UNSTOPPABLE: Elijah Griffin and Joseph Jonah Ajonye Lead Georgia Bulldogs' Defensive Line RELOAD

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It's not just one.

Georgia has the two most electric defensive linemen since Jalen.

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What is up everybody?

Welcome back to the Locked On Bulldogs Podcast.

Part of the Locked On Podcast Network.

Your team every day.

I am Daniel.

So excited to have you back on a Monday.

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Move and be moved more on Mazda in a moment.

It's a new week.

We are back.

We got plenty to discuss.

There's plenty of topics surrounding at the Georgia football team that we'll get into.

Some offseason recruiting.

We're going to be going through looking at some different position groups and how we

feel like they stack up.

We're going to be talking about impact players.

There's plenty that we're going to get to between now and spring practice.

Also, the basketball team is coming up onto SEC tournament play beginning on Thursday

because your dogs get a buy in Nashville.

So that begins on Thursday.

We'll talk about basketball in the third segment.

So if you're a basketball fan that makes sure you stay till then.

But we're going to dive in to the defensive line today, the defensive front.

We've spent the last couple of time episodes talking about position groups that we feel

are maybe lacking in terms of the overall roster construction.

On the offensive side, we talked about the wide receiver room.

There's just not a lot of proven talent.

There's no Zachariah branch, at least that it appears from that outside perspective.

Maybe somebody elevates their play, maybe somebody rises to that occasion.

Maybe you see one of the young guys step up and become that.

But as of right now, there's really no proven weapons.

London Humphreys is by far the most experienced wide receiver that has the most production

under his belt.

And that's not saying a lot because he's not then an overly productive wide receiver.

Georgia loses Colby Young, Georgia loses Zachariah branch, et cetera, Dylan Bell, et cetera.

On the defensive side of the ball, we sent us to corners who, again, there's talented

players, especially at the top, Ellis Robinson, Demela Jones.

But once you get beyond them, some of the guys that looked like they were going to be

contributors this year left in the transfer portal.

And you have one incoming transfer from Oklahoma that I said I'm not particularly excited

about, but maybe he'll prove me wrong.

And then you have a bunch of young guys.

And so who is it that's going to step up and provide that depth and stability at the

corner position?

We don't know.

Those are two position groups that we're a little concerned by.

The defensive line though, I thought it was time for a little bit of a lighter episode,

a little bit of a pick me up because oh, by the way, George is going to be good again

next year.

George is going to have a really good football team.

And sometimes if we're not too careful, we can spend a lot of time talking about position

groups that we're nervous about.

That's what the office is kind of all about.

But the defensive line is a position group that honestly I could not be more excited about.

And so let me start here.

Let's start with the known commodities that are returning for Georgia on this defensive

line.

And it begins with Elijah Griffin, the absolute stud freshman had a more productive

freshman season than Jalen Carter did when he was a freshman in Athens, more disruptive

in the trenches than Jalen Carter.

And so that's at least a good starting point if you're looking.

Elijah Griffin is the whole package.

He can rush the passer.

He eats up space in the middle.

He takes out multiple blockers.

He's a guy that defenses have to plan around on the interior of the defensive line, which

is the single hardest place to plan around somebody, right?

If you have an edge defender, you put a tight end over there, you put a running back over

there, you're chipping, you're helping.

When you get a guy in the interior, this is what made, there's what made Jalen Carter

so dominant.

It's what even helped join Davis to become the household name of the dominant player

that he was.

When you get a guy on the interior that's impossible to block, that guy, you can't help.

There's no help your guards in your centers.

They're just screwed in there.

They're going to get steamrolled.

Elijah Griffin is that dude.

And he returns to what I think will be anchor this Georgia defensive front.

But he is by no means alone.

And I would say next to him, Joseph Jonah, Jonah is those two guys are as talented of players

as we've had in Athens on the defensive line since Elijah Griffin.

I know Christian Miller was a great player and a damn good dog and wish him well at the

next level.

But Christian Miller was not as talented.

He did not have the raw athleticism and talent that Joseph Jonah, Jonah, and Elijah

Griffin have.

I really expect a big year from Jonah, Jonah this year.

I really do.

I really think this is the year where he leaps forward.

He'll be a red shirt sophomore, his third year in the program.

This is the year that I expect him to be again, he's going to get a lot more run this

year.

He's going to be have more consistent time.

