ATHENS — For all the attention paid to Georgia’s wide receiver concerns during fall camp, it’s not the only area of worry for the Bulldogs this coming fall.

Georgia’s pass rush simply has to be better this fall.

“The Bulldogs have tons of star power on defense,” ESPN’s Mark Schlabach wrote. “But can they generate a disruptive pass rush? Georgia ranked last in the SEC in sacks with 20 in 2025. Linebackers Chris Cole, Chase Linton and Quintavius Johnson are three names to know.”

Of the 12 College Football Playoff participants, Georgia ranked last in sacks. The Bulldogs failed to sack Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss once in the two meetings last fall. That partially explains why the Rebels scored 74 points across the two games, the latter of which ended Georgia’s season.

The Bulldogs didn’t lose much of their sack production from a season ago, though there admittedly wasn’t much to lose.

Through the team’s first scrimmage, Smart hasn’t been able to get much of a read on whether or not the Bulldogs will obviously be improved in that area this fall.

“I’m not ready to say that the defensive line is ready to rush with four and get there every time,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I certainly hope they can, but I didn’t see any indication that that was the case from what I saw Saturday.”

The heat was a major issue for the Bulldogs this past Saturday, with Smart noting the on-field temperature got up to 114 degrees.

It also doesn’t help that Georgia isn’t allowed to hit their quarterbacks during practice. That’s nothing new, but questions do still linger as to whether Georgia can consistently finish at the quarterback, rather than simply create pressure.

Georgia’s leading pass rusher last season was Chris Cole. He returns this season, having previously indicated his own pass rush abilities have been a major point of focus.

The aspect Smart likes the most from Cole right now comes on the leadership front.

“He practices with such max effort that he conditions himself through practice to the next day he can go further and he’s just you know like a rubber band which keeps expanding and he’s got more elasticity as he goes and he can stretch himself longer,” Smart said. “And you know we’re trying to be smart with him too because he’s played winning football and you know we want to number one keep him healthy, number two we want to keep him fresh.”

Smart went on to add that Cole is one of the hardest-working guys on the team. That could greatly help the Georgia pass rush, given Cole might be its most promising option on that front.

Georgia hopes that second-year defensive lineman Elijah Griffin is able to provide more pressure from the interior of the defensive line. If that can happen, it frees up edge rushers like Cole and Linton to have one-on-one opportunities on the outside.

Griffin had his first career sack against Charlotte last season. He’s still looking to notch one against SEC competition.

To this point in fall camp, the Georgia defense has gotten the better of the offense. Much of the conversation has centered around how well the secondary has performed to this point.

A strong defensive backfield will give Georgia more time to get to opposing quarterbacks.

An elite defense, though, will have receivers covered and quarterbacks on their backs, still holding the football.

That’s the challenge for this Georgia defensive front in 2026.

We’ll begin to find out if they’re capable of doing so not in Georgia’s upcoming scrimmage, when quarterbacks are still protected, but on Sept. 5 when the Bulldogs take on Tennessee State.