Jordan Davis: Big man, simple mission, fan favorite
It's easy to spot Georgia nose tackle Jordan Davis.
Even if you can't immediately pick out the 6-foot-6, 340-pound defensive lineman eating Swedish Fish on the sideline, just look for him gobbling up quarterbacks on the field.
Of Davis’ eight tackles for the No. 2 Bulldogs, three have been for losses, including 1.5 sacks.
Plus, it’s his ability to take on two, sometimes three blockers at one time that enables players like linebacker Nakobe Dean, linebacker Channing Tindall and safety Lewis Cine to come up and make tackles.
This makes him invaluable to the Dawgs' defense.
However, as fans and opponents have learned, Davis is not simply a roadblock taking up space.
“He was a block striker, and anchor I would say, an immovable object and that was great. But that can only get you so far. When it comes to tackles for loss, you’d better be quick, you’ve got to have stunt steps and you’ve got to have twists, you’ve got to have gains.” UGA head coach Kirby Smart said. “That wasn’t Jordan. That wasn’t Jordan’s expertise. It wasn’t what he was great at. But he’s taken pride in doing that, not necessarily by being lighter, because he’s not lighter, but by being quicker.”
For example:
In Georgia’s 56-7 rout of UAB, there were plenty of explosive offensive plays, but it was some eye-popping effort by the big man while running down Blazer quarterback Tyler Johnson III that people are still talking about today.
With the ball at the left hash, Johnson sprinted right, only to be chased down on the sideline by Davis.
“That was exciting,” running back Kenny McIntosh said. “We go against these guys every day in practice and seeing that translate from practice to a game is crazy. JD is a wonderful player, a big player at that. Just to see him move that fast is mind-blowing.”
Davis could not help but smile when recalling the play.
“The quarterback looked at me, we locked eyes for a second and he just ducked his head and took off running,” Davis recalled. “I told myself I had to get him at this point. I had to keep going. It’s one of those things, if you can make it, you can make it. If you can’t, you can’t. But it’s fun watching it.”
The college football world had already taken notice of Davis last year.
A member of the preseason All-SEC coaches team, Davis has certainly lived up to expectations so far this season.
He’s on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive player. He’s also one of the early favorites for the Outland Trophy, which goes annually to the top defensive lineman.
Davis also stands to make a ton of money in the upcoming NFL Draft as he’s almost sure to be projected as an early pick.
Former Georgia All-American Matt Stinchcomb, who will provide color for the SEC Network at Saturday’s game, has been thoroughly impressed.
“Dominant,” Stinchcomb said. “He has tools that few have. He can anchor, collapse the pocket, jet the gap, play 2 gaps, shed blocks and run.”
Davis admitted he sometimes surprises himself.
“I do surprise myself sometimes, but at the same time, I have to critique myself,” Davis said. “I look at it as maybe I could have played that block better because even if I make the tackle, it's going to show up as a minus on the film review. It’s just one of those things. We carry ourselves as perfectionists. It’s hard to be perfect, but in this game, you want to be as perfect as you can.”
