ATHENS — In hindsight, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Georgia’s pass rush wasn’t ready for primetime last season.

The Bulldogs were young on both the defensive line and at outside linebacker. Aside from Christen Miller, Georgia didn’t really have a lot of proven players at either spot.

Miller is now gone, but just about everyone else returns at those two positions.

At outside linebacker, Chase Linton began to emerge late last season. He took advantage of the extra practice time between the SEC championship game and Georgia’s College Football Playoff game.

While he hasn’t yet surpassed Quintavius Johnson and Gabe Harris on the depth chart, defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann made it clear Linton has a role on this defense.

“What he has is a play style that matches up with how we play but also some ability to generate normal-down pass rush in addition to what he can do on third down,” Schumann said of Linton.

The second-year outside linebacker is still looking for his first sack. That isn’t the case for Zayden Walker, who showed his disruptive potential in wins against Texas and Alabama.

He had sacks in both of those wins, while forcing a fumble in the former.

Linton had a standout spring for Georgia. For Walker, he was on the mend, recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

Walker has been full go since the start of fall camp. One look at the talented second-year linebacker makes it easy to see why he was both a former 5-star prospect and someone who has the potential to change the way the defense plays.

“Obviously, we saw that he could help in terms of some things last year down the stretch, third-down wise, he was able to go play Jack some,” Schumann said. “When he went to Jack, then we moved Chris (Cole) around a little bit, because Chris was playing Jack on third down. And then to get Zayden in the game, to get our best 11 on the field, which is what you wanna do.”

Walker and Linton will cede early down reps to veterans like Cole, Quintavius Johnson and Gabe Harris. That trio will have to have a more impactful season as well, having combined for just 7.5 sacks last season.

At Georgia, growth isn’t always a linear process. Some guys need more time to blossom into who they will ultimately become.

Schumann thought back to Travon Walker. The former No. 1 overall pick was a role player in his first two seasons, much like Linton and Walker will be this season.

“He played only on third down for his first two years,” Schumann said. “You’re talking about the number one overall pick, and then he played 600 snaps the next year. He had become a complete player, right? And so I just think that there were some guys in that room that have ability.

“That’s why they’re here. Nobody gets here by accident.”

Schumann knows the defense can’t have a repeat of last season. Georgia finished with just 20 sacks on the season, last among the 12 College Football Playoff participants.

Georgia’s defense will need to do a better job of both pressuring and sacking opposing quarterbacks.

With some of the young — but not totally unproven — players Schumann has to work with, there are reasons for optimism with the defense.

It just needs to all come together on the field.

“You can’t have any weak spots,” Schumann said. “Especially in the format we’re in now, where you’ve got to win postseason games back to back to back. You better be well-rounded and complete and not have any weaknesses.”