And I expect the reps and the continued development from Trace Scott, which you know he's

getting because Trace Scott is the goat.

I expect a big year from Joseph, Jonah, Jonah.

And if those were the two guys returning for Georgia and now we get it's where we get

into a little questionable scenario here because I'm going to go with veterans instead of

returning players because then you transition pretty seamlessly to Amarice Williams.

Another former five star player, this guy coming off the edge and he's an SEC veteran.

This is a guy that has logged plenty of snaps and has shown plenty of production albeit

at Auburn, not at Georgia.

Now you have these three guys who are all five stars, who are all overly talented, who

all have SEC experience under their belt at least one season and who have all shown

glimpses of crazy productivity.

We're talking about lining those three guys up on a down in and down out basis against

opposing defenses like it is an overwhelming amount of talent that Georgia is able to

field just in those three spots.

And then you solidify that talent with guys like Xavier McLeod, who although just a red

shirt junior this year feels like and a transfer, again, remember early in his career, Xavier

McLeod started at South Carolina, transferred over to Georgia, but feels like now he's been

here forever, he's a veteran, he's been in this trace got system, he knows what's going

on, you slide him in there, you slide a guy like Josh Horton, who I thought got valuable

playing time and experience last year as well, you slide him in there and oh by the way,

Jordan Hall is back, riddled with injuries throughout his career.

At this point, I had big hopes for Jordan Hall last off season.

And I think you started to see that play out before yet another injury.

I don't know what we're going to get from Jordan Hall this year.

I don't know if he will be able to come back, if he does come back to what level he will

be able to regain his form.

I don't think it's fair to put on him the expectations that once were, because of

all the injuries that have plagued him throughout his career, which is just again, you hate

to see that for any kid, for any teen, but Jordan Hall has gone through it, but he's

coming back and when he's healthy, when he's in there, he offers a stability and an anchor

on the interior of that defensive line that is second to none.

You look at those, what did I just list, five, six guys, all of whom are returning, all

of whom have shown themselves to be productive in the SEC, and many of whom are as talented

a defensive players as you're going to find in the country.

I'm just here to tell you, Jaylen Carter got drafted what eighth overall, eleventh overall,

so I don't know.

I don't pay attention.

Because why?

Because some questions about his character.

Jaylen Carter was the best defensive player in college football.

You knew that.

I knew that.

And Jaylen Carter is currently the best defensive player from that draft class in the NFL.

You knew that.

And I know that Elijah Griffin is that he's going to be the best defensive player in college

football.

Maybe not next year, maybe the year after, because oh, by the way, he's only a true

sophomore this year.

But you look at the level of talent between those five guys, six guys, and that's just

the experienced returners.

Amarice Williams, as again, we talked to Jay Crane on here a week ago, as as effective

and gifted of a pass rusher as you're going to find in the entire SEC.

So you put him in Kirby's punch system.

You get him involved with Trace Scott and the development there.

The necessary fire under him and the sky really is the limit for this Georgia pass rush

for this Georgia defensive front.

I expect dominant things, but that's only the returners.

We still haven't gotten to some of the very exciting new names, new faces that we could

see in the rotation along the defensive front for the University of Georgia.

And we will talk about those when we come back right after these.

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All right, so we mentioned that if you just had the returners, you would be in a wealth

of riches Elijah Griffin, Joseph Jonah, a junior Xavier MacLeod, Josh Horton, Jordan

Hall, Jordan Hall coming back this off season was monumental for Georgia.

But those were the only guys that you had.

That would be great.

But then you go out in the transfer portal and you get the number one pass rusher edge

rusher in the portal in Amarice Williams from Auburn you take him right away from one

of your biggest rivals.

He was dominant against Georgia last year guys like Monroe Freeling who by the way is going

to be a top 15 pick in the NFL draft.

Yeah.

He couldn't block Amarice Williams in this game really struggled to contain him on the

edge.

So you go get him in the portal.

That's a newcomer, although an SEC veteran, we talked about him in the last segment.

That's a newcomer, a guy that's going to make this defensive front even better.

You lose Jordan Thomas in the transfer portal.

You lose Kristen Miller to the draft now Kristen Miller to the draft hurts.

But even if it was just the guys that I had talked about you talk about another year in

the program for Xavier MacLeod.

You talk about another year in the program for Josh Horton.

You talk about another year of experience for a guy like Joseph Jonah, Joni and Elijah

Griffin, Jordan Hall returning that alone offsets Kristen Miller leaving plus some.

