ATHENS, Ga. --- Rodney Garner had numerous conversations this off-season with Georgia's top defensive tackles about taking ownership of the position and becoming "player-coaches" on the field.

It wasn't just to starters Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins that the defensive line coach drilled the message home. Backups Corvey Irvin, a Laney alum, and Kade Weston, players he considered part of the nucleus, also got it.

Now with Owens out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, Irvin seems to be taking that message to heart as he moves into a starting role for Saturday's game against Central Michigan.

"Of course, I'm ready for the big role," Irvin said without hesitation. "I've just got to step up and be the man, just go over all of my mistakes and just do it."

The senior, who transferred from Georgia Military College before last season, grew up watching the Bulldogs on TV in Augusta. He is one of five scholarship defensive tackles Georgia will turn to in Saturday's game.

Weston, a junior, will miss his second game in a row with a knee injury but could be back for the South Carolina game Sept. 13.

"Somebody's gotta step up," Garner said. "When one guy goes down, somebody else has got to step up. They've got to shoulder the load that he shouldered."

The 6-foot-4, 286-pound Irvin did that in place of Owens during a 45-21 win over Georgia Southern. Coach Mark Richt said Irvin was just as productive as Atkins, an All-SEC pick last season.

Irvin had his first sack as a Bulldog, a team-high six tackles and two tackles for a loss.

No wonder Garner called Irvin "one of the true pure pass rushers that we have" this summer and said "I'm really looking for him to elevate his game to the next level."

Redshirt sophomores Ricardo Crawford and Brandon Wood and first-year freshman DeAngelo Tyson also have a chance to lift their games to new levels.

Georgia is going ahead without Owens, its emotional leader.

"Jeff's the anchor of the defense," Irvin said. "He gets us motivated. He gets us hyped. We've just got to come out next week and get a win as a team."

NOTE: Georgia actually used 11 first-year freshmen on Saturday. Westside grad Sanders Commings -- a safety -- also got into the game.

Reach Marc Weiszer at marc.weiszer@onlineathens.com.