Georgia’s signing day began with securing its highest ranked commit, five-star outside linebacker Mekhail Sherman out of Washington, D.C.
At six-foot-three and 235 pounds, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Sherman bulks up to 245 or even 250 with help from Georgia’s nutritionists and strength and conditioning staff. This would allow him to play more of a role in setting the edge and occasionally playing weak-side defensive end.
At his current size, Sherman is versatile enough to play middle linebacker or even at STAR, the hybrid linebacker-defensive back position; he covers tight ends and running backs well, can drop into zone coverage and possesses the excellent footwork and 4.53 speed necessary to allow him to change directions swiftly.
Having previously played running back in high school, he diagnoses run plays exceptionally quickly and, once he sees where the ball is, disengages with blockers and accelerates toward the ball carrier.
He’s a sideline-to-sideline runner at great speed much like Roquan Smith but with size more comparable to Lorenzo Carter, Leonard Floyd, or Davin Bellamy (with the edge rush ability to match). Changing direction and honing in on tailbacks at his size is difficult to fathom.
In other words, he’s a jack-of-all trades and master of a few of them.
This presents the question: where will he line up within the Dawgs’ defensive front? The answer is: likely a little bit of everywhere.