Jalen

Carter

Georgia is expected to be a talented team both offensively and defensively as the Bulldogs look for a repeat after winning the CFB National Championship against Alabama earlier this year. One bug piece of that will be the defensive tackle Carter (6'3/310), who has already started drawing comparisons to the great Warren Sapp. Both Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers of Pro Football Focus recently listed Carter as the best interior defensive lineman in college football, with Sikkema putting him above Siaki Ika and Rogers lacing him above Bryan Bresee.

Georgia features talent on both sides of the ball heading into 2022 and Carter (6'3/310) is among those to watch on the defensive side of it. He’s already drawing early comparisons to the great Warren Sapp and came in at No. 4 in Mike Renner of PFF’s latest big board, ahead of Clemson’s Myles Murphy and behind Ohio State’s CJ Stroud.

Georgia is loaded with talent ahead of the 2022 season and Carter (6'3/310) is among the players some are predicting will have a breakout season and become a top draft pick come April. Cam Mellor of Pro Football Network has Carter going second overall to the Atlanta Falcons: “Drawing easy comparisons to Warren Sapp, Jalen Carter is built like a tank yet moves like a fighter jet. He’s an elusive man to block, not just with his quick first step off the line but also with his ability to instinctually move to the play side or a favorable gap matchup pre-snap. Carter is a monster of a man with quicks, both in his hands and feet, who is equally as impressive as a pass rusher or run stopper. He’ll dramatically change this Atlanta Falcons team in a way few could.”

Pass rush win rate measures how often a defender wins against blockers, and Carter (6'3/310) was one of the best in the nation in 2021. His success as a pass rusher resulted in 34 QB pressures, 24 hurries and four sacks. Carter finished the season with 32 total tackles but could be in line for a breakout campaign in 2022 with the departure of DT Jordan Davis and EDGE Devonte Wyatt.

UGA three tech defensive lineman Carter (6'3/310) tops the list of Bulldogs as the third ranked prospect on this list, DB Kelee Ringo checks in at the sixth slot while linebacker Nolan Smith rounds things out at number eight. Carter posted an astounding 18.9 percent win rate last year, which is the second highest mark for a Power Five player dating back to 2015. For his part, Ringo allowed just a 41% completion rate and NFL passer rating against of 63.2 last season and has prototypical size at 6'3/200. Smith put up 53 tackles, 8 TFL and 4.5 sacks in 2021 and will have a full-time role this season. Despite a mass exodus of defensive talent departing for the NFL, HC Kirby Smart has done such an incredible job on the recruiting trail that Georgia will experience very little fall off.

Carter (6'3/310) has been labeled as a prospect to watch ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft and that’s not without reason. According to Pro Football Focus, Carter has the highest pass rush win rate by a Power Five interior defensive lineman since 2017 (18.9%) behind only Quinine Williams (20% in 2018). It will be interesting to watch just how much more he rises in the coming season.

Davis (6'6/330) has been the immovable object in the middle of Georgia’s stout defense, so not having him would be a huge issue for the Bulldogs down in Jacksonville. Freshman Jalen Carter is next in line based upon the Georgia two-deep if the junior nose tackle is unable to go.

Carter (6'4/270) is Rivals’ No. 17 defensive tackle recruit in the 2020 class and the Bulldogs had to go into Florida to grab him. The Apopka, Florida native is the state’s No. 41 overall prospect, and he checks in as Georgia’s No. 10 commitment of 2020, where he joins Nazir Stackhouse and Jamil Burroughs as future pieces in the trenches.

“Carter has a unique blend of athleticism and power on the defensive interior with the ability to win with his first-step quickness a speed-to-power bull rush and is a violent finisher,” Simmons writes of the 6-foot-4, 270-pound Carter. The Apopka, Florida, native threw his lot in with the Bulldogs on Monday and ranks as the 247Sports composite board’s No. 68 overall prospect in the 2020 class. Simmons writes that Carter is “firmly in position” for a potential fifth star down the road.