ATHENS — Georgia knows just how valuable Gabe Harris is to its defense.

A bout with turf toe prevented the outside linebacker from playing in Georgia’s season-ending loss to Ole Miss. Prior to the injury, Harris was playing the best ball of his career, including a stout performance in Georgia’s win over Alabama.

In the previous three games against Power 4 opponents, Harris had 4.0 tackles for loss and a sack. For a Georgia defense that lacked in both those statistical categories, the defense couldn’t quite overcome his absence in the 39-34 loss.

Harris had surgery to repair the injury, which is why he won’t be practicing this spring for the Bulldogs. Heading into his senior season, Georgia needs Harris to be healthy if the defense is going to be even more disruptive in 2026.

Without Harris in the outside linebacker room, a void has been created. Georgia hopes that a few new faces take advantage of the opportunity they have this spring.

Georgia landed Amaris Williams out of the transfer portal from Auburn. He’s got a lot to learn in terms of adapting to life in Athens but Georgia likes what it has seen so far from the third-year outside linebacker.

“We’ll find out what he can add,” Smart said of Williams. “He’s certainly a quick and twitchy guy that we recruited out of high school. We know a lot about. He’s gotta be able to play within our system, understand our system. But add value, he can start by taking the reps he’s gonna get this spring.”

Williams is not the only first-year player in Georgia’s outside linebacker room, as the Bulldogs signed four-star pass rusher Khamari Brooks in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

The Bulldogs beat out Alabama to land the local North Oconee High School product.

“Khamari Brooks, I feel like he’s somewhat like me,” Quintavius Johnson said of Brooks. “I feel like he’s exactly like me coming in, being the only freshman, being recruited with the older guys. Everything dials in on being the young guy in the room and seeing the way that we do things and just doing that.”

If the outside linebacker room is to take a big jump in 2026, it may well be because of contributions from the trio of players the Bulldogs signed in 2025.

Isaiah Gibson, Chase Linton and Darren Ikinnagbon are all in their second seasons at Georgia. Gibson arrived as a five-star prospect, but to this point in spring, it is Linton who has generated the most buzz. Gibson’s strength will come in his versatility, as he’s rotating between multiple positions this spring.

Georgia’s outside linebacker room had just 3.5 sacks last season. The Bulldogs know they’re going to need much more production from this group in 2026 if they’re to hit their goals of being a more disruptive defense.

Getting a healthy version of Harris will go a long way in helping the Georgia defense. Johnson returns as well in 2026 after a strong finish to the 2025 season.

If Williams, Brooks or anyone else can join them as contributors, Georgia will have a deeper — and better — rotation of players who can pressure opposing passers.

“With Gabe (Harris) out, it’s gonna open a door for a lot of guys to get reps and grow and play,” Smart said. “And I kinda wanna see what they can do. So we wanna see the growth in that room and see those guys continue to get better.”