ATHENS — Linebacker Zayden Walker ended last season with a lot of positive momentum. He picked up sacks in wins over Texas and Alabama, carving out a role on Georgia’s defense even in a loaded linebacker room.

With CJ Allen moving on to the NFL, Walker had the chance this spring to earn more reps and continue his development as a linebacker. In 10 games last season, Walker had 6 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 2.0 tackles for loss.

However, shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum sidelined Walker for most, though not all, of spring.

“Zayden had a shoulder repair, very typical of spring practices,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Walker following G-Day. “He’s going through that and he’s worked hard to get in shape, get back. He was able to do some stuff in black shirts [noncontact] the last couple practices. He’s running full speed and just waiting to get cleared.”

Walker was able to dress out on G-Day, though he was once again in a noncontact jersey. As Smart noted, Georgia has a long history of players needing shoulder surgery. Brock Bowers and Nakobe Dean both missed spring practices as they recovered from their respective injuries.

But Bowers and Dean were more established players when they had their respective surgeries. Walker is still trying to get his career off the ground in a more full-time role.

Walker’s athletic gifts are strong enough to carve out a role as a third-down pass rusher in Georgia’s defense. But he wants to do more and eventually occupy an every-down role in the Georgia defense. One like Allen previously occupied.

Missing out on spring reps is crucial for a young player, especially at a position with as much nuance as the inside linebacker position. Walker wasn’t the biggest spring injury in terms of a contributor. Gabe Harris and Drew Bobo fit that bill.

But Harris is entering his fourth year in the program, while Bobo is in his fifth. They’ve seen just about everything Georgia can throw at them.

“He’s just got great toughness,” Smart said of Harris. “He’s got great pass-rush ability and, shoot, he was back out there at the end of spring going through things without pads on trying to compete against our guys.”

Walker missed out on valuable reps at inside linebacker. The learning curve at the position is one of the steepest on the team. There’s a reason Allen, Jalon Walker, Dean and Roquan Smith all popped in their third seasons as inside linebackers at Georgia.

Georgia senior linebacker Raylen Wilson missed time this spring because of a knee injury. That created even more learning opportunities for others.

“I feel like just getting those extra reps made me more comfortable,” junior Justin Williams said. “It allowed me to go out there and command the defense. It allowed him to rely on me when I’m needed and stuff like that, so it definitely helped a lot.”

Even in losing Allen to the Indianapolis Colts, Georgia’s inside linebacker room is still one of the deepest on the team. Walker would still be behind Wilson, Williams and Chris Cole, who are all older and more experienced than the sophomore from Ellaville, Georgia.

Walker’s shoulder injury shouldn’t impact his availability when fall practice rolls around in August.

But the missed time this spring will, in all likelihood, impact Walker’s trajectory for the upcoming season. Walker is going to have a hard uphill climb to make up for the time and reps he lost this spring.

Walker will still find a way to help the Georgia team. He developed over the course of last season, taking on a larger role as the season progressed. He’s already proven he can help on special teams and be an important part of Georgia’s third-down plan.

From a raw talent standpoint, Walker has as much potential as anyone in Georgia’s linebacker room. But because of the time he missed this spring, it will very likely take him longer to reach that potential.