First LB picked in the past 10 NFL drafts

A Georgia Bulldog has been the first linebacker selected in three of the last 10 NFL drafts.

A Georgia Bulldog has been the first linebacker selected in three of the last 10 NFL drafts. Georgia has consistently produced NFL draft picks at the linebacker position since Kirby Smart took over as head coach. The Bulldogs continue to recruit linebackers at a high level.

NFL teams place a premium of fast, physical linebackers that can be productive against the run and the pass. No other school has had the first linebacker drafted in the last 10 years more than once.

Who was the first linebacker taken in each of the last 10 NFL drafts?

Georgia’s Smael Mondon talks freshmen LBs: ‘Everything you want in a linebacker’

Georgia has serious depth at ILB…

Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon is part of a talented group of inside linebackers in Athens.

The former five-star prospect helped revamp a defense that lost three players at the position to last year’s NFL draft, and finished first on the team in total tackles (76) in the 2022 national championship season as a first-year starter.

Mondon, a rising junior, recently spoke about the inside linebacker group highlighting some talented freshmen.

“Raylen and CJ — really all the freshmen, really — they’re all just like a really athletic group. They’re hard workers, strong, fast — really everything you want in a linebacker.”

Freshmen Raylen Wilson and C.J. Allen are among the top players signed to Georgia’s 2023 recruiting class, which finished second in the nation behind Alabama.

Wilson was rated as the No. 3 linebacker and Allen came in at No. 5, according to 247Sports.

Mondon noted the consistency of talent at the position since he joined the Bulldogs as a member of the 2021 recruiting class.

“Even when I first came in here, I feel like the linebacker room has always really been athletic with Quay, Channing and a lot of them guys that were here when I first got here versus now with me, Pop, Raylen, Sorey, all of them. I feel like we’ve always had an athletic linebacker room.”

Mondon enters his second season as a starter along side Jamon Dumas-Johnson, with Rian Davis, Xavian Sorey and EJ Lightsey as reserves.

Wilson, Allen and fellow freshman Troy Bowles, the No. 6 linebacker in the 2023 class, provide plenty of depth for the Bulldogs headed into the 2023 season.

You can catch the Dawgs in action during the annual ‘G-Day’ spring game scheduled for April 15 in Sanford Stadium.

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Former elite recruit, UGA LB transfers to Nebraska

Georgia Bulldogs junior linebacker MJ Sherman is transferring to Nebraska.

Georgia Bulldogs junior linebacker Mekhail “MJ” Sherman is transferring to Nebraska. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound linebacker entered the transfer portal after winning back-to-back national championships.

Sherman is from Baltimore, Maryland, and played high school football for St. John’s College. He came to Athens as a four-star recruit. Sherman was the No. 33 recruit in the class of 2020 and the No. 2 outside linebacker.

Sherman played a lot of snaps on special teams throughout his career with Georgia. He played in 39 games. Sherman recorded five total tackles and 0.5 sacks in 2022 with the Bulldogs.

Freshman linebacker Jalon Walker’s emergence as a pass rusher late in the season made it tough for Sherman to see playing time with Georgia’s defense. He should see far more playing time at Nebraska.

Kirby Smart and Georgia have signed an all-time great recruiting class at the linebacker position in the class of 2023.

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Georgia football player card: LB John Staton

Georgia linebacker John Staton transferred from Samford. In 2019, he recorded 116 total tackles and was named All-Southern Conference

John Staton, Linebacker (No. 35):

Class: Graduate student

Height: 6-1

Weight: 225 pounds

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

High School: The Lovett School

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker John Staton IV transferred to Athens after having an impressive career with Samford. Staton elected not to play in Samford’s spring 2021 college football season.

Instead Staton elected to finish his college football career with Georgia. In 2019, Staton recorded 116 total tackles and was named first team All-Southern Conference. Staton recorded an incredible 22 tackles at Mercer in 2019.

John Staton graduated from Samford in 2020. He played in 34 career games with Samford, where he recorded 149 total tackles. His father, John III, played football at UNC.

