Assuming safety Javon Bullard’s ankle keeps him off the field for Saturday’s game against South Carolina (3:30 p.m., CBS), fellow junior David Daniel-Sisavanh will be ready to fill the void.

A former four-star prospect, Daniel-Sisavanh did exactly that when Bullard left the field early against Ball State, finishing with a couple of tackles and a pass breakup.

The fact he was on the field at all is a story in itself, considering two years ago Daniel-Sisavanh was hit by a car while crossing the street walking to football practice.

“Anytime you talk about an accident of that nature, the No. 1 concern is the safety and well-being of the student-athlete,” head coach Kirby Smart said during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. “Certainly, for him, it was a scary incident and one he had to rehab and come back from. He was very lucky that he was not any worse than he was. But he took the rehab head on, recovered, and came back from that.”

Daniel-Sisavanh spoke of the incident during an interview with UGASports earlier this year.

The Woodstock native knows he was lucky.

“Not a lot of people experience something like that. I realize I could have been gone within that second,” Daniel-Sisavanh said of the accident, which occurred in late August of 2021, right before the opener against Clemson. “But I was thankful to come back from not-too-severe injuries; I was able to come back a couple of weeks later and was able to continue playing the game I love.”

It was an experience he’ll never forget.

It’s also one he hopes he never has to experience again.

“I remember it exactly. I got off the bus, I was going across the street heading to football practice, and I crossed in front of the bus. A car didn’t see me and came around the corner a little too fast. My first instinct was to jump,” said Daniel-Sisavanh, who landed on the windshield of the vehicle. “They told me if I hadn’t jumped, I wouldn’t have the legs I still have today.”

Being hit by a car hasn’t been the only issue Daniel-Sisavanh has dealt with.

During fall camp, he was slowed by a turf toe injury that kept him out of the opener against UT-Martin, before playing last week against Ball State.

“Yeah, he actually had been out this fall camp, I guess it was the first couple of weeks he had a turf toe injury, and actually just now came back in time for the last game,” Smart said. “He’s overcome several injuries, as a lot of our players have. He continues to fight to get better and be healthy so when his opportunity comes, he’s ready to take advantage of it.”