How Zayden Walker’s injury this spring could impact Georgia’s defense

“Zayden had a shoulder repair, very typical of spring practices,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said following G-Day. “He’s going through that and he’s worked hard to get in shape, get back. He was able to do some stuff in black shirts (indicating noncontact) the last couple practices. He’s running full speed and just waiting to get cleared.”

Walker was in uniform on G-Day, though he was once again in a noncontact jersey. As Smart noted, Georgia has a long history of players — Brock Bowers and Nakobe Dean, for example — needing shoulder surgeries and missing spring practices.

But Bowers and Dean were more established players when their injuries occurred.

Walker, a sophomore from Ellaville, Georgia, missed out on valuable reps. The learning curve at inside linebacker is steep. There is a reason Allen, Jalon Walker, Dean and Roquan Smith all popped in their third seasons at Georgia.

Still, Walker’s athletic gifts are strong enough to carve out a role as a third-down pass rusher. But he wants to do more and eventually occupy an every-down role.

Walker wasn’t the biggest spring injury in terms of expected contributions. Outside linebacker Gabe Harris and offensive lineman Drew Bobo fit that bill. But Harris is entering his fourth year in the program, while Bobo is in his fifth. They’ve seen just about everything Georgia can throw at them.

“He’s just got great toughness,” Smart said of Harris. “He’s got great pass-rush ability and, shoot, he was back out there at the end of spring going through things without pads on trying to compete against our guys.”

Senior linebacker Raylen Wilson also missed time this spring because of a knee injury. That created even more opportunities for others.

“I feel like just getting those extra reps made me more comfortable,” junior Justin Williams said. “It allowed me to go out there and command the defense.”

Even with losing Allen to the Indianapolis Colts, the inside linebacker position is one of the deepest on the team. Walker would still be behind Wilson, Williams and Chris Cole, who are all older and more experienced.

Walker’s injury shouldn’t impact his availability for fall practice in August. But the missed time this spring will, in all likelihood, impact his trajectory for the upcoming season. Walker is going to have an uphill climb to make up for the reps he lost.

But he should still find a way to help his team.

Walker developed over the course of last season and took on a larger role as it progressed. He’s already proved he can help on special teams and be an important part of the Bulldogs’ third-down plan.

From a raw talent standpoint, Walker has as much potential as any Georgia linebacker. But because of the time he missed this spring, it will likely take him longer to reach that potential.