The comparisons with former Georgia nose tackle Jordan Davis and current sophomore Jamaal Jarrett were inevitable.

Besides playing the same position, both players are the same size.

Both hail from North Carolina, and now in his second season with the Bulldogs, Jarrett is encountering some of the same early challenges faced by the current Philadelphia Eagles during his early years in Athens.

“Jah has been good. His weight has been up and down. I think it's something that he knows and he's trying to work on,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “He has moments, flashes of being able to help us, and we need help at that position in terms of depth because we've got injuries at those positions.”

The Bulldogs have been banged up.

A second tibia stress fracture has delayed fellow sophomore Jordan Hall’s season, while junior Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins continues to push toward full health after the foot injury that hampered him most of last year.

Incumbent nose tackle Nazir Stackhouse is reportedly having a solid fall camp. But Smart will tell you one can never have enough big, talented defensive linemen in the SEC, and he’s hoping that Jarrett can take that next step.

“I think he's getting better. He's more dependable. He has a little more stamina, but there's still an area for improvement that he's got to be able to play in more consecutive snaps,” Smart said. “That's what we challenge him to do each and every day.”

In five games last year, Jarrett was credited with six tackles. More will be expected this fall.

“We have players on our defensive line who can get better. The worst feeling as a coach is when you don’t have players that you can get better,” Smart said. “There are coaches all across the country right now on the defensive line who don’t have one 300-pounder. We’ve got several. We just have to continue to get them better and execute at a higher level.”