The good folks at Pro Football Focus tell us not to sweat Tim Kimbrough’s departure.
Georgia can overcome recent LB transfer: There is more transfer news around the SEC, as senior linebacker Tim Kimbrough has left the program. He’s been a quality player for the Bulldogs, particularly the last two seasons, during which he has played 606 snaps with strong work against the run. Last season he was one of Georgia’s best run-stopping linebackers, so they’ll need to replace that production on early downs. It hasn’t been as smooth for Kimbrough in coverage, where he has graded below-average and has missed 13 of 100 tackle attempts the last two seasons.
Georgia does have potential reinforcements at inside linebacker, particularly a pair of true sophomores in Natrez Patrick and Roquan Smith. Patrick posted an excellent run-stopping grade with most of his work coming against Georgia Tech and then Penn State in the bowl game. It was an encouraging 160-snap showing for Patrick and a similar small sample of work for Smith, who posted a strong run grade on his 78 snaps. While losing Kimbrough does hurt the inside linebacker depth, the future is bright at the position for the Bulldogs and it sounds like Kimbrough and the coaching staff simply didn’t mesh.
Personally speaking, I’m really looking forward to what Roquan Smith can do this season. Notice that pass coverage grade in limited time. I’m not sure I can get used to an inside linebacker who isn’t a liability in coverage. But I’m willing to give that a try.
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It’s gonna hurt losing #42, no way around it. He was great in stopping the run, which isn’t easy to replace. Would’ve been nice to have him in the 2-deep, but doesn’t appear that was in the cards.
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Kids with his size and athletic ability are common as grits….I promise we will be fine
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They might be, but adding one right now for this season might not be that easy.
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Roquan is from right up the road from me. Really glad he’s getting a shot.
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I hate to see the kid leave, primarily because it seems like such a bad decision. I understand that personalities sometimes just don’t work, but he’s walking away from a valuable diploma (assuming he was on track to graduate) and an opportunity to learn about perseverance. That said, I watched Natrez Patrick play against my kid’s high school team in the GHSA playoffs two years ago. The kid is a beast.
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Hate to lose Kimbrough, he played well for us against the run and on STs. I feel he and his family couldn’t deal with the limited time coming his way by being beaten out on the field this spring, and summer. Understand that, and wish him well, but I think he might have made a bad decision because there was a role for him at UGA in 2016.
But the Senator is right, we have been getting brutalized over the middle with passing attacks from those willing to take what we give them. Our LBs have been suspect for years in that coverage spanning multiple DCs. Smith certainly seems to be a possible solution, hope the added weight benefits him against the run. Time to move on from this before it gets messy. Our ILB depth chart looks pretty good even with his departure but we still need a big stud at the Mike to shut down power running attacks.
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Hate to see Tomgo, seemed personable the one time I talked to him. Do understand the disappointment he feels as many of us in business got squeezed out by what bosses thought was best for organization. Wish him well for what he contributed to the red and black.
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Sorry Tim
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Kimbrough was a thumper when he was in the game (he came out a pretty good bit when we were in nickel and dime packages). I think Natrez Patrick takes over that role this fall as a guy with more size at the point of attack. Like others have mentioned, I want to see Roquan with a year of experience, nutrition, and strength on him. He has the potential to become a CJ Moseley type of player.
One thing to say for Pruitt, he did not leave the cupboard bare for Tucker at LB and the secondary. They may not be 5-star players stacked like firewood, but there’s a lot of talent there. Hopefully, Kirby and Tucker can get this whole defense to play to its potential for the full season.
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