Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman puts major respect on Georgia star's name ahead of Sugar Bowl
Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker was named the 2024 winner of the Butkus Award, which is the most prestigious accolade given annually to the nation's best linebacker. It was well-deserved after Walker finished his junior season with the Bulldogs recording 58 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries. However, he's not done adding to the stat sheet […]
Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker was named the 2024 winner of the Butkus Award, which is the most prestigious accolade given annually to the nation's best linebacker.
It was well-deserved after Walker finished his junior season with the Bulldogs recording 58 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries. However, he's not done adding to the stat sheet just yet as he gets ready to face Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, and head coach Marcus Freeman knows he presents a major problem for the Fighting Irish.
"Yeah, he is one of the — if not the best — linebacker we’ll face all year. He's a problem," Freeman said. "He does some really good things in the run and the pass game. He's physical. [He’ll] strike. Good instincts. He's a really, really good football player. And you can't run around linebackers. You’ve got to go in. You’ve got to attack. And, so he'll be a great challenge for us. I think he's a heck of a football player. Got a lot of respect for him.”
But Notre Dame isn't the only one who faces a challenge in this game against a certain player as the Bulldogs will have their hands full with stopping running back star Jermiyah Love, and the rest of the Irish offensive weapons, according to Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
"They have unbelievable backs first off. Who you hand it to does matter. Those guys are tremendously talented and do a great job," Smart said. "I mean, (they) use all of them, too. And then when you throw the skill set of Riley (Leonard) in there, the quarterback, it just makes it that much tougher to defend because they have multiple weapons, multiple options, and they're really physical. I mean, they're committed to it. They're very committed to the run."
Notre Dame has accumulated 2,981 rushing yards and 42 rushing touchdowns with Love leading the running back room with 1,057 yards and 16 scores on the ground.
We'll see how these challenges play out for both teams when the Sugar Bowl kicks off in New Orleans on Jan. 1 at 8:25 p.m. ET.
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