Georgia won’t be leaning on Xzavier McLeod this season, and it sounds like the program has known that for a while.
Kirby Smart said on the SEC coaches teleconference that McLeod has not been with the Bulldogs since the second practice of fall camp in early August, which makes the recent news feel far less sudden inside the building than it did from the outside. McLeod, a defensive tackle who started six games last season, was removed from Georgia’s roster this week after announcing on TikTok that he had retired from football.
“Xzavier hasn’t been with us since the second practice, so all the news with Xzavier, everybody’s acting like it’s something newly released or something,” Smart said. “I think he practiced once or twice before he decided to give it up and just didn’t want to play football anymore. Certainly respect that.”
McLeod arrived at Georgia from South Carolina before the 2024 season and had two years of eligibility left, though Smart said he will graduate this fall. Georgia’s photo from Aug. 7 showed McLeod at practice, which would have been the Bulldogs’ third session of the fall.
On the field last season, McLeod gave Georgia 17 tackles, 6 quarterback pressures and 2 pass breakups.
With McLeod out of the picture, Smart made it clear the answer up front is not going to be one player stepping into a single giant role. Instead, he pointed to the whole defensive line room.
“For us, our kids have been practicing really hard at defensive line, and we’ve got a really good group that is exciting to watch and have been doing an exceptional job,” Smart said. “Tray (Scott) really pushes that group, and they’ve been doing a great job in practice and probably got as much depth as we’ve had there. I don’t know that we have one dominant player, but we’ve got a lot of depth at that position, and I’m excited to watch those guys go play.”
Elijah Griffin said Tuesday he learned McLeod was no longer on the team the same way everyone else did. He also said he and McLeod were close, but that they did not talk about the off-field issues.
“I didn’t really know,” Griffin said. “Obviously, me and Xzavier were close, but we didn’t really talk about those off-the-field issues or so. But no, that’s just up to Coach (Tray) Scott and Coach (Kirby) Smart, I have no idea.”
Georgia figures to spread the extra snaps among Griffin, Joshua Horton, Nnamdi Ogboko and Jordan Hall. Hall is working back from the knee injury he suffered against Florida last season, but Smart said he is expected to be ready for Georgia’s first game.
“I feel good about that room and all those guys are going to be ready to play,” Smart said.
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