Smael Mondon Jr.

Smael Mondon, Jr. played high school football for Paulding County in Dallas, Georgia. He was selected to the 2021 All-American Bowl. 247Sports rated him a five-star composite prospect, ranked him as the #29 prospect nationally, and the #3 OLB nationally. Besides linebacker, he also played some quarterback, running back and wide receiver, and recorded 1,129 all-purpose yards. In 2021 Mondon played in all 15 games as a reserve defensive back and on kick return and coverage units. He finished the season with 12 tackles and a quarterback sack. He started 13 games at linebacker in 2022, leading the team in tackles with 76 despite missing two games due to injury. He finished the year with 8 tackles for loss, 1 sack and 1 interception. He was the leading tackler in the CFP National Championship Game win over TCU and entering the 2023 season, he made the Butkus Award Watch List. Mondon had an incredible 2023 season for the Bulldogs. he collected 68 tackles, 5 TFL, and 3 sacks. Although he had a very good chance of being selected in a high round in the draft, he elected to come back to Athens for his senior year.