Anticipation Builds as Jordan Davis's NFL Decision Looms
Jim Nagy, Senior Bowl Director, delivered an early Christmas present by dropping news that senior defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt could be returning to Athens for his senior season. Nagy took to Twitter in response to a tweet by the Hula Bowl regarding Devonte Wyatt’s invitation.
While Wyatt is a senior, he is allowed the option of returning to school for another year of eligibility due to the NCAA’s ruling this offseason to grant every student-athlete a free year of eligibility.
Wyatt made his way to Athens by playing as a JUCO prospect at Hutchinson CC, where he would transfer to Georgia as a sophomore. Wyatt saw the breakthrough in the 2018 Sugar Bowl against Texas, where he recorded a career-high seven tackle with 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Wyatt now serves as a significant contributor up front for the Dawgs on the defensive line as a defensive tackle and backup nose tackle behind Jordan Davis. Wyatt’s return will be a welcomed readdition to a Georgia defense that will get younger this offseason.
With as many as nine new starters taking the field defensively in Atlanta for the 2020-21 Peach Bowl for Georgia, the Dawgs defense would like to bring back as much experience possible next season.
The need for experience and leadership on the defense next year makes the return of Jordan Davis a priority for the Georgia coaching staff.
Davis, the junior nose tackle from Charlotte, North Carolina, quickly flew up the depth chart for Georgia as a freshman in the 2018 season after being an overlooked prospect on the recruiting trail.
Davis broke through with just four starts in the 2018 season, with his first coming against Florida, where he immediately impacted the middle of Georgia’s defensive front. At 330 pounds, Davis is a run stuffer and a nightmare matchup for any offensive linemen.
Since his breakthrough in 2018, Davis has quickly gained the attention of scouts, NFL executives, and members of the media that surrounds the college game and the professional game.
The Charlotte native was on many mock drafts in the first round as one of the top defensive linemen in the draft coming into the 2020 season.
After starting in six of the nine games for Georgia this season, a fractured elbow sidelined the junior during the Kentucky game. Davis missed three games and couldn’t take the leaps forward that many expected.
With an injury keeping the mountain of a man off the field for three of the last four games of the season, the whispers of potential for a senior season abound.
After Davis returned in the regular-season finale against Missouri, no decision is expected from the junior until the days following the Peach Bowl. As the decision looms, more thinking about the ball’s defensive side will look like next season.
Georgia will have a lot of talent to replace following the Peach Bowl as they will have several talents drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft. Keeping even one prospect helps keep continuity in the squad.
A return of Georgia’s starting nose tackle locks down the middle of the Georgia defense. We will also see the return of underclassmen like Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker as inside linebackers, who will step into leadership roles next season.
With two of the top edge rushers on the roster this season already announcing their departure, Georgia will look to keep what they have left on the interior of the line and the edge.
Underclassmen like Travon Walker, Jalen Carter, Warren Brinson, and Nazir Stackhouse will help fill the holes around two potential returners in Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt along the defensive line in 2021.