But then you bring in a guy like Amarice Williams guys.

This defensive front for Georgia is going to be categorically leaps and bounds better

this year than it was last year, full stop, end of discussion.

And I haven't even gotten to some of the new faces that I think we're going to see.

Let's talk about Isaiah Gibson, former five star, kind of way to this turn.

We did see him get into the rotation occasionally.

But you talk about pairing him on the edge behind a guy like Joseph Jonah, Joni.

So you're spelling a five star elite pass rusher with another five star elite pass rusher

right behind him in Isaiah Gibson.

Let's talk about non day oboko because he got and very limited playing time last year.

He flashed and showed me a lot of things that I think give you a reason to be very excited

about him going into his red shirt sophomore season.

And then I remember I talked to coach Hayes like way back in August before the beginning

of the season.

And he told me that one of the true freshmen he was watching out for was JJ Haney.

Now we didn't see a ton out of JJ Haney last year.

But coach, I have not forgotten what you said.

And I really think big body interior defensive lineman, a guy like JJ Haney has a chance

to step in this year and really solidify his place on this defensive front.

And so I mean you talk about Isaiah Gibson, JJ Haney, non day oboku, the newcomers and

I haven't even gotten to guys like bald and sewn who might be the best defensive lineman

in last year's recruiting class.

We haven't even gotten to some of the true freshmen who just just hang on just Kirby smart

have a problem playing true freshmen on the defensive front if they're good enough

to play.

Ask, ask Jalen Carter, is that an issue?

No, it's not.

And so you might see some of these true freshmen, but the depth and the talent on the defensive

line is second to nobody in this country.

Georgia, I would say right now is in as good of a spot on the defensive line as they have

been in since 2021, better than 2022, do you hear what I'm saying?

As good of a spot as we have been in since 2021, better than 2022 in 2021, by the way,

Georgia lined up four across the front, all first round draft picks.

Now Jalen Carter didn't get drafted until a year later because he wasn't eligible.

But in 2021, all first round draft picks.

And I'm telling you that Georgia isn't as good of a spot as they've been since then.

That should tell you what I think about this Georgia defensive front.

Okay, we're going to come back.

I've got some things I want to discuss with you.

I'm just going to I'm not even going to bury the lead.

They are basketball related and you should care a great deal about what I'm going to

say unless you love the national media and you're also an idiot.

But I guess we'll find out I'll be right back.

But first, let's talk about Mazda Mazda's moving the game forward moment for those who

know that there's more that there's more to the score than what's on the screen.

Just like Elijah Griffin is going to move the game forward for this Georgia defensive line.

Get Georgia back to being the premier spot and destination for defensive lineman all

across the country.

He reminds us what it takes to really raise the bar.

It's that extra work off the field, dialing in every detail, getting that extra fire and

grit and I never quit.

Mazda puts the same passion and energy into every model highlights make the real what

it took to get there makes it count.

There's more to a Mazda because there's more to you.

Oh, the Georgia basketball team friends when clicks not here just by the way, it takes

everything in me not to record full episodes of the Georgia basketball team.

So if you're not a fan of basketball content or you're not as much of a fan of basketball

content, just know it could have been a lot worse.

There could have been a lot more of it.

Let's talk about Georgia gets to win over Mississippi state.

Georgia gives up 40 points and to a single player and still cruises to victory scores over

a hundred in a win on the road in the SEC and that brings them for the regular season

as we close out the regular season that brings them to 22 and nine with a 10 and eight record

in conference play 10 and eight in the SEC that that's good enough ladies and gentlemen

for the seven seed in a 16 team tournament in Nashville.

Georgia is currently sitting at the seven seed.

So top half of the league is what we like to call that top half Georgia will play the

winner of Texas and Ole Miss in who play on Wednesday night and then if they're able

to win that game, they will play Alabama again, the number two seed in the quarter finals

of the SEC tournament, a team that Georgia just beat a few days ago, but we'll talk about

the SEC tournament and all of that in a minute.

I want to land here just in a reflective mindset.

Now I'm not going to go after everyone who begged Mike White to be fired.

By the way, you are the problem.

If you were begging for Mike White's job to be taken from him, you are the problem.

You.

That's you.

I'm not going to go after those people right now who I am going to go after is the

people that work for CBS.

The preseason SEC basketball pole.

