Georgia will have college football’s best defense in 2023, says ESPN

Over the last three NFL drafts, the Georgia Bulldogs have had a first-round defender taken at every defensive position. That stat just goes to show how dominant UGA has been defensively in recent years.

And ESPN experts expect that dominance to continue in 2023, with 10 out of 10 analysts voting that UGA will have college football’s best defense this season.

And that’s despite losing some serious talent from last season’s title-winning team, including defensive tackle Jalen Carter, outside linebackers Nolan Smith and Robert Beal, cornerback Kelee Ringo and safety Christopher Smith. Plus, defensive tackle Bear Alexander transferred to USC.

On who will replace the guys on the defensive line, ESPN wrote:

Georgia’s defense is still stacked. The defensive line is anchored by veterans Zion Logue, Nazir Stackhouse, Tramel Walthour and Warren Brinson. Mykel Williams is coming off a minor foot surgery and will also be a big part of this group after leading the team in sacks last year. The Bulldogs are also hoping for development from the likes of Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins and Christen Miller.

At the linebacker position, Georgia’s anchored by returning inside linebacker Smael Mondon and Jamon Dumas-Johnson. Mondon led the team with 76 total tackles in 2022, and Dumas-Johnson was No. 2 on the team with 70 total tackles. There’s concern regarding who will step up at outside linebacker with Smith and Beal gone.

And despite losing Ringo and Smith in the secondary, Georgia should be fine at defensive back. It returns Peach Bowl and National Championship Game MVP Javon Bullard. There’s also Malaki Starks, who was named to the 2022 SEC All-Freshman Team. Plus Kamari Lassiter, who had a very productive 2022.

In conclusion, ESPN wrote:

In total, you’ve got a defense that once again is expected to compete to be the best in the country, and we didn’t even get to the Bulldogs’ highly rated recruits coming in this season. Given how Georgia has been recruiting, it’s hard not to see it this way not only this year, but for the foreseeable future.

Georgia has consistently recruited among the best in the nation, so it’s not a surprise the Dawgs continue to field great defenses. But after losing five defensive players to the first round of the 2021 NFL draft, nobody expected UGA to reload the way it did in 2022 en route to another title.

And now, the Bulldogs are plus-210 to win the title this year. Those are the best odds in the nation, per. BetMGM.