Expectations are high for junior nose tackle Jordan Davis.
During a recent Zoom interview with reporters, Bulldog defensive coordinator Dan Lanning said as much, noting he's looking for the North Carolina native to have a “phenomenal year.”
During a Zoom session of his own Wednesday afternoon, Davis was asked what he thought about that remark.
His answer did not come as a surprise.
“Definitely. I know it's a lot of pressure on me,” he said. “But I put a lot of pressure on myself for this year, especially maintaining my weight and getting active. I'm running a lot more, trying to run a lot faster during practice and trying to compete. I feel like everything will fall into place once the season starts rolling around.”
It's easy to see why the expectations are so high.
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds, Davis is the unquestioned anchor in the middle of Georgia’s defensive line.
“Jordan, I think, is really hungry,” Lanning said. “There are just not a lot of people born in this world who look like Jordan Davis, right? So, when you look like that, there's an expectation. I expect him to really achieve at the highest level this year, have a phenomenal season, and really help our team.”
That's just what Davis aims to do.
Considering he appears to be in the best condition of his life, that could be bad news for the rest of the SEC.
Davis admits that keeping his weight in check has been an issue.
“For myself, with quarantine, it was hard to keep my weight in check. But we got it back down, regulated,” he said. “It’s just trying to progress every day. Move that chip lower and lower, move faster and faster every day. I will look at myself in the mirror sometimes and be like, ‘Dang, you’re really slimming up.’ So, it’s good to see the progression.”
One might think Davis would tire of the constant questions about his weight, but that's not the case.
“Talking about it's not an issue for me; it’s more of a motivation for me,” he said. “I just want to make sure I'm in the best position and condition I can be for the team.”
As you might suspect, Davis likes what he sees from this year’s defensive line, despite the losses of Tyler Clark and Michael Barnett.
“We have depth this year. I can say that. We have a lot of depth. A lot of young players are coming up and filling roles,” Davis said. “We have to keep that next-man-up mentality. Everything with [COVID-19], anything can happen this season, but I can say the young boys are really buying in, chipping in, and it’s been fun to coach them and play with them so I can see depth for us this year.”
But it's not just depth that has Davis excited. It's experience as well.
“We play the same role. Dan (Lanning), when he calls the framework of the defense, we play between it. There’s really no drop off, no changes,” he said. “We’re still playing the same plays, same calls. It's really the mentality for us. We want to create havoc, so if we have a ‘Dawg’ mentality, it’s always going to be with us.”
Davis also had a word to say about the offense, specifically his impression of this year’s group of running backs, expected to be led by Zamir White and James Cook.
Despite the loss of D’Andre Swift and Brian Herrien, Davis said the duo should not have the Bulldogs missing a beat.
“There's no drop-off, no drop-off. They bring such unique, multiple things to the game. It's really fun to watch, and really fun to play with them,” Davis said. “(Zamir White and James Cook) are both fast, so it’s giving me a hard time in practice trying to catch up with them at practice. I love them boys both.”
