UGASports is counting down the days until the Bulldogs’ 2024 season opener. For each day in our countdown, we will reveal our opinion of the best player in Georgia history to wear that particular jersey number.
We select Jarvis Jones as the best Georgia player to wear jersey number 29.
#29 JARVIS JONES
Position: Outside Linebacker
Hometown (High School): Columbus, Georgia (Carver HS)
Height/Weight: 6-3, 241
Lettered: 2011-2012
Stats: 170 tackles, 28 sacks, 16 other tackles for loss, 1 interception, 5 pass breakups, 88 quarterback pressures, 9 caused fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries in 26 games/26 starts in two seasons.
Career: Jarvis Jones, the No. 3 overall prospect in the state of Georgia for the 2009 class, attended Southern California for a year before a neck injury ultimately led him to transfer to UGA. After redshirting in 2010, Jones produced what remains two of the top annual defensive performances in Georgia history. In 2011, the outside linebacker led the Bulldogs with 19.5 tackles for loss, including 13.5 sacks, 49 quarterback pressures, and two forced fumbles. The following season, Jones led the team with 24.5 tackles for loss, including 14.5 sacks—both school single-season records for an individual—39 quarterback pressures, a staggering seven caused fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. His totals for both tackles for loss and sacks led the SEC in both 2011 and 2012. Despite playing just two seasons at Georgia, Jones’ 44 total tackles for loss and 28 sacks both rank third on the Bulldogs’ all-time career list. His 88 career quarterback pressures are unofficially the fourth-most in UGA history. In 2011, Jones served as one of Georgia’s two permanent defensive captains, followed by serving as the overall permanent captain of the 2012 team. In both seasons, the Bulldogs captured the SEC East title (whereas they didn’t represent the SEC East in any of the other nine seasons between 2006-2016). For each of his seasons as a Bulldog, Jones was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. To date, he is the latest of only five Georgia players in history to earn consensus All-American status for at least two seasons, joining the select company of Frank Sinkwich, Herschel Walker, Terry Hoage, and David Pollack. In 2012, Jones was named the AP SEC Player of the Year while becoming the first Georgia player in 14 years to finish in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting. Selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was the No. 17 overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft.
#29 Honorable Mention: SAF- Christopher Smith (2018-2022); SAF- Buck Swindle (1968-1970); DB/PR- Thomas Flowers (2004-2005, 2007); DB/ST- Burt Jones (2000-2002)
Three times Jarvis Jones earned SEC Player of the Week honors while at Georgia—against Florida in both 2011 and 2012, and vs. Missouri in 2012:
