Georgia defensive lineman Tyler Clark had a stellar sophomore season two years ago, racking up 41 tackles, six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks for the Southeastern Conference champions.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pounder entered last year as a potential candidate to bypass his remaining eligibility for the NFL draft, but Clark could not replicate his output from the season before and is back for a final go-round in Athens.
“My junior season wasn’t as productive as it should have been,” Clark said this week in a news conference. “This year I’m going with a different mindset, and hopefully I can come out bigger and better this season.”
The Bulldogs held an indoor practice Thursday, with junior running back D’Andre Swift wearing a regular red jersey after having a noncontact one earlier this week.
Clark was by no means disastrous last season, tallying 31 tackles, four tackles for loss and one sack, and nobody is bemoaning his return. The former four-star prospect from Americus-Sumter High School in south Georgia is among the plethora of senior defensive linemen for the No. 3 Bulldogs entering their Aug. 31 opener at Vanderbilt.
Michael Barnett and Justin Young are fifth-year seniors from Mark Richt’s 15th and final signing class, while Clark, Michail Carter, David Marshall and Julian Rochester were in Kirby Smart’s first class in 2016.
“There are a lot of guys rolling,” Smart said about the defensive front after last Saturday’s second and final preseason scrimmage. “There is not one dominant player on that defensive front, but there are a lot of good, solid players and a lot of experience.
“We may roll out there with six seniors who have played a lot of football.”
Rochester’s 42 career games top Georgia’s six-pack of senior defensive linemen, with Clark leading the way with 19 career starts.
There is more to Georgia’s defensive front than those seniors, however, with Smart recently praising the play of junior Devonte Wyatt and sophomore Jordan Davis inside and freshman Travon Walker on the edge.
Of course, all of the defensive linemen face arguably the nation’s top offensive line every afternoon in practice amid temperatures well into the 90s when the Bulldogs work outside.
“It feels like a Saturday in Athens going against those five,” Clark said. “That’s the only O-line that we’re going to face like that.”
Clark insists he’s never been healthier, stronger or faster, and he hopes to help set a tone against the Commodores for his final season.
“We’ve got to come in with the mentality that we’re going to stop that run,” he said. “We talk every day about stopping the run.”
‘Set the Expectation’
The Georgia-Vanderbilt showdown will be the SEC’s first of several “Set the Expectation” contests that will address sexual violence.
Brenda Tracy, a registered nurse from Oregon who was raped by multiple Oregon State athletes more than two decades ago, speaks to athletes around the country about the issue. She will be in attendance next week.
All Georgia and Vanderbilt staff members will wear patches, while teal-and-purple stickers – teal represents sexual violence awareness; purple represents relationship violence awareness – will be worn on all helmets.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.