When Devonte Wyatt and Jordan Davis decided to come back to Georgia for the 2021 season, they only needed each other’s commitment to make the decision. While Davis might get the praise and Heisman hype, Wyatt has been almost equally as impressive on the interior defensive line.

It is always a gamble to come back to school and risk losing money that you could be making in the NFL. The flip side of that is that for guys like Wyatt and Davis, dominant play on the No. 1 team in the country can significantly improve NFL Draft stock. That is seemingly what has happened.

“This senior year really has been great,” said Wyatt on Tuesday. “It kind of surprised me. When [Jordan Davis] and I decided to come back, we wanted to have a Sony Michel/Nick Chubb type of year. We just weren’t finished. It’s our last year, and we just knew we couldn’t leave. With the leaders we had in the room, we knew we could make something great.”

Wyatt currently is on pace for a season-high in tackles (30) and has already reached a career-high in tackles for loss (1.5) and sacks (4). Strength in numbers has played to Georgia’s advantage, especially on the defensive line. Doubling Davis, Wyatt or Jalen Carter can lead to favorable matchups for others.

“You know our coaches on staff, Will (Muschamp) included, said it was just a really good front,” said Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. “He thought it was going to be special and he was right. He’s been around a lot of really good ones and seen them and it was just a combination of Jalen growing up, those two coming back, Travon (Walker),  Nolan (Smith) there’s just a lot of good players up there. That front has really helped us.”

Wyatt is technically a “super senior,” choosing to come back and use the extra year of eligibility that the NCAA granted all athletes because of COVID. That ensures that this will be his last game at Georgia. He’s been a Bulldog for four seasons now after coming from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. However, he has not seen a team as close as this one yet.

“I feel like this is the closest team because I feel like coming from a freshman to a senior, it just felt like you build more connection with different parts of people on the team,” said Wyatt. “You build relationships with everybody, not just the d-line… everybody feels like family here.”

Wyatt also says he expects to be “very emotional” during the Senior Day festivities ahead of Georgia’s noon matchup with Charleston Southern.