ATHENS — Georgia was counting on Amaris Williams to be a big part of the team’s pass rush this fall.

He was one of the few transfers Georgia brought in this offseason. Yet he tore his ACL back in April. There’s a real chance he doesn’t play a down for Georgia this season.

The loss of Williams has not gone unnoticed by head coach Kirby Smart, who brought up Williams unprompted twice during his Tuesday news conference.

“We aren’t where we need to be in terms of pass rush, because we’re missing some guys in terms of, dealing with Amaris (Williams) not being out there and some talent there, we’re having to do it in other ways,” Smart said. “And we’ll have to do that probably all year in terms of the way we create pressure and how we go about it.”

For Smart to say that just before the start of the 2026 season, when the pass rush has been an offseason-long talking point, should raise alarm bells.

Despite not having Williams, at least for the foreseeable future, the Bulldogs do have options they can go with. Chris Cole has earned consistent praise from Smart this offseason. He led the Bulldogs in sacks a season ago.

The Bulldogs hope veterans Gabe Harris and Quintavius Johnson take a step forward this season. The pair really emerged as run defenders late last season.

They’ve spent all offseason honing their pass rush moves under new outside linebackers coach Larry Knight.

“We’re so much more comfortable in our defense as pass rushing. Pass rushing out of six, pass rushing out of five,” Johnson said. “And just being so detail-oriented up front, and knowing that winning first and second down will give us the leverage to pass rush the quarterback.”

If the Georgia pass rush is to truly transform this season, it’s clear the Bulldogs will need some unproven players to turn into contributors.

Chase Linton did not record a sack in his freshman season for the Bulldogs. Based on how he’s done this offseason, that won’t be the case in 2026.

“I feel like Chase gained so much weight this offseason, and knowing that he wanted to play on first and second down, not just third down,” Johnson said. “So seeing him gain weight and playing in a run game was very exciting to me.”

Zayden Walker had 2.0 sacks as a freshman last season for the Bulldogs. Georgia hopes that he can up those numbers now that he has a better understanding of what the coaching staff wants.

As for freshmen to watch on this year’s team, it seems like Valdin Sone and PJ Dean are best positioned to be instant contributors. Sone was Georgia’s top priority when it came to the 2026 recruiting class and will look to take some snaps at defensive tackle.

Dean, the younger brother of former Georgia offensive lineman Jared Wilson, has repped at outside linebacker this fall for the Bulldogs.

“He’s growing up rapidly. He’s helping us. He’s gonna be a good football player. You know, he’s gotta get a lot of the mistakes out of the way,” Smart said. “He’s a little bit lighter than we imagined he would be, but he can run. And with Amaris Williams being out, we’ve gotta find ways to rush the passer, and I do think he’s gonna help us add depth. He’s a tremendous kid. He loves to work.”

Georgia had just 20 sacks last season, the fewest in Smart’s 10 seasons in Athens.

The Bulldogs ranked 108th in the country in sacks last season and last in the SEC. There’s nowhere to go but up for the group, at least among College Football Playoff contenders.

But as for how high this group can climb, that remains to be seen. It’s clear Smart thinks the ceiling for the Georgia pass rush will be lowered without Williams for the upcoming season.