Freshman EDGE Damon Wilson joins Georgia at Orange Bowl after minor knee surgery
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Georgia arrived in Miami for its Orange Bowl matchup with No. 5 Florida State earlier and it did so without freshman EDGE Damon Wilson. DawgsHQ has reported that Wilson has a knee injury that required a procedure and Kirby Smart had a chance to speak on it in Friday’s joint press conference with Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell.
“Yeah, Damon had a scope done and he’s with us. He’s out there but he’s not practicing,” Smart said.
Smart’s comments confirm DawgsHQ’s initial report that stated that Wilson’s injury was not considered serious and that he would be back in plenty of time for spring drills. Wilson, Georgia’s highest-rated signee in the 2023 class per the On3 Industry Rankings, played in 12 games this season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Wilson saw 75 snaps in his freshman season. The vast majority of his meaningful snaps came in pass-rush situations in the Bulldogs’ DIME package. He had four tackles on the year with a half sack and a half tackle for loss. Pro Football Focus credits Wilson with eight pressures on the year.
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As a prospect, the 6-foot-4 230-pound pass rusher finished the 2023 cycle ranked as the nation’s No. 20 overall prospect per the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the No. 3 EDGE in America and the No. 5 overall prospect in Florida.
Amarius Mims joins Georgia at the Orange Bowl
The Bulldogs also arrived in South Florida without mammoth right tackle Amarius Mims, who battled multiple ankle injuries in 2023. Smart says that Mims has also joined the team and will be with the team at its light practice on Friday.
According to his personal Instagram account, Mims arrived in Miami on Thursday. He joined the team in time for a group outing later that evening. The former five-star prospect started the first three games of the 2023 season before suffering a high-ankle sprain against South Carolina. He returned in November against Ole Miss and started the Tennessee and Georgia Tech games to round out the regular season.
Mims made his sixth start of the year in the SEC Championship game against Alabama but exited after the second series with another ankle injury. As of right now he is not expected to play in the Orange Bowl.
