Georgia Football: UGA Players of the Rose Bowl Victory

4. Tyler Clark

As good as Roquan was, to me, he was outshone for the first time on defense. There were a few players who really stepped up, especially in the second half. But nobody played as well as Tyler Clark.

Clark has bounced between being a starter or the first reserve at DT this year. He has pushed heralded recruit Trenton Thompson to the point that Thompson is not a guaranteed start anymore. He showed why he’s getting all that playing time on Monday.

While he doesn’t jump off the stat sheet, Clark was a monster in this game. He accounted for 5 tackles, 1 sack and 2 for a loss. But his impact was much more than just that. He was constantly in the backfield, blowing up blockers and rushing Baker Mayfield.

If UGA was going to have a chance, they needed to put Mayfield under pressure. Clark did just that and he did it better than anybody else in this game. He firmly put himself on the map on the national stage as a player to watch going forward.

This was not a first for Clark. He’s been building towards this with impressive performances all season. But this was something different. It was a coming out party for a player that Georgia fans will likely see a lot more of going forward. There is nothing I love more than great play in the trenches. Clark was the best of a seriously good bunch yesterday and that deserves a place on this list.