So SEC basketball in the preseason, everybody's putting out their lists, everybody's putting

out their poles and I'm just going to take CBS as an example of it.

CBS has Georgia as the 14th best team in the SEC, 14 out of 16.

Georgia finishes the SEC seven spots higher than that.

Again, there are people who would like this man to be fired.

They thought like seven spots higher than where they were projected to finish and I just

want to give a special shout out to Isaac Trotter of CBS, who I don't know for some reason

was asked his opinion about SEC basketball and he found it.

He looked deep within himself and he decided that Georgia was the 16th best team, the dead

last worst team in the SEC.

That worst team in the SEC preseason projection just went 10 and 8 in conference play.

Just went 22 and 9 overall is a seventh seed in the SEC tournament in Nashville this week.

Mike White continues to exceed expectations with this roster.

Georgia lost their best player last year to the lottery of the NBA draft.

Let me just go over some recent history of when Georgia loses a lottery pick to the NBA

draft.

Anthony Edwards.

What happened to Georgia the next year after Anthony Edwards left?

Now they weren't great with Anthony Edwards.

They didn't even make the tournament with Anthony Edwards.

What happened the next year?

They fell off a cliff under Tom Kring lost everybody.

Prior to that, Contavius called well Pope.

We lose him to the lottery.

Great player for Georgia.

What happened the next year?

Georgia falls off significantly without him.

Georgia loses their best player to the NBA lottery, Aeson Newell, but not just that.

They lose their second best player to transfer to Yukon and they get not a little bit.

They get markedly better across the board.

They lose Aeson Newell.

The front court is better this year than it was last year, period.

They lose Silas Demory.

The back court is leaps and bounds better this year than it was last year.

What are we supposed to attribute that to?

That's incredible work in the portal, bringing in guys like Wilkinson, bringing in guys like

Cannon Ketchings, bringing in guys like Smurf Millender, like think about the work that

Mike White did in the portal.

I'm not talking about projections.

I'm not talking about what they were like ranking star rankings.

Tell me which team in the SEC had a better portal hall than Mike White in the University

of Georgia.

Tell me.

Tell me who brought in more productive players than Jeremiah Wilkinson, Smurf Millender, Jordan

Ross, Cannon Ketchings.

Tell me who did better in the portal.

Across the country, across the SEC.

Who was it?

You attribute it to the offseason work in the portal and you attribute it to coaching.

Mike White completely changed the philosophy of this team preseason to match the skill set

of his personnel and Georgia was often running.

They're one of the most elite scoring teams in all of college basketball.

One of the best scoring Georgia basketball teams in history, if not the best scoring

team in the history of Georgia basketball.

That's all he's done.

Preseason 14th.

That was consensus across the board.

You couldn't find a publication that was going to rank Georgia higher than preseason 14th.

You couldn't find a publication that was going to give Georgia a shot at the NCAA tournament.

Joe Lenardi would not have put Georgia on the next, next, next, next, next four out to

begin the season, not even under consideration.

And now you got Georgia locked into an NCAA tournament spot, a chance if they make it run

in Nashville to get all the way up to a seven seed in the NCAA tournament.

We'll talk about that later.

You've got a team that finished seventh in the SEC.

You've got a team that won 22 games in the regular season, lost single digit games in

the regular season.

And all of it because of Mike White.

Is Mike White the best coach in college basketball?

No.

Is he as good a coach as Todd Golden at Florida?

No, he's not.

Why it was Todd Golden?

Why was Florida able to get Todd Golden as because Georgia didn't offer him and they

could have had him?

No.

You're able to get these coaches when you are, when you elevate yourself as a program.

Mike White right now is elevating Georgia as a program.

We are better now than we ever have been.

We are better now than we have been at least since the 80s, but probably, but possibly

arguably ever.

Georgia is elevated as a program.

Georgia is not an overlooked destination for people in the portal.

Georgia has done more with less than any program in the SEC 14th preseason, seventh in actuality.

And this Georgia basketball team has still got more days in front of it.

Listen, come back for the rest of the week.

We're going to be talking about the football team on position groups when we talk about

players that we expect to perform players that we expect to let us down.

We'll be covering all of that and we'll be following along with the SEC tournament, talking

about all of that.

If you're a Mike White fan, if you're a basketball, if you're a college basketball fan,

if you're a Georgia basketball fan, make sure that you're tuned in for all of that.

Clint will be back in a few days, but until then, I'll see you guys next time.

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