Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter have the potential to represent the next wave of standout Georgia outside linebackers.
First-year Bulldogs football coach Kirby Smart wants to make sure they blaze their own path.
Bellamy and Carter are replacing Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins, who now are property of the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets. Before Floyd and Jenkins were the likes of Jarvis Jones and Justin Houston, giving Georgia quite the respected NFL pipeline at that position.
"To say that Davin and Lorenzo are going to fill those shoes I think is unfair to them, because I think those are really big shoes to fill," Smart said in a recent news conference. "I think both those kids are working hard, but they are not where we need them to be. They are not playing physical enough at the point of attack.
"I'm challenging those guys each day to go out and take on tight ends, take on tackles and play more physical. We're not where we need to be at that position."
Bellamy, a 6-foot-5, 241-pound redshirt junior from Chamblee High School near Atlanta, racked up 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles last season. His best showing was in the 27-3 loss to Florida, when he had seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Carter, a 6-6, 242-pound junior from Norcross, also near Atlanta, was a Parade and USA Today All-American who had 41 tackles and seven tackles for loss as a freshman in 2014 but just 19 tackles and no lost-yardage stops last season.
"I think we're doing pretty good," Bellamy told reporters earlier this month. "I know we're going to be counted on heavily this year, so we're trying to take advantage of all our reps. We're kind of conditioning ourselves for taking that bigger role."
Georgia did not have a monstrous drop-off last season from its starting outside linebackers to the backups, and Smart and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker are trying to make sure that's not the case this year. In reserve for the Bulldogs this season are senior Chuks Amaechi, who joined the program last year following a stint at Arizona Western College, sophomore D'Andre Walker and freshman Chauncey Manac. Walker tallied nine tackles last season and Amaechi five.
Bellamy and Carter are not only replacing NFL talents but must assume leadership responsibilities as well, along with returning inside linebackers Reggie Carter, Natrez Patrick and Roquan Smith. The most experienced linebacker in terms of career starts and tackles, Tim Kimbrough, left the program last week.
"A lot of guys on defense are trying to be good leaders, and a lot of guys on offense as well," Smart said. "We have a really good group of core guys, and I do think that both Davin and Lorenzo are trying to lead from the standpoint of emotionally, physically, day-to-day doing things the right way. They've just got to play better and play tougher."
Odds and ends
Smart told Atlanta's 680 AM on Wednesday morning that the quarterback reps now are "not exactly equal." The order during the portion of Wednesday afternoon's practice open to the media was Jacob Eason, Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey. Smart on Nick Chubb playing Sept. 3 against North Carolina: "It's pointing in that direction." Quarterback Parker McLeod, who grew up in Marietta and signed with Alabama in 2013, has joined the team as a walk-on. McLeod left Alabama during spring 2014 and transferred to Western Kentucky, which he left in January 2015. Senior safety Quincy Mauger missed more practice time Wednesday with his foot injury.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.