Jordan Davis: Entire Georgia roster has 'bought in' to plan

Part of building a winning culture is “the buy-in.” For Georgia, defensive lineman Jordan Davis said the Bulldogs have done exactly that.

Davis said the entire team got on board with what Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart wanted this year. That’s a big reason why they’re 13-1 — and playing for a national championship on Monday.

“The whole team is bought into the plan,” Davis said. “Just everything. Extra film, extra conditioning, just doing the little things extra that we need to get us to the next level. And it’s been a great journey.

“We always talk about if you’re going to do something, bring somebody with you. So it’s been like young kids going with the seniors and getting some extra film or getting some extra conditioning.”

One other thing Davis started doing was working out with other positions. He noted some workouts with defensive back Kelee Davis, which helped him learn more about the whole team rather than just his position.

“I was out there working with Kelee, and when you’re working out with Kelee or somebody else from a different position, you learn more about them,” Davis said. “And it kind of ties in and that connection piece we’ve been talking about all year. So it’s one of those things.

“Everybody’s just been bought in. So it makes it a lot easier to just coach for the coaches and it’s a lot easier to play as a player.”

Nakobe Dean reveals what Kirby Smart refusing Gatorade bath meant to Georgia locker room

After a huge victory, a Gatorade bath is customary in the sport of football. However, Kirby Smart refused the sacred tradition after Georgia defeated Michigan in the Orange Bowl to advance to the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Evidently, Smart didn’t want to celebrate until the job was finished. The job of end the Bulldogs’ long drought without a national championship.

The gesture stuck with Georgia players after the victory. Prior to Monday’s championship game, Bulldogs linebacker Nakobe Dean revealed what Smart refusing the Gatorade bath meant to the locker room.

“I feel like Coach Smart’s mindset is kind of reciprocated in a lot of the older guys as far as we won the game last week, but it means nothing if we don’t get the job done. That’s exactly how I feel also,” Dean said. “It was cool that that we were able to win the Orange Bowl, but it was still closer to playing in this big one. Last week and the week before that, we just emphasized it being a one-game season against Michigan, one game season. Because you lose you go home. You win you get more time together.

“And now it’s what it is. It’s a one-game season. And we’re all looking to win, basically our goal that we set back in January.”