Georgia Football Recruiting 2018: 5 most important commits for Bulldogs

A key recipe for Georgia’s continued success is getting after SEC quarterback after SEC quarterback. The pass rush first came into prominence under former head coach Mark Richt. That has obviously continued into the Smart era of Georgia football.

With Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy going pro after their senior years, it is a time where young pass rushers have a shot at getting early reps into the rotation. The most likely candidate for this 2018 recruiting class is five-star defensive end Brenton Cox from Stockbridge.

Cox is 6-foot-4.5, 247 pounds. He is the No. 2 strongside defensive end in the country, the No. 5 player from Georgia and the No. 23 player nationally in this 2018 class. 247Sports gave a 0.9869 overall grade. Cox is one of nine early enrollees in the Georgia program. That only aids in his chances to be an impact freshman for Smart on Mel Tucker’s defense.

Though Bellamy redshirted, he and Carter were able to get early playing time despite being buried behind guys like Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins on the Georgia pass-rushing depth chart. Georgia may run a 3-4 defense, which would put Cox on the line. However, he might be able to be a complete mismatch as a guy capable of playing any edge position Smart or Tucker calls for.