After dealing with a nagging ankle injury that limited him for most of the first half of the season, Georgia Bulldogs' star defensive lineman Jalen Carter says he feels 100% just days before the Peach Bowl.
The Bulldogs will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year's Eve. Carter figures to play a prominent role in the contest after missing two games and coming off the bench in four others due to the injury, per ESPN.
Carter told ESPN it was frustrating dealing with an injury of this significance, one that wouldn't seem to fully heal.
“I just had to get a lot of treatment,” Carter said. “I had to really change my mindset and try to get better.”
The 21-year-old has been phenomenal in the second half of the season for the Bulldogs, compiling 24 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles over the past six games.
He's expected to be in the running for highest-drafted non-quarterback in next April's NFL Draft; ESPN's Todd McShay projects him to be the No. 2 overall pick, which would make him a Seattle Seahawk next year.
“I was seeing that a lot, but I didn't let that get in my head,” Jalen Carter said about the possibility of him opting out this season and preparing for the draft while he was injured. “I didn't want to opt out on the team. I wanted to finish with my guys. So, I didn't let nobody, like, come in my head and say, ‘Oh, let's do this, do that.'”
A former All-SEC selection last season, the junior is healthy at the perfect time for the 2022 SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs. The 13-0 school will attempt to remain undefeated and book a spot in the National Championship on Jan. 9.
First, they'll have to overcome the 11-1 Buckeyes. The teams have previously only met once in history, when Georgia defeated Ohio State 21-14 at the 1993 Citrus Bowl.
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