Tennessee football at Georgia: Five Bulldogs to watch

6’0″ 220 pounds; Hometown: Horn Lake, Miss.

There have been numerous playmakers for the Georgia Bulldogs’ front seven in the first two games. Azeez Ojulari has three tackles for a loss and a sack. Adam Anderson has two sacks. Nolan Smith has one and a half sacks. All of these linebackers give Kirby Smart a litany of weapons he can throw at guys at any time. Then there’s Jordan Davis, an All-SEC defensive lineman.

The anchor for all of these guys, though, is Nakobe Dean. He leads the team in tackles with 11, even if he has only half a tackle for a loss. For Dean, production and consistency has been the story, and there’s a reason that he, like Davis, was also a preseason All-SEC player. He’s the leader of the defense similar to Henry To’o To’o on the other side.

There’s a reason Dean was named to the PFF National Team of the Week last week. The story with him has been consistency. Ojulari’s three tackles for a loss and Anderson’s two sacks were all against the Aubuan Tigers. Smith’s one and a half tackles for a loss were all against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Davis hasn’t made any splash plays yet.

As a result, Dean is the guy to carry this unit. Tennessee football will have to watch out for him as it utilizes Ty Chandler and Eric Gray as much as possible. If the Vols are to establish a solid rushing attack and intermediate passing game, Dean has to be accounted for at all times.