Georgia Bulldogs

ATHENS, Ga. -- James DeLoach wasn’t the highest-rated player in Georgia’s 2012 signing class.

Heck, he wasn’t even the highest-rated player from tiny Jenkins County High School (enrollment of approximately 400) to sign with the Bulldogs that year. That honor went to defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor, who was ESPN’s No. 53 overall prospect. But DeLoach is on the verge of making an impact alongside the more heralded members of his crop of recruits.

DeLoach played sparingly last fall as a freshman, but has an opportunity to become a starting outside linebacker this season. If DeLoach’s progress from a strong spring continues, he’ll prove that even if he didn’t receive as much attention as some of his fellow 2012 signees -- particularly one from his own Class A high school -- he was far from being just a throw-in to secure Taylor’s signature.

2012 review: DeLoach drew consistent praise from defensive coordinator Todd Grantham starting in preseason camp, but the freshman barely made an impact on scrimmage downs. He played in 13 games and totaled just four tackles and two quarterback pressures in limited work.

2013 preview: With veteran pass rushers Jarvis Jones and Cornelius Washington out of the picture, DeLoach stands to figure more heavily in Grantham’s plans this fall. DeLoach was the starting strongside linebacker in the base 3-4 package during spring drills and will battle for that honor this fall.

Spring prospectus: By all accounts, it was a productive spring for DeLoach. With Chase Vasser still sidelined by his recovery from shoulder surgery, DeLoach got a long look at SAM linebacker and finished second on the starting defense with six tackles and a sack in the G-Day game. He’ll have to compete with Vasser and others once the team returns to the practice field in August, but DeLoach seemed to help his cause this spring.

Career potential: Georgia had no idea what it had on its hands when DeLoach signed with the Bulldogs, only that he had a future as a defensive player. He had played multiple positions on either side of the ball in high school and Georgia’s coaches thought he could become a defensive end, inside linebacker or outside linebacker depending on how his body filled out over time. DeLoach has found a home at SAM, although at his listed weight of 270 pounds, he can always slide down to end in certain situations. That versatility is going to make him a valuable player for Georgia over at least the next two seasons.

ATHENS, Ga. -- Cornelius Washington realizes he is something of a walking draft-season cliché, but the former Georgia pass rusher seems OK with that notion. The formerly off-the-radar prospect was simply hoping for an opportunity to impress scouts -- and once that opportunity arrived, Washington was able to capitalize.

He didn’t generate much NFL buzz with a quiet senior season (22 tackles, three tackles for a loss, half a sack), but Washington has turned heads across the league with a series of impressive performances in pre-draft workouts.

“I was kind of at the bottom,” Washington said. “Between the Senior Bowl and the combine and what I’ve been able to do [last week at Georgia’s pro day], my stock I feel like is rising and I’m very proud of that.”

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Aside from tailback Isaiah Crowell, no player in Georgia’s heralded 2011 recruiting class arrived with more hype than defensive end Ray Drew. And yet the rising junior struggled to make much of an impact in his first two seasons as a Bulldog.

But after working his way into the defensive line rotation late last season and acquitting himself well -- including an eight-tackle game against Georgia Tech, a single-game total that tied for second among Georgia’s defensive linemen last season -- Drew entered this spring with a newfound confidence that he can perform at the college level.

“The more you play, the more comfortable you get,” Drew said. “And then after I had my game against Georgia Tech where I think I had about eight or nine tackles there, I guess it kind of just freed me and it was kind of like, ‘OK, let’s go.’ ”

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Several of RecruitingNation's SEC sites will look this week at the players headed to the NFL combine, which begins Friday in Indianapolis, and other predraft camps. Today: Defensive linemen and linebackers.

Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia’s time to shine in Indianapolis will arrive Monday, when the defensive linemen and linebackers take the field for their combine workouts. The Bulldogs will have six players on the field, including a trio -- John Jenkins, Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree -- who have a strong chance to become first-round draft picks in April.

• NG Kwame Geathers (Position rank: No. 14)
  Strengths: Geathers’ greatest strength as a pro prospect is his size (6-foot-6, 355 pounds), which will likely convince an NFL team to draft him earlier than his college production might indicate. There is always a place in the league for oversized defensive linemen who can occupy multiple blockers, and Geathers certainly has the pedigree to become a longtime NFL performer, with several family members having played in the league.
  Weaknesses: Of the draft-eligible juniors who opted to leave Georgia early, perhaps Geathers’ decision was the most questionable. He has never been a regular starter and was an inconsistent performer for much of his career. A team will likely draft him based on potential, but he still has a lot to work on before he becomes an NFL regular.
  Comparison: Kade Weston. Much like Geathers, Weston was a massive interior lineman at Georgia several years back. The New England Patriots drafted him in the seventh round of the 2010 draft, but injuries kept him from playing for the team. He spent last season with the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- This won’t be the most crucial offseason of Todd Grantham’s relatively brief time at Georgia -- that honor goes to 2010, when he started installing his 3-4 scheme shortly after joining Mark Richt’s staff in January -- but it might be the one with the most roster uncertainty.

The Bulldogs will lose 11 key players off its 2012 defense, and that number could grow to 12 if junior nose guard Kwame Geathers declares for the NFL draft, so spring practice will feature major competition within every defensive position group.

“I kind of put them up on the board the other day and we’ve got some talented guys. It’s just a matter of developing them and working them and filtering it,” Grantham said. “Our depth is going to be better than it’s been the last couple of years, but it’s going to be young. So there’s a little bit at every spot.”

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Editor’s note: Each day between now and Georgia’s Capital One Bowl date with Nebraska, we will review the season for a key Bulldogs player and attempt to project what’s next. Today we’ll look at linebacker Christian Robinson.

No. 45 Christian Robinson
Senior/Inside linebacker
44 tackles, 6.5 TFL

Role in 2012: Robinson mostly contributed in third-down situations -- although he played a much greater role in defending the option offenses of Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech at the end of the season.

The good: The senior mostly had a quiet season until the final two weeks against Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech. He tallied half of his season total for tackles (44) in those two games alone -- 13 against Georgia Tech and nine against Georgia Southern -- and four tackles for a loss. Otherwise, he typically played on third downs while Amarlo Herrera and Michael Gilliard alternated alongside Alec Ogletree on first and second downs.

The bad: Robinson is the first to admit that he isn’t Georgia’s most physically gifted linebacker -- and that was a key reason why he lost playing time to Herrera and Gilliard after opening 2011 as a starter -- instead having to rely on smarts and preparation to get his job done. There were times where opponents exploited that shortcoming with quicker receivers or backs, but by and large he played his role effectively.

Crystal ball: Although he plans to eventually become a football coach just like his father, Robinson hasn’t given up on the idea of playing professional football. He was invited to participate in a postseason all-star game -- the Raycom Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. -- along with teammates Gilliard, Cornelius Washington and Abry Jones. One way or another, he has a promising future in the sport, whether it’s on the field or on the sidelines coaching.