GAMECHANGER: Why Drew Bobo’s Return Will TRANSFORM Georgia Bulldogs’ Offensive Line in 2026

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Spring football is here for Georgia.

Let's talk about some injury news.

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What is up everybody?

Welcome back to the Lockdown Bulldogs Podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Your team every day, I am Daniel.

Excited to be with you again for another week of the Lockdown Bulldogs Podcast.

Today we're going to be talking about Kirby smart spring presser.

It's a few days old now, but we've had March Madness stuff to talk about.

We've had all the other things that we've been diving into.

So we're going to talk about some injury news.

Not really news, but some injury updates for Georgia as they head into spring.

We're going to talk about a couple of pieces of good news in segment one and segment two.

We're going to talk about maybe one concerning injury situation that at least has the potential of a long term adverse effect on Georgia.

And then segment three will talk about Kirby smart and the winning culture at Georgia.

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But let's jump in Kirby met with the media last week as spring practice kicks off gets underway.

And one of the first things that he of course wanted to discuss was some lingering long term injury.

So let's talk about a couple guys in this first segment that Kirby gave some reports on that I considered to be good news.

And they are both in the trenches one on the offensive side of the ball one on the defensive side of the ball.

The first is Drew Bobo.

Drew Bobo is still rehabbing after his injuries sustained late in the season last year.

As you know, miss the SEC championship game missed the college football playoff game.

The sugar bowl and he will miss the spring.

Drew Bobo will.

But Kirby said should get back to work this summer, which would indicate to me that all systems are ago for a Drew Bobo being ready to start this fall.

Now we know he's not going to need more experience. He's got tons of SEC experience.

We know that he already has the trust of the coaching staff and we know quite frankly that he's already the best option at center.

It's nice that Georgia has a season and more than serviceable backup at center.

But what we said as we went into this conversation about the offensive line, which is one of the most fascinating positions I think on the entire Georgia roster.

What we've said, Clinton, I all off season is that Georgia's best offensive line is with Drew Bobo starting at center and having a starting and backup center that are specifically designated for that role.

And then the guards and tackles being pulled from other places.

So yes, you can take, you know, you can take centers and slide them out to guard and put them in and Kirby's going to play the best five.

But I think the best lineup for Georgia is going to involve Drew Bobo being the starter, having a more than capable backup at center and then being able to to sprinkle in, you know, we kind of have a feel for what Georgia has at guard.

The questions will be at tackles, particularly left tackle will earn a screen slide over to left tackle and so who's going to be your right tackle.

If our screen stays at right tackle, who's going to be your left tackle.

Will it be one Gaston or will the two guards be.

Don't go over and one Gaston and if so, who's your other tackle going to be.

But either way, this offensive line is made immensely better with the addition or the re insertion of Drew Bobo at center.

He really is the engine that makes everything go.

The security blanket for Gunnar Stockton, he is the guy that is making the checks, making the calls at the line that's getting everything together and will offer some much needed continuity for whatever the five man rotation ends up being on this offensive line, the offensive line of place that I think has the opportunity to be a major strength for this Georgia football team.

The season and one on which I think they're going to lean heavily as maybe wide receiver is not quite what it was with the absence of Zachariah branch.

But the running back room is absolutely loaded with talent.

And so you combine that with a veteran offensive line anchored by Drew Bobo, one Gaston, Dantro Glover and Ernest Green, those four guys coming back.

Now, I know they weren't necessarily all starting at the same time last year, but that's four starters SEC starter caliber players that you're able to return and then you sprinkle in one more tackle, but either way, you've got a large majority of your offensive line, not just solidified, not just stable, but potentially dominant for the University of Georgia.

And so I think good news, Drew Bobo will miss the spring, but I think overall good news that Kirby seems optimistic that he will get re that he will jump back in to football activities this summer, presumably, now he didn't say this because he's not going to say this, but presumably ready to participate and be a full go in fall camps in, you know, once that starts in August.

