Georgia’s 2026 defense is expecting more from the team’s still-inexperienced but talented players. One of those players is sophomore outside linebacker Isaiah Gibson, who was a top-10 EDGE prospect during his recruitment. But to be able to create an impact, he had to chart a difficult journey to make himself a contender.

Buried in the depth chart during the 2025 season, Gibson played only 3 games as a freshman and recorded only one tackle. But he also used the extra time to get back to his comfort zone from a weight perspective. Gibson, at 6’4”, needed to add some muscle to his frame when he arrived at Athens because he had sharply cut down his weight. However, the journey wasn’t easy.

“In high school, nobody really knew I played at around 270,” Gibson said. “But getting that weight back on, I would say it was a little bit harder than I expected it to be.”

The LB’s MaxPreps page listed him at 225 lbs., but Gibson told On3 that his weight was around 238 lbs. It was important for him to reach his optimal self because Georgia is looking to leverage his five-star potential in 2026. With the development in his weight, things look promising about his sophomore season, especially for OLB coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe.

“The transformation that he’s made with his body from when he first got in to obviously now has been awesome,” he told On3. “He’s going to continue to grow there.”

Isaiah Gibson should be earning more reps this year, given that he has a year of experience under his belt. He remains in the depth chart behind Gabe Harris Jr. and Quintavious Johnson. But even at that position, Gibson is a crucial piece to the puzzle. There has been some reshuffling in the Bulldogs’ defense for the 2026 season, as Elo Modozie and Kris Jones have transferred out. These departures now make Gibson stand out more.

Modozie and Jones transferred because the star duo of Harris Jr. and Johnson was returning. However, it did little to shake Gibson’s belief in his Georgia career, enabling him to make use of a brilliant opportunity.

Isaiah Gibson had no intention of seeking better chances by transferring

The outside linebacker would have been a prime recruit for multiple programs if he had entered the portal, similar to how heavily he was recruited by other teams out of high school. Nowadays, former five-stars tend to move out if they don’t see more playing time at their current homes. Isaiah Gibson, surprisingly, had no such plans.

“It doesn’t cross my mind, really. I love it here,” Gibson told On3 about any plans of transferring ahead of the Sugar Bowl. “I feel like we have a great relationship with everybody on the team. Our support staff, the staff, the coaches, everybody. I don’t have to see myself put myself in that predicament.

“It’s the relationship that I have with my teammates. And the love that I get from Coach (Kirby) Smart, my coach, Coach Uzo-Diribe. It’s more like a brotherhood than just like, oh, I’m going to the school for this, that. I look at all our team as a brotherhood.”

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Georgia made a really good impression on Gibson during his recruitment, which pushed him to flip from USC and give Michigan a miss. Smart scored a major win by getting his commitment, considering that he was the 2-best prospect in the state. And by retaining him for the 2026 season, Georgia can expect to see more from the talented OLB. Now that he has a solid chance to build his resume, Isaiah Gibson can rise the ranks over the offseason to be ready for the upcoming season.