Jordan Davis opens up about when everything 'clicked' for him in football

Jordan Davis realized his dream of making it to the NFL last Thursday, when the Eagles selected the former Georgia star No. 13 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, while the NFL was always a dream, a foggy picture became clear for Davis at a certain point during his journey.

During his introductory press conference in Philadelphia, Davis explained when football clicked for him as a possible career choice.

“So when I first started playing football in high school, my main mission was to get to college. Then, when I got to college, my main mission was to get to the NFL and graduate,” revealed Davis. “You know, when the NFL comes knocking. I had a great career at Georgia, and I just wanted to take advantage of this opportunity that I had at hand.

“It kind of just clicked when I hit school. I was like, I could do this as a career. I could do what I love every day as a career. You know, they said if you do what you love, then you would never work a day in your life. So, I guess that’s when that clicked.”

As you can see, NFL dreams always hung over Davis’ head. However, they didn’t seem feasible until a certain point in his life. Now, Jordan Davis isn’t just in the NFL — he’ll be expected to become a star for the Eagles as he writes his next chapter.

More on Jordan Davis, Philadelphia Eagles

Furthermore, the Eagles are banking on Jordan Davis to come in and transform their interior defensive line. He did it throughout his time in Athens, and the former Bulldogs defensive lineman will be expected to do the same in his NFL career. That’s why the Eagles traded up and took him off the board early in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft last Thursday, picking him No. 13 overall.

The Eagles made the deal with the Houston Texans, sending the Nos. 15, 124, 162 and 166 overall picks to Houston for the No. 13 overall selection to take Davis, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

In his four seasons with the Bulldogs, Davis emerged as one of the top defensive players in the entire nation. Last season, Davis realized his dream of bringing a championship to Georgia, helping to end a drought that spanned over 40 years when the Bulldogs defeated Alabama in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Additionally, the star defensive lineman was the recipient of the Chuck Bednarik Award, presented annually to the best defensive player in college football.

A former four-star recruit in the class of 2018, Davis was the No. 36 defensive lineman in the nation per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. Davis played his high school football at Mallard Creek in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he also played basketball. Unlike many of the selections in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Davis wasn’t considered a blue-chip recruit out of high school, but evolved his game as he realized his potential.