ATHENS -- Perhaps Georgia fans should believe it only when they see it. But it sounds as if Jordan Davis will be back on the field with the Bulldogs’ defense when they take on Missouri at noon Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
Davis, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound junior nose guard, has been out since he sustained an elbow fracture in Georgia’s win over Kentucky on Oct. 31. Ever since, coach Kirby Smart has made it sound as if Davis might be available for the next game. But five weeks have come and gone without the Bulldogs’ most valuable defensive lineman getting into games.
Smart spoke even more optimistically Tuesday that Davis would play for No. 9 Georgia (6-2) on Saturday.
“Jordan has looked good,” Smart said after the Bulldogs’ two-hour, full-contact practice. “What Jordan has done a really good job of is being in conditioning shape. So, he’s practicing really hard and looked good.”
The Bulldogs certainly could use him against the surging Tigers (5-3). Missouri’s offense has been on a roll of late, averaging 45.5 points in the past two games, wins over Vanderbilt and Arkansas. In addition to passing for 281 yards per game, the Tigers feature one of the better backs in the SEC in 5-10, 220-pound senior Larry Rountree.
Davis’ defensive numbers don’t jump off the stat page. He has 12 tackles in five games this season and only one tackle for loss. But his job is to tie up blockers in the middle of the line of scrimmage to free the Bulldogs’ swift-footed linebackers to make tackles. Georgia inside linebackers Nakobe Dean and Monty Rice lead the team with 63 and 46 tackles, respectively.
“Jordan makes my job easy,” Dean said. “He prides himself on looking at our stats to see how he played in a game. He says, ‘If two on me, (linebackers) should be free.’ He demands double-teams on the inside, so it’s great to have him back in the middle of our defense.”
The Bulldogs continue to lead the SEC and rank second nationally against the run, at 75.2 yards per game. But opposing teams are passing for 262.9 yards, which ranks 100th.
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