So that'll be something to keep an eye on in August is Drew Bobo a full go with the starters when fall camp starts obviously will keep you updated on that, but that seems like good news now on the other side of the ball.

Jordan Jordan Hall is the player that Kirby smart reference, we know the Jordan Hall went down.

It was probably week four week five of the season and he was having a really good year, you know that on if you a long time listen to this podcast, you know that I particularly love Jordan Hall, I really thought he was due for a breakout season last year.

Just an immensely talented player who has whose career has been, I mean a word that's I'm probably overusing here, but whose career has been tragically cut, like cut down by injuries.

Because if you look at the potential, the talent that a guy like Jordan Hall possesses and yet every year of his Georgia career, go back and look every year of this man's career, he has been cut down by injury after injury after injury, sustaining injuries to both legs, all sorts of both kind of random injuries and contact in play injuries.

So Jordan Hall's rehabbing from a leg injury that he sustained last year and at this point, I'm not.

You know, I think at this point kind of enough is enough.

I think Jordan Hall's ceiling is a really good competent player for Georgia, I don't think any longer I'm not holding out hope for him to burst onto the scene this year and show the form that it looked like he had the potential.

To have coming out of high school as a five star number one overall player in some recruiting service rankings.

I just think there's been too many injuries that the cumulative effect of those injuries, I think is probably too much for him to show that kind of form, but do not underestimate what the presence of a healthy Jordan Hall adds to the depth and does to solidify.

This defensive front obviously anchored by a guy in Elijah Griffin who I think has the chance to be the best defensive lineman that has played at Georgia.

And I know the names I get it I understand who David Pollock is we were the same we went to college at the same time we were at Georgia at the same time.

I understand who jailing Carter is and what an immense talent he is, but look at what Elijah Griffin did as a true freshman compared to any of those guys and it'll tell you that he's got the capability to not only match them, but exceed them in terms of his performance on the field.

So defensive front anchor by Elijah Griffin you obviously have veterans like Xavier McLeod, other guys you know up and down that front you bring in a guy like a Maris Williams who I think I drafted him last week in the dudes draft like he's my guy and so I obviously think he's due for a big season playing off the edge on the end of that line.

I think you add another body in Jordan hole not just a body but a guy that's got a ton of talent a guy that's got a ton of experience as many injuries as he's had this guy's played a lot of SEC snaps.

And so the fact he's going to miss spring yes, but also should be ready Kirby says buy this summer presumably should be ready for fall camp and a chance to give it another go for Jordan home good night.

This guy is due for some injury luck right does it get to the full season with no long term injuries sustained by Jordan Hall could we please one time do that if we do I think it will do go a long way in terms of solidifying that defensive rotation up front.

And we all know that the more a Kirby smart defensive front is able to rotate in fresh bodies like the depth of talent is where Kirby has always lapped his competition and Kirby's able to rotate in fresh body after fresh body after fresh body and those fresh bodies are not just.

Jags like just a guy but they're actually talented dudes who have a chance to significantly impact plays and winning then that's where the Georgia defense gets back to being the quote Georgia defense that we've all come to know and love under Kirby smart and so I think the Jordan Hall news is big I think the fact that he's back and he's continuing to give it a go for Georgia is big.

Don't sleep on Xavier McLeod don't sleep on a guy like Jordan Hall reestablishing himself this year as critical depth pieces and so yes he's going to miss the spring but I like the fact that he's on track for the fall I think that's big news for Georgia and I think it bows well for the Georgia defense moving forward all right we're going to come back right after these and we're going to talk about one injury situation that I think is a little bit concerning.

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so we talked about two bits of I mean no injury news is good news right but we talked about two encouraging pieces of news that Kirby smart shared both drew Bobo and Jordan Hall yes they're going to miss spring but they're so expected to get back to work

Jordan Hall Kirby says already running already doing things already moving athletically which is a great sign and should be back to work this summer and when fall camp rolls around you would expect both those guys again both veterans both guys with SEC experience both guys that don't necessarily need the reps they need them to getting game shape they need them to get back into the flow of things but they don't need the reps for experience in fall camp

so it's nice to know that they'll be back and be able to kind of ease their way back in to those spots as we move towards the 2026 2027 season now a guy who also is out for this spring is Zaden Walker Kirby smart mentioned him now again Zaden Walker not expected to miss time next year the inside linebacker who kind of burst onto the scene late in the year last year

another five star number one linebacker in the country a couple years ago who is now you know as a as a freshman last year made some plays late in the season was kind of used sporadically and strategically in certain packages in certain situations

and showed a lot of ability showed a lot of ability to both get after the passer and perform well in spaces and inside linebacker needs to he sustained an injury and is rehab is currently rehabbing that is going to miss this spring now again he should be back this summer and fall camp and so you say to me well that sounds a lot like Drew Bobo and it sounds a lot like Jordan Hall so why is this not good news why is this something

maybe I wouldn't call it bad news but something that maybe I'm a little bit more concerned about and that is simply the experience factor as we mentioned both Drew Bobo and Jordan Hall veterans of the SEC they got years of starting experience under their belts Zaden Walker

this is kind of the year we know CJ Allen moves on to the NFL now Rayland Wilson comes back one of the most important things that happened in this Georgia off season and we're going to get to that in the third segment come back one of the most important things that happens Rayland Wilson comes back now we know we have Justin Williams we know I have Chris cold the kind of jack of all trades where does he fit where is he not fit where is he going to play where is he going to line up

but as we saw late in the season a lot of people including myself think that Zaden Walker has a chance to kind of step into that third linebacker role on this team I really do think that the inside linebacker position has a chance to be Rayland Wilson won

Justin Williams 2 and Zaden Walker 3 with Chris Cole being utilized elsewhere and so if that's the case then Zaden Walker who has gone through a spring practice before and a fall camp and a full season

but for him to miss this second go around of spring practice where everything's not new anymore where he knows the drill he knows the system and now maybe he's repping one or two levels higher than he was last year in spring practice for him to miss these reps for him to miss this opportunity to grow and develop and really find his place among the defense I think has a chance to be in the next season

I wouldn't say problematic but maybe I would say troubling for the Georgia defense I really think Georgia's best defense is if Zaden Walker emerges as a legitimate dude this season I really think Georgia's best defense is if people are questioning who the two best linebackers on this team are

because Zaden Walker does not allow them to say it's anyone that doesn't include him I really think that's the defense that Georgia's going to thrive in this year I just you know we it gets referenced a lot but the Channing Tendell Quay Walker Nicobie Dean defense where if you put a gun to somebody's head and said who are the two best linebackers on the defense they might give you two names but the next game you know they might tell you it's Nicobie Dean Quay Walker

but the next game Channing Tendell would go out and have three sacks in a force fumble and a tackle for loss in the backfield on a screen pass and all of a sudden you'd be thinking like well maybe Channing Tendell is the best linebacker on this team I think there's a chance that the Georgia linebacking crew this year could look like that

Now last year I thought there was a chance and it was supposed to be CGL and Rayla Wilson and Justin Williams or Chris Cole I think this year Zaden Walker's got a chance to to put himself in there and and give that Georgia that truly three man group where you might see all three of them on the field at the same time at times but you're certainly going to see a situation where no matter which two of them are on the field you're going to feel great about it

with Zaden missing spring I do think it it's not ideal could we just say that it's not ideal for this Georgia defense now do I think it's a huge deal no thankfully to this point Georgia has not had any massive injury concerns but we got a long way to go and we know the injuries are going to happen but to this point Georgia has generally avoided those massive concerns

But I do think Zaden Walker is something to keep an eye on how is he looking during fall camp when he finally does come back and he's participating in full practices with the team

How is Georgia looking at G Day without him who are other guys that maybe are are going to try to take advantage of this opportunity and assert themselves into a position where maybe they will contribute to this Georgia defense

It will be interesting to see what happens at inside linebacker but I do expect big things from Zaden Walker moving forward all right we're coming back I'm going to talk about this Kirby smart culture

