INDIANAPOLIS – Alternately, Georgia’s Jordan Davis has been listed as weighing 330, 335 and 340 pounds. The 6-foot-6 defensive lineman is all of that -- and maybe a little more.
Nonetheless, he found himself being carried off the field after the Bulldogs’ last practice in Athens on Friday. And it wasn’t just him.
At the direction of defensive line coach Tray Scott, each one of Georgia’s seniors had to be carried off the field by a teammate. It is a UGA tradition for honoring for that select group that has stayed all the way through every game for the Bulldogs.
In Davis’ case, it was “three or four” teammates that transported him to the sidelines.
“Like, two people grabbed my legs, one got my back,” cracked Georgia’s good-natured winner of the Outland and Bednarik trophies. “I would say it was pretty easy for them. They didn’t have too hard a time from what I saw.”
What’s going to be hard is replacing all of Georgia’s seniors. The Bulldogs have about 30 in total. At least, that’s how many participated in Senior Day at Sanford Stadium in November.
Many of those seniors play on the defense. There also are some juniors over there who might be playing their final Georgia game Monday.
But, as group, these seniors will go down as one of the most successful in UGA annals. In fact, should the Bulldogs be so fortunate to beat Alabama and win the national championship Monday, they will have won more games than any set of seniors in the history of the program.
“It’s definitely special,” senior offensive tackle Jamaree Salyer said. “Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about that since before the SEC Championship game. That was the last time we talked about it as a team. But it’s definitely something special to us.”
Georgia’s senior class already is tied with three others for the most wins over a four-year period with 44, or an average of 11 per season. Currently, this group has the same number of wins and losses as the 2005 and 2020 seniors at 44-9. That’s a winning percentage of .830. The 2019 seniors went 44-12 overall.
But Georgia’s 1983 senior class generally is considered the most successful of all time. That group went 43-4-1. And not only did that win nearly 90% of their games over four years (.896), they won a national championship, played for two, won three SEC championships in a row and played in four consecutive major bowl games.
A College Football Playoff Championship game win over Alabama would give the 2021 seniors an .833 winning percentage during what is arguably a much more competitive era of college football, especially in the SEC. So, they could make a good argument for best of all time.
But that was not their primary concern on the eve of Monday’s rematch against Alabama.
“It’s been a fun ride, but the ride ain’t over yet,” Salyer said. “We’ve still got one big mission left, and we’re all excited for it. The craziest part about it is that … this is our senior class’s first time being here. So, we’re excited for the opportunity and can’t wait to go out and play in a great environment, great stadium, and it’s going to be a fun time.”
