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Greg McElroy explains why he feels Georgia’s defense will return to form in 2025
By Sydney Hunte
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Greg McElroy knows that Georgia‘s traditionally strong defense lost a little bit of its shine in 2024, missing some of the consistency that a Kirby Smart-led unit is known for.
The ESPN college football analyst, though, feels that 2025 will mark a return to dominance for the unit, ranking it his No. 4 defense in the country.
“This was a group that was a little bit up and down last year, but I do think their low points should be quite a bit higher last year, partly because I just trust Kirby Smart. I think he’s one of the best defensive minds in the entire country. I think he creates a culture of physicality and toughness that a lot of people don’t want to play against,” McElroy said on his “Always College Football” podcast on Tuesday.
McElroy mentioned the longevity of defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, who worked with Smart at Alabama, was one of his initial hires at Georgia, and remains with the program to this day.
And despite the talent the team has lost in the offseason — including 1st-round pick Jalon Walker — it’s nothing to worry about, McElroy added, while bringing up defensive lineman Christian Miller as a potential breakout player.
“When have you ever been super concerned about some of the departures that we saw off Georgia’s defense?” McElroy said. “I’m not one that spends a lot of time worrying about the personnel that Georgia had.
“They had a lot of guys that were in and out of the lineup and a lot of guys that were banged up last year, and yet they still played pretty good football throughout most of the year.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
