When sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Davis got his hand on the field goal attempt against Vanderbilt, he thought he had it blocked. He celebrated with fellow teammate Tyler Clark only to turn around and see it just sneak over the crossbar.
“At first, I thought I had blocked it. We worked at it in practice so many times going against the field goal team. I thought I had it. We worked very hard. Their kicker had a good leg so it just flipped through,” Davis said. “It was a little disappointing but I was glad that what I was seeing and working on in practice was producing on the field, so hopefully one of those will fall my way...It’s fun. We laugh about it. As the game goes along, we’re just having fun out there.”
As for Davis, Clark, and the rest of the Georgia defense, the Mallard Creek native said he was proud of the way they played Saturday night.
“We were looking good on defense. We were stopping the run a little bit,” Davis said. “You know, their passing was a lot of perimeter plays. We were moving and flying to the ball and it was just a wonderful feeling.”
Davis maintained that although the game wasn’t close, the team played nowhere near the level they should have.
“The sky's the limit for all of us. We can see little flashes, little glimpses in practice and in games it all comes together,” he said. “I think the team definitely sees where we could be. But potential means nothing to us, you have to actually do it.”
After the game, head coach Kirby Smart was complimentary of Davis’ skillset but asserted that his conditioning was one thing Davis had to work on to be truly dominant.
"Well, the sky's the limit for Jordan. He's athletic, he's big, he's smart, he's fun to talk to. He's just entertaining,” Smart said. “But Jordan has to work hard to keep his stamina up. People can negate him by going fast, by going hurry-up they can wear him down. But he's extremely physical, he's a typical SEC D-lineman.”
Davis has been cognizant of his conditioning issues since high school but says that he’s seen a 180-degree shift in himself since then.
“It’s been something I’ve been battling for a while. I try to spend extra time after practice doing a little conditioning. Spending time just eating right, doing the right things, drinking a lot of water, staying hydrated. It’s a long road and the farther along we go there’s going to be more pressure and I’m going to have to be out there a lot more,” Davis said. “For right now, we’re just working to maintain my stamina. Me and Mike B (Michael Barnett) had about twenty snaps that game. We complement each other well but when crunch time comes, we have to be ready for that.”
Davis continued on to say that although his body has changed, he can’t get complacent if he wants to dominate in the SEC.
“I can feel myself getting a lot stronger mentally and physically. Running a lot, having good technique,” Davis said. “It’s not boosting my head or anything. It’s just nice to know that I’m able to keep up with this time and this league. The SEC is a very physical league and to be here being able to keep up is pretty impressive to me.”
Looking ahead to Saturday's contest against Murray State, Davis and the rest of the team say they are aware of the upsets that happened during week one and know they can’t afford to let off the gas.
“It’s something we definitely keep in our minds, not to slip. Especially in this game of college football, you have to be on your game every week. You have to bring it. If you get caught slipping, it’s going to be detrimental because somebody can take advantage of that,” Davis said. “I think Coach Smart is going to preach about playing to a high standard. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. It could be Murray State. It could be anybody in the SEC or the Pac-12, it doesn’t matter. As long as we play our game, we should be fine against anybody.”
Davis is excited to be playing in front of his home fans again, saying there is something different about Sanford Stadium.
“It’s like a sea of red,” he said. “Walking out of the tunnel leaves me starstruck every time.”
