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DEFENSIVE SPECULATION
I'm certainly not breaking any news that UGA now has a defensive coordinator (former Dallas Cowboys DL coach Todd Grantham), and that he is bringing a new scheme to Athens. Georgia had dominant, suffocating traditional 4-3 defenses earlier in the decade, but the 3-4 has become more and more popular both at the college and pro level. The more I read and learn about the 3-4, the more I love it. Alabama showed in 2009 that an attacking 3-4 being executed by elite athletes harvested in previous top 10 recruiting classes is a sure-fire means to competing for championships. Georgia has not finished outside the top 25 in recruiting this decade, and, more often than not, places in the top 10. Bringing in these highly skilled athletes and "coaching them up" within this scheme is a solid plan to resurrecting the production of those dominant defenses from earlier in the decade. Being a different scheme will, however, mean potential position changes for the guys on our current roster. The positional make up will not be affected much in the secondary, but the assignments and skill-sets needed from the front 7 will change. Grantham is meeting with the team for the first time today, so clearly little to no work has been done by the actual man in charge in terms of assessing each individual's position home. However, that's the beauty of the blogosphere ... I get to speculate and throw out my opinion without any factual basis! So, here's my take on what a defensive depth chart might look like when we take the field against LA-Lafayette on September 4th. Of course, freshman acclimation could significantly change this. Also, I added in parentheses instances where I think a player might bounce between another position.
| NG | DeAngelo Tyson | Abry Jones (DE) | Kwame Geathers | Derrick Lott |
| DE | Demarcus Dobbs | Jeremy Longo | Dexter Morant | Jalen Fields |
| DE | Kiante Tripp | Brandon Wood (NG) | Garrison Smith | |
| OLB | Justin Houston | Cornelius Washington (DE) | Chase Vasser | |
| OLB | Darryl Gamble | Montez Robinson (DE) | T.J. Stripling (DE) | Brandon Burrows |
| ILB | Akeem Dent | Michael Gilliard | Akeem Hebron | Richard Samuel |
| ILB | Marcus Dowtin | Nick Williams | Christian Robinson | Demetre Baker |
| CB | Branden Smith | Vance Cuff | Nickell Robey | Derek Owens |
| CB | Brandon Boykin | Sanders Commings (FS) | Jordan Love | |
| FS | Jakar Hamilton | Shawn Williams | Makiri Pugh | Mark Deas |
| SS | Bacarri Rambo | Quintin Banks | Alec Ogletree (OLB) |
A few other assumptions I'm making here are that Samuel will make the switch from running back to linebacker and Gray will not switch to safety (I think he will land at WR). Also, I'm not including guys not on scholarship, although that's not to say that someone like Reuben Faloughi (DE/OLB) won't make a significant impact this season.