It’s the one thing that seems to have gone relatively unnoticed for most of the preseason.

Well below the radar to the hoopla surrounding Georgia’s ongoing quarterback battle, the arrival of new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and the question marks at wide receiver.

But it’s a vastly improved defense under second-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt that could ultimately be the key to the Bulldogs’ SEC Championship and College Football Playoff hopes.

A year after arriving and thrusting a number of young players into his new system, Pruitt has to feel extremely good about the progress the unit has made as it readies for the Sept. 5 season opener against Louisiana-Monroe.

He’s just not letting on.

“We’re very inexperienced, first of all,” he recently said, according to the website DawgNation. “You’ve got [outside linebacker] Jordan Jenkins and you’ve got [linebacker] Leonard Floyd, that’s the two guys that have played a lot of football. [Safety] Dom Sanders started every game last year, and besides those three guys, there’s a couple of guys that have started some games here, but other than that, there’s not a whole lot of experience.”

Poor-mouthing like former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz is somewhat understandable from Pruitt, who came to Athens from Florida State. Pruitt was the architect of a stingy defense that helped the Seminoles win the 2013 national championship, and before that Alabama, where he coached the secondary to two national championships, and before that Hoover (Ala.) High School, where he coached the defense to two state championships.

The reality is that the Dawgs appear loaded on defense, with eight returning players boasting at least eight career starts. Jenkins, Floyd and sophomore outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter are the stars of the bunch, matchup nightmares whose speed and athleticism figure to allow them to again feast on opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers.

But they’ll have plenty of help. A playmaker who recorded three interceptions and a fumble return for a score a year ago, Sanders joins strong safety Quincy Mauger to anchor a solid secondary, while true freshman defensive tackle Trenton Thompson could pace a very deep and talented stable of defensive linemen who will provide pressure up front.

The entire unit figures to be better this fall after a year of experience and being better acclimated to Pruitt’s 3-4 scheme. Reactions figure to be quicker and more fluid when they come naturally.

That’s a scary premise, given that Year One under Pruitt saw Georgia improve in scoring defense (20.7 points per game from 29.0), yards allowed (337.2 yards per game from 375.5) and passing yards allowed (170.4 from 227.4). The new and more aggressive approach paved the way for the most dramatic improvement to come in turnover margin (plus-16), good for fourth nationally and fourth-best mark in school history and a second-place SEC finish in passing efficiency defense.

Coach Mark Richt saw so much that he liked after just one season that he gave Pruitt a raise in the offseason, making him one of the nation’s highest-paid assistant coaches at $1.3 million per year.

But Pruitt, who also coaches the team’s defensive backs, isn’t the type to rest on his laurels when there’s still so much to be done. The Bulldogs defense certainly had its moments last year, but public failings in stopping the run such as what happened in the upsets suffered at the hands of rivals Florida and Georgia Tech are never far from his mind.

The Dawgs surrendered an average of just under 118 yards rushing per game in their 10 wins in 2014, but were gored on the ground for an average of 331 yards per game in their three losses, including a season-high 418 in the stinging 38-20 loss to the Gators.

Georgia finished the season ranked a disappointing 63rd nationally (166.9 ypg) in rush defense after finishing an average 43rd (148.2 ypg) the year before.

But Pruitt’s offseason changes in both personnel and the team strength program figure to help shore up that vulnerable area of the defense. As will the more consistent play he expects from all of his players following a year under his tutelage. Pruitt just asks that they always play hard and be physical.

His decision to move the versatile and rangy Floyd all over the field this fall should reap added dividends, as it allows the Bulldogs to keep him, Jenkins and Carter always on the field at the same time.

Their ability to consistently rush the passer and always find the ball will make the entire defense better.

Nevertheless, Pruitt took great pains to point out that he lists 17 new players on defense. Sixteen of those are freshmen, some of whom will likely be in the Dawgs two-deep.

“So we’re in a process of building, trying to create an identity,” he said, according to the website. “And we’ve got a ways to go on that.”