He said some interesting things in his presser as you would imagine but first these

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So a lot gets made every year and because of guys like Lane Kiffin about the transfer portal guys who go out and they build this roster and they bring in all this talent and listen

There are guys that have had success in doing so Texas tech this year had a lot of success kind of put their football program on the map

But there are not but then there there are differences between the old misses of the world and the Texas text of the world who are the same and the Ohio States of the world and the Georgia's of the world who are also the same and the difference is when you rely on the transfer portal

You are having to rebuild a culture every single year when Kirby smart has said he would much rather establish a culture and when he was asked how he felt like his team did in the transfer portal Kirby smart

Instead chose to focus on I felt like we did a really great job and we put a lot of effort into retaining our current players couldn't I have long said that the thing that Kirby smart does best in this era this transfer portal era is he retains players at an insane rate now that's not to say we never lose anybody good

Georgia lost an outside linebacker to Missouri last year he was very good and he would have helped the team if he had stayed there's a defensive back this year that Georgia lost in the portal a corner that I thought was going to be the number three corner on the team this year and he left and Georgia had to go to the portal bringing the corner from Oklahoma

and I don't know how he's going to do I have my reservations but it's not to say the Georgia doesn't ever lose guys in the portal because they do sometimes

but by and large in this culture in this day and age Kirby smart does a better job than anyone of retaining the talent he has on the roster how many five star guys are currently not going to start for this Georgia football team this year

they could have left and gone to any number of programs and started right away started accumulating stats started generating buzz on social media maybe made I mean oftentimes we know they could have made up to three times

as much in NIL other places as they're being paid at Georgia and yet consistently year after year guys choose Georgia why do they do that watch the NFL drafts in a couple weeks and you'll find out it's the same reason certain guys transfer to Georgia it's the reason

Maris Williams left out Auburn that absolute dumpster fire over program and came to Athens because he said I'm tired of wasting all this talent I need to I need to find somebody who's going to take my talent and help me use it to achieve my dreams

that's why people don't leave Georgia because of the long term payoff of playing for Kirby smart and this coaching staff it's the culture that Kirby has built in Athens and you see it this off season I think most clearly as I mentioned in the last segment you see it in a guy like Raylon Wilson Raylon Wilson could have done any number of things this off season he could have gone to the NFL where he probably would have been like a fourth round draft pay

now a fourth round draft pick in the NFL makes compared to you and I makes a lot of money like a good amount of money but Raylon Wilson also could have transferred to any program in the SEC let me be clear any program in the SEC he could have gone Ole Miss he could have gone to Texas he could have gone to LSU he could have gone anywhere in the SEC and started

all 15 other schools were taken he also could have gone to Ohio State he could have gone to Michigan he could have gone to Oregon he could have gone to USC he could have gone anywhere he wanted in the country and he probably could have found found somebody that was willing to grossly overpay for him because their defense was trash

but instead what do Raylon Wilson do he said C.J. Allen is going it's my turn it's my turn to come back last year at this time C.J. Allen won a first round draft pick I don't know if you looked at any mock drafts you didn't see C.J. Allen's name as a first round draft pick by the way that's why you shouldn't spend any time looking at mock drafts for upcoming seasons because the people to make the mock drafts don't know a dang thing about a dang thing you didn't see C.J. Allen's name on the first round

you think he's going to get drafted in the first round yeah it's an absolute certainty Raylon Wilson says my time to come back to Georgia to make my mark on this program and to achieve my dreams to show the world what I can do in the red and black and the power G

that's why people stay at Georgia it's the culture that Kirby smarts establish it's why he's still the king of college football forget about Kurt Signetti forget about all these Dan landing and all these Johnny come late at least Kirby smarts been here he continues to be here and he continues to show over and over again year after year why there is no one else like him in all of college football

alright Clint's going to be back tomorrow we're going to have lots more for you to discuss about this Georgia football team so make sure that you're with us all season long subscribe on YouTube subscribe on audio wherever you get your podcasts and we will talk to you guys soon see you

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