Just curious what you think of the job Tray Scott did this season with the defensive line. On the one hand, the d-line took a step back statistically, which isn’t totally surprising given the personnel losses.
Georgia dropped more significantly in lost-yardage stops, with last year’s team averaging 6.2 tackles for loss and 2.27 sacks per game compared to this season’s averages of 4.5 and 1.69.
On the other hand, Scott signed and developed Jordan Davis, who’s been something of a revelation in the second half of the season at a critical position.
So, what say you guys?
Get The Picture 
To be fair, the responsibility for those statistical drops has to be shared with the OLB’s too, it shouldn’t all be held against Scott. I felt like our DL was solid but not spectacular. So I guess I’d give him a solid B+. Nothing to complain about, nothing to get too excited about.
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I can’t think of a player outside of Davis that improved, though. Marshall and Muckle being out hurt the depth, but Clark, Rochester and Carter stagnated and Hayes barely registered. He’ll have some talented freshmen to work with this year, and deserves credit for recruiting them as well. We need big senior years out of the aforementioned group and a couple of the younger guys to flash if we want to win it all.
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Wyatt also played well
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The jury is still out on the DL coach. He did a good job recruiting this year (kudos for the 5 star signee), but failed to pull any recruits from his backyard in MS/LA. Yes, he developed Jordan Davis, but I wonder if it was truly his development or more our lack of any real depth/size on the interior DL that helped create playing time. The DL was the one area where Alabama was noticeably better and deeper than us the past two meetings. I don’t even think Quinnen Williams hardly saw the field in the NC game and 11 months later the guy’s a first round draft pick. I felt like the DL regressed and we need to show improvement in interior DL recruiting and on field performance if we want to beat the king.
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“Yes, he developed Jordan Davis, but I wonder if it was truly his development or more our lack of any real depth/size on the interior DL that helped create playing time. “
Last July, before any games were played and the only real measure available was Davis lifting with him, Ledbetter predicted great things for Davis. Sonofabitch, it came true. But most of us would not have thought it possible until later in the season. I dunno, that sounds like development of technique to me. Maybe it was Ledbetter who coached Davis up – I certainly think he could – but I think you have to give Scott a little credit here. And Davis wasn’t just getting playing time; by the end of the year he was crushing it. I doubt Davis will be moved out of his spot unless he gets injured.
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No question that Davis developed and did an excellent job on the field. My point wasn’t to knock his hard work, but more along the lines of would Davis have started or even been second string for a DL line like Alabama or Clemson. Most likely not because of their depth and talent. If Scott doesn’t get us to that level in another year or two, then it’s time to move on in my opinion. Much like Pittman has done with the OL, we need the same level of dominance from the DL.
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So you’re saying that Davis dominating scholarship SEC o linemen is just a default? Like whoever gets put out there is just magically good regardless of who the coach is?
That is one weird take.
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I’d give him a solid B. It’s about what I expected, but given the injuries we had and lack of depth, I thought they held their own. Did a good job against Bama, which surprised me. Jordan Davis did well, but Hayes never saw the field (figuratively). Nice recruiting class, now to coach ’em up!
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I think we all, myself included, tend to forget that 2018 was pegged as a transitional type of season with the need to reload after the departures from 2017. That was certainly true on the defensive front, not just from the tackles and ends but also the linebacking group. I was pleased with the way that bunch played in the last five ball games. Things broke down a little when Walker got hurt in the Alabama game and we couldn’t keep Hurts bottled up. But up until that point, we were controlling the Alabama offense up front about as well as that offense can be controlled. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do in 2019. I think they’re going to improve.
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That said, I was pretty surprised that Hayes didn’t turn out to be a factor. Obviously the SEC is a different ballgame than Notre Dame, but I still expected him to be more or less a plug and play type of player. I don’t know that it says more about the player or the coach, but it might just be a similar situation to Demetris Robertson where you can be an all-world type of player in one situation but need to learn and adapt to play well in a different setup.
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About the same (performance) as last year if you are just looking at the defensive line. The DL only gave up 5 yards per game more than a year ago. Considering the losses, I would say a solid A. The overall performance of the D’ (total yards) only gave up 18 yards more. Which means the secondary regressed more that the DL. But I would probably give them a A also.
I am sure the strategy changed some this year with the speed/personnel we lost. But so far, I can’t be disappointed…as they only gave up 2 points per game more…the stat that matters.
The knock on Scott by some use to be the recruiting part, but he may have proven that wrong this year.
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What are the tackles for loss and sacks per game stats post LSU? That was when Jordon Davis’s playing time increased and when our D-line play improved.
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I’d give him a B. The difference between us and Bama is they keep plugging and playing monsters on the DL. We haven’t even developed 1 monster yet. He did recruit better this year, but I need to see some significant improvement in 2019 or Kirby needs to consider moving on.
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Don’t know enough to grade the effort, sure KS is all over that, but the evaluation has to include not just we lost from last year, but the number of injuries this season versus last year. I recall we were down 3 DL going to Baton Rouge, that is a serious hit against a physical trench team. We were shuffling both DL and OL virtually every game this season. Next year might be a better chance to see what he has done.
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Yep…..two years not enough to give a fair evaluation. Next year would be a better ONE (3 years).
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They got better as the year went. Daviis made a big difference as his play came on. The runs of tthe middle were not near as effective the last few games. Add the players coming on board; I think we’ll see continued improvement next year. In short – we knew this would be the weak link to the defense, along with inside linebacker play. Both improved as the year went.
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He’s on track for a very good year of recruiting D-Linemen, which is the primary reason we made the change.
Aside from the LSU game, they did as well as could be expected filling the holes caused by injuries, last season’s departures, and previous recruiting gaps.
Assuming Kirby can find the right man for the DC job, we should be in better shape for 2019.
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D line coaching is solid, but unspectacular. Until Scott lands a Derek Brown, Payne or Dexter Lawrence type talent, I won’t consider him anything but average to mediocre as a recruiter.
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Ifs, ands, and buts, I know, but – man – how nice would it have been if former 5-star Trent Thompson had not declared early for this year’s draft (in which he went unclaimed), and if we had had him one more season? An anchor and space-eater at the DL spot, while Davis developed, and would even have helped when Marshall, et al went down. Plus, he might have helped his draft status w another year under his belt.
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