2023 Georgia All-Underrated Team: Linebackers

We kicked off the defensive part of this list with the defensive front. Now, we will finish out the rest of the front seven. At the LB spot, you have to be a consistent player both physically and mentally. In the middle of the defense, you are counted on to make sure everyone is lined up and relay play calls for the defense. Here are some LBs that get it done on the field, regardless of the amount of attention they get for it. <strong>OLB/EDGE</strong> | <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="276019" first="Colton" last="Smith"]</strong> - 6’2 - Brentwood Smith put himself on our radar after attending January’s Prep Redzone Showcase in Atlanta. After a nice showing there, it was not the least bit surprising to see that he was a standout on film. Physically, Smith is one of the more impressive athletes I’ve seen with my own eyes. Has a thick, muscular build and weighs in around 220 pounds, For that reason, he is a lot to handle coming off the edge. As a pass rusher, he is extremely fast and explosive and can run around any offensive tackle. However, his bull rush is what makes him really stand out on film. When you factor in his explosiveness and physicality, it is not surprising that he is such an explosive prospect coming off the edge. Plays mostly defensive end, but he is a guy that can lineup at the edge or at ILB. His explosiveness and pursuit coming off the edge would likely translate to the ability to come downfield from the interior spot. All in all, Smith is not only an extremely impressive prospect both physically and athletically, but he is also extremely versatile and would provide a lot of value and depth wherever he goes. Smith has visited some FBS schools recently, but the bulk of his recruitment is still ahead of him. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13095002/61893a08ff02490550bfc71b" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>ILB</strong> | <strong>Mavrik Torrico</strong> - 6’0 - Blessed Trinity On February 16th, I wrote an article that said Torrico was destined to receive a D1 offer, A week later, that D1 offer came from Fordham. Since then, Penn and Princeton jumped into the sweepstakes for the Private School Standout. Even with a couple of prestigious offers to his name, Torrico is still a guy that is widely unknown and underrated on the national level. Torrico is a special kind of athlete to have in the middle of your defense. He has sideline to sideline speed that keeps RBs from getting the edge, and he is super explosive and physical which allows him to come downfield. Torrico is a very effective blitzer from the interior that can be seen blowing up offensive linemen on his path to a QB. He also has enough awareness and speed to drop back into coverage and matchup against WRs without being a matchup liability. This tells me that there aren’t many people that can keep him from getting into the backfield. The longer a play goes on, the more likely it is for Torrico to make an impact play. WIth another big senior season, this is a prospect that could be a late bloomer for some big-time schools on the trail. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13383065/619b058fda50fb017c7b1b89" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>ILB</strong> | <strong>Kyle Elphick</strong> - 6’2 - Fellowship Christian Elphick has visited schools like Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, but no reported offers up to this point. However, I would expect that to change soon. Why? Because of his potential. At 6’2 215, Elphick already has some impressive size, but he has some room to fill out and become an even more physical threat. To go along with that, he is also a big-time athlete for his size. So much so that he is even utilized on offense as a pass-catcher. Elphick is a prospect that takes pride in his fundamentals and IQ. He is always in the right place at the right time, and rarely makes mistakes like overpursuing. At the end of the day, having a prospect with great size and the ability to patrol the field makes for a prospect that you can build a team around. There should be some school out there that recognizes that. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/9417444/61b21f87d4688802c4d81581" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>