ATHENS — Georgia football junior nose tackle Jordan Davis has announced that he, too, will be back for Georgia football’s unfinished business and “revenge tour” as he put it.
I’ll See Y’all In Charlotte… 🐶#NeighborhoodHero#UnfinishedBusiness pic.twitter.com/AFLKZPAKlI
— Jord9n D9vis (@jordanxdavis99) January 7, 2021
Davis was a force for the Bulldogs in 2020, a dominant presence who plugged the middle from tackle-to-tackle with his size and power.
But beyond that, Davis emerged as a team leader and ranked among the most popular players on and off the field.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pounder suffered an elbow injury against Kentucky on Oct. 31, which forced him to miss a pivotal loss in Florida against the Gators.
“Rehab was very important,” Davis said in the days leading up to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. “I was motivated by the fact I wanted to play again, I wanted to play as soon as possible.”
Davis’ stats of 16 tackles and one sack in seven games might not seem impressive until one considers he was essentially double-teamed on most every play.
“Georgia’s got some very key players coming back and today the biggest domino fell, Jordan Davis. This absolutely doubles Georgia’s chances of winning the SEC Championship and getting into the College Football Playoffs.”@MikeGriffith32
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) January 7, 2021
And yet, still Davis often found a way to push the pocket and disrupt the run game, occupying blockers so that linebackers Nakobe Dean, Monty Rice and Quay Walker could clean up.
Georgia led the nation in run defense for a second straight year, and Davis is a big (literally) reason why.
Davis seems to enjoy doing the blue-collar work in the trenches, and he has remained very humble while doing so.
“I wouldn’t consider myself a star,” Davis said. “I just do what I have to do to make sure I’m successful, make my teammates successful: complementary football.”
Davis found a way to impact special teams, too, blocking a field goal during Georgia’s 24-21 win over Cincinnati in the Chik-fil-A Peach Bowl last Friday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
A look at Davis’ career numbers — 5 sacks and 7 TFLs in the 32 games he has played — reveals that when he’s on the field he makes an impact.
Like any other defensive line, Georgia likes to rotate its defensive linemen and puts smaller, quicker linemen on the field in pass-rush situations.
But where Davis truly stood out was against the run, as he was the key to the Bulldogs leading the nation in run defense, allowing 2.39 yards per carry and 72.3 yards per game.
