ATLANTA – In conversations so far with members of Ohio State’s offensive team, one Bulldog’s name has been mentioned more often than others: defensive tackle Jalen Carter.

With good reason.

Since coming back from ankle and knee injuries that caused him to miss part of the season, Carter has been on a tear. The Florida native has dominated opposing offensive linemen, frequently plowing through double teams. Statistically, Carter “only” has 29 tackles, but seven have been for losses of 27 yards. His 25 quarterback hurries are also second on the team behind defensive end Mykel Williams, who has 29.

“He’s just different, Jalen Carter is just—different,” linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson said.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson has certainly taken note.

It’s his offensive line that has the challenge of controlling Carter, trying to staunch his ability to pressure quarterback C.J. Stroud.

“A lot of times when you put on tape, you see great players,” Wilson said. “A lot of times when you put on tape, you see scheme and structure. But sometimes when you put on the great teams, you feel the tape, and you feel those guys on tape. You feel the plays he makes and the way he can impact and influence games. We have our hands full.”

Bulldog safety Christopher Smith was asked who the strongest player on Georgia’s team was.

It took him less than a second to come up with his response.

"Jalen Carter. I mean, I have no idea (why he's the strongest). I just know he's cold-cock strong, man. He's been like that ever since he's gotten here,” Smith said. “So, yeah, I'd definitely say Jalen Carter's probably the strongest person on our defense.”

Co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said having a healthy Carter has made the job of his defense a lot easier.

“He’s somebody you’ve got to account for every snap. He can change the game certainly inside. He's a very disruptive guy in the run game and in the passing game. So that's a guy that's very disruptive,” Muschamp said. “You’ve got to account for him every snap, and sometimes it's hard to help in protection for an inside player. It's much easier to chip on the edges and be able to have some protection. You can turn the protection. We're very aware of that, that we've got to create situations where Jalen is one-on-ones, and that's what we try and do as much as we can.”

However, it’s not just Carter that the Buckeyes have concerns with.

Left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. said Carter certainly deserves respect, but the Bulldogs have other talented defensive linemen.

“They have a strong defensive line, and I believe that's probably one of the strongest units on the defense, of course. And I think it's like a match-up game upfront. I think, of course, they have (Nazir) Stackhouse and Carter,” Johnson Jr. said. “They have 13 (Mykel Williams), 33 (Robert Beal Jr.), and 90 (Tramel Walthour) on the outside that rotates a lot, along with 32. And I think that's a solid group, and they rotate a lot, and I would say their twos are almost as good as their ones. So I think it's a respectable matchup. There's definitely not anybody on their line that you overlook in terms of doing your preparations."

Wilson agreed.

If the Buckeyes want to win, they'll have had to find an answer for Carter.

“It's going to be a fistfight with every play. We got our hands full. Just a lot of respect for their structure, the culture, the way they play, and most importantly, you feel their defense,” he said. “We're going to have to do our best to make sure they feel us, as we play this game, because it's not going to be a reactionary game. It's going to be an attacking game both ways, with two guys going at each other. A lot of respect for those guys.”