Will Staton be able to earn playing time at linebacker for Georgia? Dan Lanning and the Bulldog defense have lots of talent like Nakobe Dean, Trezmen Marshall, Channing Tindall, and Quay Walker at inside linebacker.

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Georgia football player card: LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson comes to Athens after being ranked as a four-star outside linebacker prospect

Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Linebacker (No. 10):

Class: Freshman

Height: 6-1

Weight: 235 pounds

Hometown: Hyattsville, Maryland

High School: St. Frances Academy

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson comes to Athens after being ranked as a four-star outside linebacker prospect. Dumas-Johnson may project as more of an inside linebacker in Dan Lanning and Georgia’s defensive scheme.

Dumas-Johnson committed to UGA over schools like Auburn, Michigan, Florida, Maryland, Penn State, and Texas A&M. He was ranked as the No. 189 overall recruit in the class of 2021. Dumas-Johnson is widely regarded as one of the best linebackers in his class.

Jamon Dumas-Johnson and St. Frances Academy are featured on HBO’s “The Cost of Winning” documentary. His speed and versatility will translate well to the college level.

Here’s a look back at when Dumas-Johnson committed to the University of Georgia:

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Georgia football player card: LB Smael Mondon Jr.

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. enrolled early in Athens and participated in spring practice.

Smael Mondon Jr., Linebacker (No. 2):

Class: Freshman

Height: 6-3

Weight: 220 pounds

Hometown: Dallas, Georgia

High School: Paulding County High School

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. enrolled early in Athens and participated in spring practice. The Paulding County product recorded five tackles in the G-Day spring game. Mondon Jr. comes to the University of Georgia as a decorated five-star recruit.

Mondon Jr. has good size, length, and speed. He is a tackling machine and could earn significant playing time as a freshman. He was all over the field during his days at Paulding County, where Mondon Jr. played wide receiver and running back in addition to linebacker.

Mondon Jr. projects to be a depth piece on Dan Lanning’s defense and a special teams player. Lanning’s defense rotates a high number of defenders every season, so there will be opportunity for Mondon Jr.; Georgia has a loaded linebackers room again.

The five-star recruit will compete with returning inside linebackers Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, Trezmen Marshall, Rian Davis and Channing Tindall for playing time at the inside linebacker position.

The lengthy linebacker has some excellent high school football highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hppb7dWT5uM

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Georgia football player card: LB Rian Davis

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Rian Davis played in seven games throughout the 2020 college football season

Rian Davis, Linebacker (No. 0):

Class: Redshirt sophomore

Height: 6-2

Weight: 230 pounds

Hometown: Apopka, Florida

High School: Wekiva High School

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Davis played in seven games during the 2020 college football season. He recorded one tackle and primarily contributed as a special teams player. Davis changed to jersey No. 0 from No. 12 this offseason.

The Wekiva High School star redshirted during his freshman year in 2019. He appeared in the home loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Davis came to Athens as a four-star recruit and a top 100 prospect. He tore his ACL as a senior in high school (four games in). Davis, an Orlando-area recruit, enrolled early at the University of Georgia and was healthy enough to participate in spring practice before his freshman season.

Davis will be a depth piece on Dan Lanning’s defense, which rotates a high number of defenders every season. Georgia has a stacked linebackers room once again.

The former four-star recruit will compete with returning linebackers Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, Trezmen Marshall and Channing Tindall for playing time at the inside linebacker position.

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UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton: S1, Ep. 20: Season Superlatives Part III and Roster Outlook: Linebackers

J.C. talks about recent Georgia football news, including some key returning talent, and breaks down the Bulldogs’ linebacker room.

Your friends at “UGA Football Live” and UGA Wire present your one-stop shop for all things Georgia football!

This offseason we will be releasing episodes each Thursday with interviews, news and rumors and more!

In this week’s episode, I talk about recent Georgia football news, including some key returning talent, and I breakdown the Bulldogs’ linebacker room. Who’s coming back? Who will start? Who could be a breakout star? I answer those questions and give out Season Superlatives Part III, featuring our 2020 defensive MVP.

