You can look at any position grouping on the Georgia football team and find players considered by many to be legitimate stars.

We’ve already considered the incredible amount of talent that’s been accrued on the offensive line.

On defense, the star power that defensive coordinator Dan Lanning has to work with at outside linebacker may ultimately be just as impressive.

The Bulldogs graduated senior D’Andre Walker, but if you look around the room at the players, there’s no shortage of talent, albeit young, that fans should be very excited about seeing this fall.

Names like Adam Anderson, Brenton Cox, Robert Beal, and Azeez Ojulari are no doubt already familiar to most. But when you look at who else head coach Kirby Smart brought in with his most recent class, it should make for some interesting competition, not only this spring, but into fall camp.

Early enrollees Nolan Smith of Savannah and junior college transfer Jermaine Johnson have already received high marks according to some of our sources.

How Lanning ultimately molds this unit as its position coach will be a key for Georgia in its effort to affect opposing quarterbacks more than it did a season ago.

The talent appears to be in place. The question is: Will the group’s production matchup?

Let’s take a look, shall we?

Walker was Georgia’s big playmaker at outside linebacker, following the graduation of Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy following the 2017 season.

The Atlanta native led the Bulldogs in sacks (7.5) and hurries (14). It was a fine year by any standards—until he was forced to leave the second half of the SEC Championship against Alabama with a foot injury that ultimately cost him the rest of the game, along with the Sugar Bowl against Texas.

With Walker out, the Bulldogs were unable to generate the needed pressure to contain Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts, who led Alabama to its comeback victory.

Meanwhile, of the returnees, teammate Walter Grant is considerably experienced, with both Anderson and Cox flashing in different games throughout the course of the season.

Fans even got a taste of Ojulari, who received significant time in the Sugar Bowl. He finished with four tackles as one of the few Georgia bright spots against the Longhorns.

Overall, however, the fact the Bulldogs finished with just 24 sacks was a problem, and if there’s one area where Smart wants to see improvement this fall, that’s it.

The key departure is undoubtedly Walker, who did a fine job stepping into the role of both on-field contributor and leader following the graduation of Bellamy and Carter.

It’s a shame he got hurt.

The Fairburn native was playing at a career-best level before coming out of the game early in the third quarter against Alabama. Who knows what might have happened or what the outcome might have been had he been healthy enough to keep playing?

Johnson was ranked as the nation’s No. 3 overall junior college prospect, according to Rivals, following his two-year career at Independence Community College.

As a sophomore, Johnson—who grew from 6-foot-4 to 6-foot-6 during his stay at the Kansas school—posted some impressive numbers.

In 20 career games for Independence, the Eden Prairie, Minn. native totaled 96 tackles—19 for loss—with 12.5 sacks, along with four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.

Smith was Rivals’ No. 2 overall player for the Class of 2019. A native of Savannah, the former five-star player played his last two years at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he made 47 tackles, 14.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks.

This will be an interesting group to watch this spring for a couple of reasons, as Smart has made it clear he wants to see his defense get more sacks and pressure than it did a season ago. To make that happen, Georgia’s outside linebackers will have to be the ones leading the charge.

There’s going to be some serious mixing and matching with everyone Lanning will have on hand.

If you want me to lay odds: Of the returnees, sophomore Adam Anderson may have the best chance to make a big jump as one of Georgia’s most talented pass rushers in 2019.

However, from what we hear, Johnson is ready to make an immediate impact at the position, while the freshman Smith is said to be picking up the Bulldogs’ defensive scheme quickly and could find his way on the field sooner than originally planned.

Cox should start at one of the three spots, with Beal and Ojulari joining Grant as every-game parts of the rotation.