When the Georgia Bulldogs and Michigan Wolverines meet up in Friday night’s Orange Bowl, several prospects will be showcasing their talents on a supersized stage, with a handful of NFL evaluators watching closely.
Let’s take a look at four who could be on the Chargers’ radar.
1) NT Jordan Davis, Georgia
With the Chargers going to be in search of talent along the defensive line, they should look no further than Davis. Hulking at 6-foot-6 and 340 pounds, Davis is not your typical nose tackle and, instead, one of the best players in college football. A handful for opposing blockers, Davis is mightily powerful, has good initial quickness, short-area quickness, can occupy double teams and occasionally triple teams and pass rush. He won’t raise eyebrows with his stat sheet (24 total tackles, 3.5 for a loss, and two sacks), but his play helps limit explosive plays, both through the air and on the ground. And, he’s the primary reason Georgia has the No. 1 defense in the nation, allowing just 229.7 yards per game.
2) DT Devonte Wyatt, Georgia
Davis draws most of the national buzz, but the man who lines up next to him is also quite impactful. At 6-foot-3 and 315 pounds, Wyatt plays with the first-step quickness, leverage, lateral agility, and play strength at the point of attack to make plays up and down the line of scrimmage. In addition, he has the versatility to line up anywhere from the zero-to-five technique. According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, Wyatt’s most impressive testing number is the 4.87 40 he clocked this last offseason. He also vertical jumped 31 inches and broad jumped 9-3. Wyatt has seven tackles for loss, two sacks, and 19 quarterback hits on the season.
3) EDGE Travon Walker, Georgia
Walker is one of the few overshadowed players on the Bulldogs’ phenomenal defense. But the tape shows a 6-foot-5 and 275-pounder who wreaks havoc with quickness and flexibility to get upfield and turn the corner and the length and strength to bench press blockers into the backfield. In addition, Walker is versatile and can play off the edge or on the interior, something that Brandon Staley utilizes with his guys upfront. Like Davis and Wyatt, Walker’s stat sheet will not appeal (5.5 tackles for loss and four sacks on the season), but there’s plenty to warrant that he can play at a high level in the NFL.
4) EDGE David Ojabo, Michigan
The Chargers could be in search of a guy to immediately play opposite Joey Bosa if Uchenna Nwosu walks, and Ojabo is a guy that is a match made in heaven in Staley’s system. Ojabo is long and flexible with explosiveness, lateral agility, and closing burst. He isn’t a power player, and it can show in the run game, but the talent is there for him to be a first-rounder, with the potential to develop into a premier pass rusher at the next level. In 13 games this season, Ojabo has 11 sacks and 12 tackles for loss.