GEORGIA SPRING AWARDS
OFFENSE› Most Improved: OG Lamont Gaillard and WR Jayson Stanley› Outstanding Walk-On: FB Christian Payne and WR Matt Price› Coffee County Hustle Award: OT Greg Pyke, WR Isaiah McKenzie and TE Jeb Blazevich› Hugh Hendrix Award (Player who most strains his potential): C Brandon Kublanow and OT/OG Isaiah WynnDEFENSE› Most Improved: DB Juwuan Briscoe and ILB Natrez Patrick› Outstanding Walk-On: OLB Tommy Long and DT Alex Essex› Coffee County Hustle Award: Andre Walker, OLB Lorenzo Carter and DB Malkom Parrish› Hugh Hendrix Award (Player who most strains his potential): NT John Atkins
ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia's Davin Bellamy knows he'll be watching next week's National Football League draft to see which teams select former Bulldogs outside linebackers Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins.
He just doesn't know from where.
"I'll be at one of their houses," Bellamy said Saturday evening after the G-Day spring game. "They're both watching from home, so I want to be there supporting them. I'm excited, because I watched those guys grow from when I first got here.
"Those guys molded me to where I am now, and I am so proud of them."
Bellamy, a 6-foot-5, 241-pound redshirt junior from the Atlanta suburb of Chamblee, could offer encouragement to both Floyd and Jenkins if he times things right. According to a CBS mock draft of all seven rounds, Floyd is projected to go to the Chicago Bears as the 11th overall pick in next Thursday's first round. Jenkins is pegged for the Carolina Panthers late in next Friday's third round.
Their selections will continue Georgia's recent run of pass-rushing threats that includes Justin Houston (2011 draft) and Jarvis Jones (2013). It also will result in a new chapter for the Bulldogs that begins with Bellamy, who made two starts last season and totaled 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.
"Those guys taught me to be a leader on and off the field and to always bring it," Bellamy said. "They also told me to be my own person. When 'Flo' and Jordan would come to the sideline last year, they would tell me that it was my turn to go out there and make a play. Those guys made big plays in big moments last year, and that's something I know I am going to have to do.
"I think I'm ready for it. I've put in a lot of work and learned a lot."
Bellamy had a couple of tackles at G-Day for a first-team defense that struggled more often than it succeeded during the stretch run of the NCAA's 15 allotted spring practices. First-year coach Kirby Smart began calling out the defense earlier this month, and he did so again Saturday night.
"I wasn't pleased with the way the defense played," Smart said. "They didn't play with enough toughness. They didn't play with enough effort, and they didn't get any turnovers."
Bellamy has a chance to be the first defensive menace of the Smart era.
After collecting 17 tackles as a redshirt freshman in 2014, Bellamy showed plenty of promise last year, especially against Georgia's biggest divisional rivals. He had eight tackles and a forced fumble in the loss at Tennessee and seven tackles, two for loss and a sack in the loss to Florida in Jacksonville.
Bellamy's improvement last season occurred under former defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, but now he is working under the tutelage of Mel Tucker.
"I feel like I caught it in stride, because my position coach (Kevin Sherrer) is still here," Bellamy said. "We're really the same defense as far as the outside linebackers, and there is not very much learning we are having to do. It's more about perfecting my craft and technique."
Guard Johnson commits
Georgia picked up its eighth in-state commitment for the 2017 signing class Tuesday and the first since 93,000 fans packed Sanford Stadium for G-Day.
The latest nonbinding pledge comes from Netori Johnson, a 6-4, 335-pound guard from Cedar Grove High in Ellenwood who first committed to Alabama before opening his recruitment in February. Rivals.com rates Johnson as the nation's No. 2 guard and No. 29 prospect overall, while 247Sports.com lists him as the No. 4 guard and No. 122 overall.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.