Injuries to Georgia’s defensive line have been one of the bigger stories for the Bulldogs three games into the 2024 campaign.

But there’s another one that’s starting to grab some attention: the play of junior defensive end Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins.

Before this year, Ingram-Dawkins’ career was marred by various injuries. Now that he’s finally healthy, the South Carolina native is showing what he can do.

Last week against Kentucky, his effort against the Wildcats included three tackles, two for lost yardage, and a sack of Brock Vandagriff.

On the year, of his eight tacklers, five have gone for lost yardage, while his eight quarterback pressures rank second only to the 13 by linebacker Jalon Walker.

“He’s done a great job. He talked to the team today about where he was in terms of his mental space when he was a young player and you know obviously thought he should be playing more,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “It’s funny because he's matured so much from the time he was like, ‘I should be starting, I should be playing’, to realizing that he wasn't ready and that he needed to get better. Unfortunately, he didn't get to play a lot last year because of injury, but he has been able to play a lot this year and he's done a really good job.”

If it seemed like Ingram-Dawkins barely left the field you would be correct.

Of Georgia’s 78 defensive snaps, the native of Seneca, South Carolina repped in 63 of them, second only to the secondary trio of Daylen Everette, Julian Humphrey, and Malaki Starks.

“I’ve watched Ty grow. I’ve seen him battle his injuries, seen him go through practice, progressing, going through fall camp, getting back into his groove,” Walker said. “It’s exciting to see. I can’t wait to see him go through the rest of the season.”

While the lack of depth has forced Ingram-Dawkins to assume much of Georgia’s duties on the defensive line, it’s hoped he will have some help soon.

Tuesday, Smart said that defensive lineman Warren Brinson is “really close,” and that Jordan Hall (stress fracture) and Mykel Williams (ankle) are doing some running.

“We’re hoping to get those back,” said Smart, whose comment was misconstrued by some on social media thinking that meant Georgia’s coach was deeming the trio 100 percent.

That was not the case, although it does appear the three are indeed closer than they were.

The Bulldogs did get South Carolina transfer Xzavier McLeod back for the first time this year. Other youngsters are also starting to show they could potentially offer more help.

“You know, we've got young defensive linemen that are getting better, but we may not have felt like they were ready for that. We may not have felt like that was the position to put them in. And I do think Jamal Jarrett and McLeod did a good job relieving those guys some and probably could have done even more,” Smart said. “But neither of them had gotten a lot of work. Like Xavier McLeod didn't practice until either Wednesday or Thursday. So, it's one of those things that will feel much better in this off week already with the guys that are taking reps.”