Georgia Players: My key Dawgs vs LSU this weekend

Tyler Clark, Defensive Tackle:

If there is one player that hasn’t quite hit my expectations this year, its Tyler Clark. When we got the business end of the season last year, Clark was exceptional, creating havoc all over offensive lines and bringing pressure constantly. His performance in the Rose Bowl was fantastic and he was just as good against Alabama a week later.

This year, Clark has been quiet. He’s flashed at times, but hes been more consistent than dominant. By no means is he playing badly. You never see him miss a tackle and he does hold up blockers, but there’s no doubt that this year, Clark has yet to hit the heights we saw at times last season.

I’ve always felt that if Clark puts it all together, he could be a day 2 draft pick. He reminds me at times of Geno Atkins, but to reach those expectations, he does need to play better. Could this be the week we see that? UGA have run a very conservative defensive scheme to start the season because they could. They havent needed Clark to be who he was last year to take over and win games.

That could change this week. Death Valley is a nasty place to play and Georgia needs its defense to step up. Stuffing the run and rushing the passer are key and they need their defensive front to take the training wheels off and unleash this week. Clark is the guy on that line who has shown a gear that no offensive linemen can handle and if he finds it this week, the rest of the defenses job will be a lot easier.