Georgia football: Look for Jordan Davis to star in 2019

Georgia football quietly had one of the best defensive linemen in the SEC last season in freshman Jordan Davis and he’s only going to get better in 2019.

You know how we all love recruiting rankings? That’s right Georgia football fans, I’m talking to you. You and I both get super hyped by 17-year-olds with 5-star logos attached to their names. Look, there’s nothing wrong with that you know. Most of the time, these recruiting services do tend to be pretty good at what they do. More often than not, they tend to be able to identify players that end up being good in college. But every year, they completely miss on multiple players. Deandre Baker was a 3-star that nobody knew. He went on to become one of the best CB’s in the country and is going to be a first-round NFL draft pick.

Well, the Dawgs have another player like that right now. Jordan Davis was one of the youngest players on UGA’s roster last season and he arrived late in the summer. He came into Athens as a mountain of a man and he’ll be the first person to tell you, he wasn’t in the best shape. It took him a while to get his body to where it needed to be, but by the time we reached midseason, he was a starter. I can’t believe I’m writing this, but that’s right. A 3-star freshman who came into the program out of shape in July was a starter on one of the nations best defenses by October. That’s the definition of a meteoric rise.

Not only was he a starter, as the season went on, Davis also became increasingly important to UGA’s defense. Don’t believe me? Go back and watch the Sugar Bowl and look at how the DL played without him anchoring the middle. Despite being just a teenager, he was already the most important player on that line. His presence was essential when it came to their ability to stop the run.

Here’s the good news guys. Davis is just getting started. His ability to absorb coaching from Tray Scott was frankly incredible. Yes, he’s got ridiculous size, but he wasn’t dominating the line of scrimmage just because of that. The way he uses his hands and his ability to leverage his size is really advanced for a player that has only been in the program for 6 months. He accounted for 1.5 sacks this year and he’s clearly got some pass rush potential along as being a dominant player in the run game.

Look, I’m not saying he’s the perfect player, but Davis certainly seems like the present an the future of UGA’s nose tackle position. I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes this season alongside some explosive players like Tyler Clark and freshman Travon Walker. Entering 2019, Jordan Davis is already one of the first names on the defensive side of the ball that gets penciled in by coaches. I wouldn’t be shocked if by the end of the year, he’s a household name.