ATHENS — We got a good, long look at the 2026 Georgia football team on G-Day, which doubled as its final of 15 practices this spring.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart came out of the practices pleased with the overall development of his team, even hinting that a few backups had pushed previous starters for their jobs.

“Happy and pleased with the spring overall,” Smart said. “I thought we had a good spring. I thought our guys got better. We got probably more reps than we’ve ever gotten before in terms of 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s on a full body of work.”

Below is our updated look at where things stand with Georgia’s depth chart on the defensive side of the ball following the conclusion of spring practice. Georgia’s first game of the 2026 season comes against Tennessee State on Sept. 5, giving players plenty of time to make even further improvements.

Georgia football 2026 depth chart, defense

Defensive tackle:

Nose tackle

Defensive end

Analysis: Much like the wide receiver position on offense, don’t get too held up on who is lined up where. Georgia loves to rotate on the defensive line so as to keep guys fresh.

Griffin looks like an outright star at this point. McLeod is a great veteran to have, while Horton, Johnson, Ogboko and Greene all flashed on G-Day. If Jonah-Ajonye can turn a corner and Harris and Hall come back healthy, this is going to be Georgia’s deepest and possibly best defensive line since the fabled 2021 unit that had four future first-rounders on it.

Outside linebacker:

Analysis: Time will tell how much Georgia ends up missing Amaris Williams after he suffered an ACL injury during the end of spring practice. Georgia hasn’t ruled out a return for the Auburn transfer, but he faces a long road to recovery.

That will put more on the plate of Johnson, as well as Harris. Linton really impressed this spring, while Brooks had some nice flashes for the Bulldogs with 2.0 sacks on G-Day.

Inside linebacker:

Mac:

Money:

Analysis: That Georgia was missing Wilson, due to a knee injury, and Walker, due to shoulder surgery, and still didn’t miss a beat speaks to the depth and talent in this room.

Williams took a noticeable step forward this spring, as he figures to soak up a lot of the snaps vacated by CJ Allen. Kruah impressed as a blitzer on G-Day.

It was a rather quiet spring for Cole but just about every Georgia fan knows he’s due for a big fall. The question with the talented junior is whether that is as a pass rusher or while dropping into coverage. How Georgia deploys Cole and Walker as well will be one of the more interesting subplots for this defense.

Cornerback:

Right cornerback:

Left cornerback:

Analysis: Robinson and Jones were both held out of G-Day but it sounds like their starting spots are secure based on what they did in the previous 14 practices for the Bulldogs.

Conley really impressed when pushed into action on G-Day, perhaps giving Georgia better depth than it might have assumed at the position.

Georgia interestingly did play freshman safety Tyriq Green at cornerback, cross-training the talented freshman. Justice Fitzpatrick is set to arrive this summer, though he’ll be sidelined as he recovers from a December knee injury.

Free Safety:

Strong Safety:

Star:

Analysis: While the cornerback position is somewhat of a mystery, we got a pretty good idea of how Georgia is going to sort out its secondary.

Transfer Khalil Barnes was one of the talking points of spring practice, as he assimilated effortlessly into the Georgia secondary. He seems to have two hands on the starting spot at Star.

Barnes’ emergence moved Dinkins to safety. He’ll have to fight hard to win that job, especially as Jones and Riddle get healthy.

Green, Robinson and Stewart all came down with interceptions on G-Day. Green is best positioned to make an impact as a true freshman, but there’s a lot to like at the safety position long-term, something that hasn’t been said all that often.

Kicker

Punter

Long snapper

Punt return

Kick return: