ATHENS — Sophomore linebacker Justin Williams gave Georgia fans plenty of tangible reasons to be excited with his performance on Saturday.
Williams played how you would expect the former No. 1 linebacker prospect in the country to play. He finished with 9 tackles, more than any Bulldog. His 3 tackles for loss were tied with CJ Allen for the team-high on G-Day.
His play style was that of a wrecking ball, knocking down any positive attempts by the Georgia offense.
“He can do everything, and that’s always great in the inside backer room,” linebacker Raylen Wilson said of Williams.
But for as much athleticism and playmaking as Williams brings to this Georgia team, it’s the intangibles that might best help put Georgia over the top this coming season.
“I’ll tell you that there’s not two players on our team that play with more fire, passion, and energy, and we talk about it all the time,” Smart said of Williams and Chris Cole. “Fire, passion, show me your fire, passion, and energy. They were having fun on the field. They enjoy each other. They compete. They love the game of football.”
It wasn’t all that long ago that Georgia fans often heard how it had been over 40 years since the Bulldogs had won a national championship.
This team still has a handful of members who were on the 2022 National Championship team. Starting guard Micah Morris is the lone scholarship player who was on the field when the Bulldogs beat Alabama to cap off the 2021 team.
But a majority of players on this team don’t know what that feeling is like. Williams falls into that bucket, as he enters his second year in the program.
“We know what we came here for. We came here to win championships,” Williams said earlier this spring. “And other than that, that’s all we’re here to do is win and hold on to that standard.”
Georgia won the SEC last year, as the Bulldogs beat Williams’ home-state Texas Longhorns. But Georgia is now in the business of winning national championships.
That appetite is greater and requires more to be satisfied.
“I’m looking, and we talked about it the other day, I’m looking for a bonfire,” Smart said. “I’m looking for not a bunch of little campfires. I’m looking for a bonfire. I’m looking to see an inferno of burning. I have to be dominant and the best teams have offenses and defenses that have passion and energy. I can’t sit here and tell you that I’m happy with where ours is, but I’m also not disappointed. I just wanna get more guys jumping in there.”
Even prior to Saturday, Smart praised Williams for his positive mindset. There is a joy and passion he plays with that flows through the rest of Georgia’s defense and thus team.
There are still plenty of questions on the offensive side of the ball. The offensive line continues to deal with injuries, and it’s fair to wonder what Georgia will get out of the quarterback position.
On the defensive side of the ball, Smart did note how young Georgia was on the defensive line. There’s talent within the group, but much of it is unproven.
The same could be said for Williams. It’s not a guarantee he ends up as Georgia’s best and most productive linebacker as he did on Saturday. Cole, Allen and Raylen Wilson are equally talented and driven.
What has become clear with Williams is that he fits exactly what Smart wants this 2025 team to look like.
We’ll have to wait and see if Williams can replicate his G-Day performance this fall. But he was an undeniable bright spot and a reminder that for all the questions around the 2025 Georgia team, it still has the chance to be special.
“Fire, passion, and energy,” Smart said. “That’s what we’re looking for out of those kids. A lot of times the guy that plays hard is better than the guy that just has the most talent, and we’re trying to get more of it.”
