BULLDOG REVENGE: Kirby Smart Flips Top Linebacker Darrell “Duke” Johnson from Bama to Georgia
Kirby Smart has made a career out of knowing Alabama’s playbook—on the field, on the trail, and in the living rooms that decide championships long before kickoff. But flipping five-star linebacker Darrell “Duke” Johnson from Alabama to Georgia? That’s not just recruiting. That’s a statement.
For months, Johnson looked crimson-bound. The nation’s top linebacker—6-foot-2, 235 pounds of sideline-to-sideline violence with a chess player’s brain—had been the crown jewel of Alabama’s defensive class. The assumption around recruiting circles was simple: Nick Saban (and later the Bama machine) doesn’t lose battles like this, especially not to Georgia. Especially not at linebacker.
Johnson’s flip sent shockwaves through the SEC because it hit at the core of Alabama’s identity. Linebacker is sacred ground in Tuscaloosa. It’s where legends are forged, where five-stars become first-rounders, where offenses go to die. For Georgia to swoop in and steal *that* guy? That’s personal.
Sources close to Johnson’s camp point to development and trust as the deciding factors. Georgia didn’t just sell playing time or rings—they sold *clarity*. Smart and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann laid out a detailed plan: how Johnson would be used early, how his instincts fit Georgia’s hybrid linebacker packages, and how Athens has become the new gold standard for defensive stars heading to the NFL.
Roquan Smith. Nakobe Dean. Quay Walker. Nolan Smith. Now Jalon Walker and CJ Allen. Georgia doesn’t just recruit linebackers—they refine them into weapons. Johnson saw himself in that lineage, not as the next guy waiting his turn, but as the next problem offenses would have to game-plan around.
There’s also the rivalry factor. Smart has never hidden the chip on his shoulder when it comes to Alabama. Every recruiting win over the Tide is another brick in Georgia’s wall of independence, proof that the Bulldogs are no longer chasing Bama—they’re competing toe-to-toe and winning their share of battles.
For Georgia fans, Johnson’s commitment is more than a five-star splash. It’s reassurance. It’s confirmation that the Bulldogs’ dominance isn’t fading with graduation cycles or coordinator changes. The machine keeps humming, fueled by elite talent and elite conviction.
And Darrell “Duke” Johnson? He didn’t just choose Georgia. He chose to be the next face of a defense that thrives on revenge, physicality, and a very simple message to the rest of college football: