If you’re Kirby Smart, it’s not lost on you that you need more aggressive players on the defensive side of the ball.
The defensive unit fielded by Georgia last season were a young (and exuberant) bunch, but they were mostly just young–they needed more time to mature and come into their own as defensive players.
They needed to understand their roles better so that they could execute more consistently.
The hope was that, while that growth and “understanding” was taking place, the veteran presence of players like Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins–both now in the NFL–would make up for any major deficiencies up front, and would (potentially) carry the load as far as keeping pressure on the quarterback and containing the run was concerned.