Jordan Davis details Bryce Young's play, likens to gingerbread man

Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis sang high praise for Alabama quarterback Bryce Young ahead of the national championship game, and deservedly so, after Young carved up the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game.

Though Georgia managed to take an early lead over the Crimson Tide, Alabama’s offense stormed back in the second quarter and eventually won the SEC title by a 41-24 final. Young had a signature performance in the win, and many felt he locked up his Heisman Trophy by completing 26 of 44 passing attempts for 421 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers against the favored, then-undefeated Georgia Bulldogs.

Come Monday, Davis and the Georgia defense will face Alabama once again. And Georgia is not cutting corners in its preparation for Young, a player that Davis said has gained the nickname “gingerbread man.”

“Bryce is an extremely talented athlete,” Davis said Saturday. “He’s slippery. And I forgot, we were watching, I think ‘Hard Knocks’ with the Colts, and they were talking about the gingerbread man and how Kyler Murray was running around like a gingerbread man. That’s what we’ve been calling (Young) all week. Just seeing him run around our defense in the SEC Championship game, you have to tighten up.”

In addition to his three passing touchdowns, Young needed just three rushing attempts to scamper for 40 yards against Georgia, including a rushing touchdown. The Bulldogs had no answer for Young’s mobility in the SEC Championship, but Davis is confident that Georgia’s preparation will help contain Young on the biggest stage.

“That’s one of the things we’ve been trying to do. I’ve been going against like wide receivers in our quarterback rodeo drill in practice, so trying to track down a wide receiver who is shifty, and I’m a defensive lineman, it takes a lot of skill and a lot of practice,” Davis said. “It teaches you to track the hips. We’ve just been tracking hips all practice. And definitely this go-around we’ll try to contain him and get him.”

Davis had an impressive 2021 campaign of his own for the Georgia Bulldogs, amassing 30 total tackles (16 solo stops) and two sacks, good for a first team All-SEC nod, the Outland Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award. But as a 6-foot-6, 340-pound defensive lineman, Davis acknowledged how difficult it can be to track down a mobile quarterback like Young — as such, he’s taking extra measures to ensure that the national title won’t be a repeat outcome of the SEC Championship.