside, I believe.”
At 6-foot-4 and 254 points, Harris might be the most physically impressive of all.
“That guy’s a freak with his physicality,” Uzo-Dribe said. “He’s what this program is, he’s physical, he’s tough—a South Georgia kid that we’re proud and excited to get in this program.”
