Georgia football: 30 greatest players of the Mark Richt era

• 2x Consensus All-American (2011-12)
• SEC Defensive Player of the Year (2012)
• First-Team All-SEC (2011-12)

Jarvis Jones certainly took an interesting path to becoming a Dawg, but it definitely worked out for him. Dawg Nation got two outstanding years out of the pass rusher from Columbus, Georgia in 2011 and 2012.

Though he starred at Carver High School for Columbus, Jones had initially committed to play his college ball for the USC Trojans. While he played for the Trojans as a true freshman as a special teams player and in a reserve role in 2009, he suffered a neck injury versus the Oregon Ducks that season. The USC medical staff would not clear him after sustaining that injury.

So Jones would ask for a transfer from the USC program. He would then move to Georgia in 2010, where he would have to sit out the following campaign on account of his decision to transfer as an undergrad. Turns out, Jones would be the big boost former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham would need in his defense.

Jones emerged as an instant starter in Grantham’s defense in 2011. As a redshirt sophomore, Jones had 70 total tackles, 19.5 for a loss of yardage and 13.5 quarterback sacks. He was First-Team All-SEC and a consensus All-American in his first season of action with the Dawgs.

Largely because of Jones, Georgia won the SEC East in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012. However, the Dawgs were never able to win the conference, as they fell to the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide in consecutive years at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

When it didn’t seem that Jones could build on his stellar All-American redshirt sophomore season, he did just that in 2011 with one of the best personal seasons in Georgia football to date. Jones would again be a consensus All-American and First-Team All-SEC.

He also would go on to earn SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2012. Jones improved on all his defensive marks in 2012, recording 85 total tackles, 24.5 for a loss of yardage and 14.5 quarterback sacks. He finished his two-year career with Georgia with 155 total tackles, 44.0 for a loss of yardage and 28.0 quarterback sacks.

It was only fitting that Jones decided to forgo his redshirt senior season to enter the 2013 NFL Draft. He would be the No. 17 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he would play four professional seasons through 2016. Jones last played with the Arizona Cardinals in 2017, having reached an injury settlement with the team shortly before the regular season began.