2 min read • February 24, 2023
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Georgie defensive tackle Jalen Carter is ranked as a consensus top-5 prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft and expected by many to be the main attraction at next week's scouting combine following a challenging junior season that featured two injuries and a second straight national championship.
According to the Pro Football Docs, Carter should be free-and-clear of any lingering issues and neither lower-leg injury will impact his standing as a potential No. 1 overall pick, as evidenced by his end-of-season surge and strong College Football Playoff performance.
Following in the footsteps of former teammates Jordan Davis and Travon Walker, who established themselves as game-breaking physical forces in last year's combine, Carter will be in the first unit of prospects to don too-tight skinsuits and workout for a swath of coaches, executives, and Rich Eisen on March 2nd.
The hulking 6'3" suffered an apparent high-ankle sprain on the first defensive play of the season against Oregon, although it's unclear based on video which ankle, according to the Pro Football Docs.
The Bulldogs didn't announce the injury until several weeks later but Carter was clearly and significantly limited, logging five total tackles in the first four games on basement-level snap counts.
The 21-year-old said the ankle sprain was his first real injury and forced him to “change my mindset … let's get better" and he wasn't fully healed until the Peach Bowl vs. Ohio State.
In Week 4, Carter was hit with a chop-block that sprained his left MCL in a similar fashion to Kayvon Thibodeaux's preseason knee injury.
He missed the next two games and returned after Georgia's bye week to finish the season on a dominant seven-game run featuring 27 tackles, three sacks, seven TFL, two passes defended, and a one-armed standing tackle of Jayden Daniels that has come to define the Bulldogs' 15-0 championship season.
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Looks like a dirty play to me on UGA’s Jalen Carter….. no?
