Georgia’s newest commitment Chase Linton and his coach break down the game of the latest Bulldog.
When Chase Linton arrived at North Atlanta, he stood 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, playing wide receiver. By the time that season ended, North Atlanta (Ga.) head coach Jamie Aull had converted Linton to EDGE because of Linton’s physical development. He played standup outside linebacker in their 3-4 scheme.
And, he dominated.
That earned Linton national attention from several programs, including Rutgers, where he originally committed. On Wednesday, Linton made his final decision of his high school recruiting era: He chose the Bulldogs.
The now 6-foot-5, 220-pound EDGE picked Georgia over Georgia Tech and Rutgers.
In this article, Aull and Linton discuss with Dawgs247 what Linton brings to Georgia’s 2025 class.
Aull: “Chase, even from Day 1, when he was coming over in January and February while he was still an eighth grader at Sutton, he’s just been a hard-work, lead-by-example type of kid. What’s been awesome this year is seeing him blossom into that verbal leader, getting guys going, getting guys in the right headspace when things aren’t going so well. It’s been good to see his leadership evolve into that. He’s definitely grown into that. He took over a starting job for us as a sophomore, so he was the youngest kid on the field at the time. He did his job. Did his thing. Let those older guys take charge and lead. Then even last year, we had eight seniors on the defense last year. He made his plays. He did his thing. For him this year, he’s been one of the main guys. With him being a senior, he’s definitely filled that role for us. It’s been fun to see. It was probably the summer going into his sophomore year. He was taking some reps on scout defense. We do some zone read stuff and read option stuff. He was playing both, the dive and the quarterback. When we tried to run at him, we couldn’t really get him blocked. You’re like, OK, this is something different. When he gets in the game in the Corky Kell Classic against North Forsyth that year, the defense looked totally different with him out there. It was kinda immediately after that first game that this kid is going to be a major recruit.”
Aull: “As simple as possible, he’s going to be an edge guy pass rusher. He’s going to put weight on when he gets into a Power 5 weight room and nutrition program. I feel like after he graduates and goes off in January, the next time I see him he’ll probably be 240 pounds or so. I think he’ll end up playing at 250-255. They see him as an edge pass rush guy now, but for us, he’s good against the run too. He’s so quick. He’s so explosive off the ball. People can’t get him blocked. I think eventually he’s going to turn into an every-down guy as he matures in his career.”
Linton: “It was 9th grade year, the last game of the season. I had not touched the field before that. We were playing some team and they put me in for the last game. I was playing linebacker at the time, but they stood me up on edge. I got a sack on the first play and a tackle for loss on the next, and I was like, why have I been playing linebacker? So I started playing edge.”