Why Georgia linebacker did not play in UGA's season opener

The Georgia Bulldogs did have a notable injury absence from their 63-3 win over the Tennessee State Tigers to open the 2026 college football season. Outside linebacker Chase Linton, who has had a considerable amount of buzz this offseason, missed the season opener with with a lower body injury. Georgia coach Kirby Smart describes Linton's injury as a "lower leg injury that we're hoping to get him back from."

Linton is expected to be one of Georgia's rotational edge rushers this season. In his absence, freshman PJ Dean led the Dawgs with 1.5 sacks against Tennessee State. Georgia's defense completely shut down Tennessee State and looked great against an inferior opponent.

Dean along with freshman Khamari Brooks (three tackles) both saw action against Tennessee State . The question is will they be able to be impactful against stronger opposition?

"They can grow up, they got to grow up, all right?" Smart said. "They just played Tennessee State, they didn't play an SEC opponent. They got to grow up and they got to get better. We need them better yesterday."

Georgia does not have to release an official injury report until the Bulldogs' Week 3 game against Arkansas. It is unclear exactly what Linton's recovery timeline is.

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