Devonte Wyatt, Quay Walker react to reuniting with Eric Stokes

With Georgia football’s roots running deep throughout today’s NFL landscape, its almost inevitable for an incoming rookie Bulldog to meet a fellow Georgia alum in the league.

Former Georgia stars Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt have the luxury of being drafted within picks of each other to the Green Bay Packers last month. Even more so, they have another fellow former Georgia teammate on the team in Eric Stokes, who just came off his rookie season with the Packers in January.

“Eric is like family – if you play for Georgia, you’re family, regardless,” Wyatt said. “I watched Stokes a lot last year. He definitely did a great job and I feel like he had a great season. I feel like coming in, he definitely is going to help me and Quay out and teach us the ropes.”

For Walker, he’s excited to have Wyatt and Stokes by his side once again, and will certainly lean on his former Georgia teammate while they both navigate their first season in the NFL. Still, Walker is ready to meet the rest of his teammates and create that same chemistry him Wyatt and Stokes had in Athens.

“It’s just crazy because I talked to Stokes probably an hour before the pick, or something like that. He sent me cheese, so it’s kind of crazy how that played out” Walker said. “… It’s going to be real, real special man, but I can’t wait to build up guys, not just us three.

“But it’s gonna be something that we all cherish, we’re all going to take with us of course, but I can’t wait to build with the rest of the guys.”

Walker led the Bulldogs defense with eight total tackles against Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship game, while Wyatt compiled a career-high 39 tackles and 2.5 sacks during his senior season. Both played pivotal roles throughout the season that led to the Bulldogs winning their first national title in four decades. 

With this type of experience under their belt, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur believes the lights will never be too bright for a pair of Georgia stars. They were held under a microscope by the national media for all of last season and never wavered under pressure.

“They’ve played on the biggest stages, so I don’t think it’ll ever be too big for them, but certainly, there was there was a lot of talent on that defense,” LaFleur said.