Listen here on Spotify:

 

Or here, on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uga-football-live-with-j-c-shelton/id1533295384#episodeGuid=Buzzsprout-7819723

Also I talk:

  • CFB Roundup

I touch on news around the college football world and discuss the strength of schedule of the top returning teams in the country for 2021.

 


Make sure to subscribe, rate and review! And check out our other episodes featuring former Georgia greats like Tavarres King (Ep. 3)  Keith Marshall (Ep. 4) Arthur Lynch (Ep. 6) Malcolm Mitchell (Ep. 7) Drew Butler (Ep. 9) Aaron Murray (Ep. 17) and Brandon Boykin with Chris Burnette (Ep. 18).

UGA football player card: LB MJ Sherman

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Mekhail “MJ” Sherman came to Athens as a four-star recruit.

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MJ Sherman, Linebacker (No. 8):

Class: Freshman

Height: 6-2

Weight: 235 pounds

Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland

High School: St. John’s College

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Mekhail “MJ” Sherman came to Athens as a four-star recruit. Sherman plays primarily outside linebacker, but is quite a versatile player. With his excellent size (six-foot-two and 235 pounds) and speed (4.5 forty yard dash) Sherman can play both inside and outside linebacker.

Sherman will be yet another versatile piece in Georgia’s stacked linebacker core. The Dawgs have Jermaine Johnson, Azeez Ojulari, Adam Anderson, Nolan Smith, Robert Beal, and more returning at outside linebacker.

Sherman tore his ACL during his junior season, but bounced back his senior year and had one of the best high school seasons of any outside linebacker in the country. He’s certainly got the talent to play as a true freshman.

Sherman has been training hard this offseason. He’s got NFL level talent.

Take a peak at Georgia’s impressive linebacker group:

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Watch: Georgia is LBU

Georgia football former players and current coaches release ‘LBU’ hype video in an effort to recruit the top LBs in the country to UGA.

A number of former Georgia players and current coaches have released an ‘LBU’ hype video in an effort to recruit the top linebacker prospects in the nation to Athens.

The video features former Dawg linebackers such as Roquan Smith, Natrez Patrick and Tae Crowder, who have now made it to the NFL, crediting UGA and its coaches for preparing them for the next level.

WATCH:

Glenn Schumann, the Georgia inside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator, gets high praise throughout the video.

“Being coached by the best linebacker coach in the country, coach Schumann, everything we did at Georgia I do now in the league,” said Smith.

Smith was the recipient of the 2017 Butkus Award, awarded annually to the most outstanding linebacker in college football.  Smith is the only Georgia player to receive this high honor.  That year, Smith also won the title of SEC Defensive Player of the Year, First-team All-SEC as well as the SEC Championship Game MVP.

“The linebackers should be the tone-setters for the defense, I want my energy to be contagious to other people on the field and I want my players’ energy to be contagious.” said Schumann in the hype video.

Current Georgia linebackers Nakobe Dean, Monty Rice and Quay Walker are also featured in the video.  These three are all expected to play pivotal roles in Georgia’s defense in 2020, a defense that finished No. 1 overall in team defense in 2019 and allowed only two rushing touchdowns all season.

In Georgia’s 2020 No.1 overall recruiting class, the sole linebacker committed is 4-star Washington, D.C. native MJ Sherman, listed as the No. 2 outside linebacker recruit in the country by 247Sports.

For the 2021 class, Georgia currently has the No. 10 inside linebacker committed in 4-star Baltimore, MD native Jamon Dumas-Johnson.

The Dawgs hope to land 2021 5-star Dallas, GA native Smael Mondon, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 220 lbs and the No. 2 outside linebacker in the country.  247Sports experts have all given their Crystal Ball predictions for Mondon in favor of Georgia.

With the departure of Rice and his fellow rising senior Nate McBride coming following this season, the emphasis on locking down the next wave of linebackers is huge for the Georgia coaching staff.

This video shows why players want to come to Georgia, and that is ultimately to be NFL ready by the end of their college careers.  Showcasing the likes of NFL stars Roquan Smith and Natrez Patrick, as well as Tae Crowder’s transformation from a 2-star wide receiver to an NFL linebacker, is the perfect plan to recruit the top linebackers in the country to Georgia.