Defensive Line Spring Preview

Credit: John Roark

The front seven of the Dawgs defense on paper is one of the most exciting aspects of a young Georgia defense in 2021. The Georgia defensive line will have an opportunity to help lead Georgia to a National Championship this coming season.

Shortly after winning the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, the top defensive linemen Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt’s decisions were on the front of Georgia fans’ minds.

Jordan Davis’s importance was shown throughout the 2020 season as Davis missed three games due to an injury suffered during the Kentucky game. Davis brings a big frame to the middle of the Georgia front seven as the nose tackle. At 6’6 330 lbs, he naturally absorbs double teams and shut down gaps in the running game.

While Davis gets more of the attention when compared to returning senior Devonte Wyatt. Wyatt plays yet another instrumental role in shutting down the opponent’s run game and providing an interior pass rush. After starting in ten games, this past fall, Wyatt decided to take the “free year” of eligibility and return in 2021 for his fifth season in Athens.

The Dawgs will bring back two of the three starting defensive linemen with Davis and Wyatt’s returns. While senior defensive end Malik Herring is the only starter that declared for the NFL Draft this April. As a senior, Herring provided consistent leadership and performance for a young defensive line group.

While the loss of a leader like Herring may be hard to replace, Tray Scott has done an excellent job on the recruiting trail, lifting the Georgia defensive line’s profile mostly by recruiting talents in Georgia’s backyard in the Peach State. Rising junior Travon Walker was a significant addition to the 2019 recruiting class. He was the first five-star defensive linemen committed to Georgia since Trenton Thompson signed as part of the 2015 recruiting class.

Walker made an immediate impact as a true freshman as he logged a game-sealing sack in the win over Auburn in 2019. Walker would earn the honors of being voted to the All-SEC Freshman team at the end of the 2019 season. Walker is expected to take over as the starter replacing Malik Herring.

Georgia will also have valuable players rotating in the game along the defensive line. No player will be more exciting off the bench than Jalen Carter. Carter impressed many in camp as a true freshman last summer, and making it look like the hype surrounding the freshman out of Apopka, Florida, was real.

Carter finished off a strong freshman campaign with 13 total QB pressures and started in the absence of Jordan Davis; three of those 13 pressures came against Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl.

Georgia will also look for contributions from rising sophomores Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson. While also welcoming in highly touted true freshmen.

Georgia will see two in-state defensive linemen on campus through the winter and spring. As a four-star defensive end, Jonathan Jefferson and three-star tackle Marlin Dean are both Georgia natives. While also being joined by four-star defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins from the state of South Carolina.

Ingram-Dawkins was a highly touted defensive tackle in the 2021 recruiting class. Tyrion was a priority target by many of the nation’s top programs as his skill set fits multiple schemes. Ingram-Dawkins is a guy to look out for as the next freshman who could make an impact on day one.