Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins finally felt tired of waiting.

The redshirt sophomore defensive lineman had missed Georgia's previous six games heading into the Florida matchup. The coaching staff had shut him down for six weeks as he battled a foot injury.

But before the game with the Gators, Ingram-Dawkins had had enough. His return gave a lift to the Bulldog defense as they began a tough closing stretch to the season.

"We felt like it was time for him to come back," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the game. "He said, 'Coach, this foot's either going to give or it's not. I can't keep sitting. I've got to go play.' He felt really good this week. I don't think he was in very good shape, but he was an added boost for us, just morale-wise, to get a guy back that we think could've had one of the best years, and he hasn't been able to. "

In his first action in nearly two months, Ingram-Dawkins made one of the biggest plays of the game against Florida.

With Georgia leading 17-7 in the second quarter, Ingram-Dawkins came around the right side of Florida's offensive line. He swatted with his right hand and knocked the ball out of Graham Mertz's grasp. Fellow defensive lineman Marvin Jones, Jr. recovered to set up a short touchdown drive, putting the Bulldogs up 24-7.

"It brings energy to us, seeing our brother eat," linebacker Jalon Walker said. "It’s a great feeling. I loved to see Ty with his first game back with a strip sack. It was the same energy that I had when I had a strip sack. It’s crazy to other people to see that there’s so many spotlights and individuals shining, but we don’t really see that. We see each other as one."

Ingram-Dawkins hasn't necessarily been a game-wrecking presence in his Georgia career. He has now totaled 13 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and the one sack in 17 total games played. But his return adds a boost to the Bulldog defense nonetheless. It's one more weapon that Smart can employ as his team closes out the season.

"It's getting him back in the right shape, stamina, all the way back," Smart said. "He hasn't been able to practice much, and didn't do much last week until Thursday. He's at a position where he rolls over there with Mykel (Williams) and Tramel (Walthour), and hopefully he can take a load off those guys and keep them fresher and give us a little more size."