Justin Williams has the kind of energy that tends to light up a room, and on Friday that was on display at a back-to-school event at an Athens Boys and Girls Club. The Georgia junior linebacker was there helping out in the community, but he also made it clear he thinks the Bulldogs’ linebacker group is about to give fans plenty to be excited about.
“It’s going to be great to see what we can do and what we can put together. I feel like it’s gonna be a lot of excitement from that room,” Williams told Dawgnation at a community event on Friday. “ … We’re doing something special, doing everything we’re supposed to do, and hopefully we can live up to that and just live up to our own the way we see ourselves, and let’s go have fun.”
Williams is aiming for a bigger role this season after playing behind now-Indianapolis Colts CJ Allen last year. He figures to be part of the top end of a deep inside linebacker group that also includes Chris Cole and Raylen Wilson.
Wilson is stepping into the lead role in that room, and he’s coming off a season in which he finished second on the team with 76 tackles. He also understands the weight that comes with Georgia’s linebacker tradition, especially when this group gets mentioned alongside the 2021 unit of Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Channing Tindall.
“Just to be in the same conversation with them is really a blessing and a good opportunity for us to show what we’re about this season,” Wilson added.
Georgia has had a pattern of third-year linebackers putting together award-worthy seasons, with Roquan Smith in 2017, Dean in 2021 and Jalon Walker in 2024 all turning in complete campaigns that earned them the Butkus Award. This year, Wilson and Cole look like the early names to watch.
Cole, who led the Bulldogs with 4.5 sacks last season, said he wants more from himself as a pass rusher in his junior year. Even after finishing first on the team in sacks, he believes there’s still another level to unlock.
“I feel like I just left a lot on the table, which now I’ve learned from it and I’ve watched film on it,” Cole said. “But this year, I just want to come for it all and to be the best version of myself.”
The veterans in the room are also making sure the younger players don’t get lost in the shuffle, and sophomore Zayden Walker drew strong praise from both Wilson and Williams.
“Man, Zay-Walk, he’s going to be a dog next year. That’s what people need to know,” Wilson said.
Walker played in 10 games last season and finished with six total tackles, including two sacks against Texas and in the SEC Championship game against Alabama. Williams said the sophomore has the kind of versatility that can make him a problem for offenses.
“He’s great,” Williams added. “He can rush.
He can do it. He can cover.
He can do anything that he wants to do. That’s my dog.”
Walker missed spring practice after offseason shoulder surgery, but he is expected to be fully ready when Georgia opens fall camp in early August.
For Williams, Wilson and the rest of that inside linebacker group, the goal is simple: keep building on all that talent and end the year with a smile, ideally while holding a national championship trophy.
In Other News...
Oklahoma's Coach Just Said What Georgia Fans Already Believe
Brent Venables did not exactly hide his respect for Georgia when asked about the Bulldogs, and the Oklahoma coachs praise fit the broader reality around Kirby Smarts program. Georgia has become the standard others measure themselves against, especially at home, where the Bulldogs have turned Sanford Stadium into one of the sports toughest stops and made consistency look routine.
The timing only adds more intrigue, because Georgia and Oklahoma are set to meet again in week four of the upcoming season after having played just once before. Their only previous matchup came in the 2018 Rose Bowl, a game Georgia won, and now the Sooners will get another crack at a program Venables clearly views as the benchmark. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smarts Son Is Suddenly Becoming A Real Recruiting Battle
Recruiting has already found its way to Kirby Smarts family tree, and it is happening earlier than anyone might have expected. Andrew Smart, still just a high school freshman prospect, is beginning to draw scholarship attention, with Georgia Tech among the schools that have already stepped into the picture. For Georgia fans, the storyline is obvious: when the coachs son starts getting real looks, every offer carries a little extra weight.
Syracuse coach Fran Brown, who previously worked with Kirby Smart, has also made clear he likes what he sees and intends to get involved. Browns interest adds another layer to a situation that is already unusually personal, because any future offer would come with a conversation that goes beyond standard recruiting. The bigger question now is how Andrew will navigate all of it as the list grows, especially with the family connection to Georgia looming over every step. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Can Only Watch As Damon Wilson Becomes What It Still Needs
Damon Wilsons path since leaving Athens has only made the old what-if feel sharper for Georgia. After transferring to Missouri and then moving on to Miami, the former Bulldogs edge rusher has kept climbing, and his preseason All-ACC First Team nod is a reminder of the kind of pass-rush talent Georgia has spent the past couple of seasons trying to replace.
For Georgia, the frustration is not just about losing a player who could help on the edge, but watching him become exactly the sort of disruptive defender the Bulldogs still need. Wilsons legal fight with the program over an NIL buyout remains unresolved, adding another layer to a separation that already carried plenty of sting for a defense that has had to keep adjusting without him. [Read more 🡒]