Here is the Jan. 22 edition of The Daily Recap presented by My Perfect Franchise.

Moving on from the Downs race

As Anthony Dasher noted, it would have been nice for Georgia to add Alabama transfer safety Caleb Downs to the roster. While Georgia felt confident in its chances, Ohio State won out as the highest bidder in the NIL era of college football.

That stated, Dasher pointed out the strength in numbers Georgia has at safety. So while losing out on Downs hurts in the short term, the Bulldogs have plenty of talent in the back end.

"(Malaki) Starks is a star, and the fact the Bulldogs were able to swoop in and sign KJ Bolden should make fans pretty good about the situation," Dasher wrote. "For comparison's sake, Rivals ranked Bolden as the 12th-best player in the country, the second-best in the state, and the No. 1 player at his position.Downs was ranked as the 9th-best player in the country, the No. 1 player in the state, and the No. 1 player at his position.

"Now, Bolden – like any player – will have to earn what playing time he gets. My point is, that Georgia had already addressed the position by adding what most consider the nation’s best high school safety to join a group that also includes David Daniel-Sisavanh, Dan Jackson, Jacorey Thomas, and potentially true freshman Demello Jones. No, I didn’t forget about sophomore Joenel Aguero—quite the contrary. It’s just that Aguero is expected to be the main player at star taking over for Tykee Smith.

"The Bulldogs will be just fine."

Predictions revisited

Brent Rollins took a look back at the predictions he made for Georgia's defense last preseason. Among those was a bold prediction about edge rusher Mykel Williams:

August: That line of demarcation is mainly about the ability to consistently pressure the quarterback. In fact, there have been 51 individual player seasons in the SEC with at least 40 pressures since Smart began in 2016, and obviously zero by a Georgia defender. That changes in 2023, as Mykel Williams takes a sophomore leap forward and also gets a Travon Walker-esque volume of opportunities to get to the quarterback. Walker's 381 pass rush snaps in 2021 were by far the most of any Georgia front six defender under Smart. The next closest is Devonte Wyatt's 290 pass rush snaps in 2019.

Revisit: While Williams did lead Bulldog defenders with 26 total quarterback pressures, including six sacks, he didn't come close to the 40-plus predicted. He did miss a game, but one of the primary reasons he didn't get close was the lack of opportunity. I thought he would easily surpass his 288 pass rush snaps from 2022, but he finished the season with just 236 pass rush snaps--nowhere close to Walker's 381 in 2021.

Hopefully, though, the positional usage and production we saw from Williams in the Orange Bowl (below tweet) is a preview of next fall.

Also on UGASports

Resetting Georgia's 2025 defensive back recruiting board.

Georgia basketball's comeback attempt against Kentucky fell short.

Georgia's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Travaris Robinson's salary was revealed over the weekend.

The best linebacker in the NFL, perhaps?

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