There are some very clear reasons why the opening of the defensive coordinator in Texas will attract Dan Lanning.
To begin with, he will have more autonomy to manage the defense, because Kirby Smart, head coach of Georgia, will always have his fingerprints in the defense of Georgia. There’s also the fact that Texas could probably give him an increase of the $ 1.25 million he would earn as Georgia’s defense coordinator.
The Longhorns will apparently pay the new coordinator for special teams and the coach, Jeff Banks, $ 1.0 million a year. That’s more than Coach Todd Hartley of Georgia and Scott Cochran, special teams coordinator, put together.
But Lanning passed the millions to stay in Georgia. Despite Texas’ deep dive and best efforts, Lanning announced Friday night that he would be staying in Georgia.
– Dan Lanning (@CoachDanLanning) 16 January 2021
Related: More details about Dan Lanning holding at Georgia over Texas
Although he did not use the unfinished business line that JT Daniels and others have this off-season, Lanning wants to achieve more in Georgia. That should speak volumes, as he was already a finalist of the Broyles Award for the country’s top assistant in 2019 and that the SEC’s best defense in 2020 was allowed based on the yards per game.
Speaking before the Peach Bowl, Lanning explained that Georgia’s defense needed to get better at catching up with modern offense, as both Florida and Alabama have hung 40 points and 500 yards on Georgia’s defense this season.
“I think the offensive game has changed a lot,” Lanning said before the Peach Bowl. ‘I think every season we go through and we say,’ What can we do better? What else can we do? This off-season I do not see that it is different.
‘We’re going to reevaluate, evaluate. You have to adapt and change as the transgressions adapt and change. ”
With Lanning returning, Georgia will have an even better team in 2021. He’s going to have his hands full because he has to reload the secondary part of Georgia, but keeping Lanning is a win for the Georgia program.
Georgia should have one of the best defensive fronts in the country next season. And after Texas’ failed attempt to grab Lanning, it should have one of the most promising defensive coaches putting up plays to delay conflicting offenses.
Who’s the return of the week for Georgia football
As of Monday morning, there were still a few Bulldogs who have not yet made their decisions public for the 2021 season. Zamir White, Adam Anderson and Jamaree Salyer have NFL-level skills, but they have not yet announced their official intentions.
By Wednesday, all three had made it clear that they would return to Georgia in 2021. Salyer began Monday afternoon. Anderson follows Monday night.
White waited until Wednesday to make it official, but Georgia also has its leading rusher for the 2021 season.
A simple question: does UGA have a good setback on its 2021 rankings at this point? pic.twitter.com/f17nEXm8nG
– DawgNation (@DawgNation) 15 January 2021
All three players play major roles in their respective position groups. White chased Georgia last season with 779 yards and 11 touchdowns. Salyer moves to winger, but still believes he will be Georgia’s leading attacking linebacker next season.
Anderson picked up 6.5 bags for Georgia last season and impressed in a limited number of shots. With Jermaine Johnson to Florida State and Azeez Ojulari in the NFL, Anderson will have even more passive opportunities for Georgia in 2021.
The official deadline for the NFL Draft for 2021 is January 18th. Although we are still a few days off the deadline, Georgia is a winner of the process as the above trio joins Daniels, James Cook, Jordan Davis and others. return to Georgia in 2021.
Related: The latest football roster movement in Georgia regarding NFL draft, transfer portal and returnees
Georgia Football Transfer Portal Talks
However, that was not good news for Georgia this week as defender Tyrique Stevenson entered the transfer portal.
Stevenson is a resident of Miami, and it is widely expected that the Hurricanes in Miami will eventually land Stevenson. This is a significant blow to Georgia, as Stevenson would be a starting jump for Georgia’s secondary series in 2021. He showed his potential in the victory over Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl.
This is the second right-handed season the Bulldogs have seen a possible front-runner transfer at home, as Cade Mays did so after the 2019 season. As the transfer portal becomes a bigger and bigger part of college football, it looks like it will deter the Georgia program.
Smart talked about the transfer portal before the Peach Bowl and did not hide his feelings about it.
“It’s a needs base for us,” Smart said. “If I had my preference, I would not want to use the portal, because schools like Cincinnati and Georgia do not have to be able to recruit the right kind of guys.”
Elsewhere, former Georgia linebacker Netori Johnson has announced he will move to Central Tennessee.
As for any Arik Gilbert news, there was no movement on this front. The University of Georgia started classes on Wednesday and the fall / subtraction period ends on January 20.
Site updates for Georgia football
DawgNation’s Jeff Sentell has received an update from the 2021 top prospect, Terrion Arnold, on his new top three from Alabama, Georgia and Florida this week. The talented defensive rugby is considered to be the last part of Georgia’s talented recruiting class in 2021.
In the 2022 class, there was big news this week as Gunner Stockton was officially relieved of South Carolina. The five-star eighth man made it official on Wednesday. He is the top-rated quarterback in the cycle.
Georgia finished as the runner-up for Stockton when he committed to South Carolina for the first time in August. With Mike Bobo now at Auburn, however, the Bulldogs have become a serious contender for Stockton’s services.
Sentell also sent back some news and nuggets about Emmanuel Henderson, a 5-star. He is the best judge for the 2022 recruitment cycle.
Related: Emmanuel Henderson: Nation se nr. 1 junior RB feels Athens ‘is a wonderful place to be’
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