University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldawg Leader: Jarius Wynn
April 21, 2009 | Football
By Murray Poole
BULLDAWG ILLUSTRATED
Jarius Wynn realizes the Georgia defensive ends and the Bulldogs defense as a whole for that matter haven’t lived up to the expectations everyone had for them this football season, and he very quickly will tell you who’s to blame.
“You can’t put the lack of sacks we’ve had, or anything else, on anybody else but us,” said Wynn, a senior end who has performed the past two seasons for the Bulldogs after transferring from Georgia Military College where he earned junior college All-America honors following the 2006 season. “But,” added Wynn, “I’m not really disappointed because we’re still working and I think our time is going to come. We just have to come out to practice and work harder, get in the film room and study film even when the coaches aren’t there. Preparation meets opportunity,” he said, “and we just want to turn it up a notch, come along in these last three or four games and make plays. As a defense, we’ve just got to get after people harder, and I think it will come.”
Wynn, 6-5, 273, has been a starter for Georgia in every game with the exception of the Bulldogs’ first two contests against Georgia Southern and Central Michigan. Prior to the Kentucky game this past Saturday, he had recorded 10 total tackles with one tackle for loss, one sack for a minus-11 yards and four quarterback hurries. Redshirt freshman Justin Houston was the only Georgia defensive end with more than one sack, having recorded two entering the game with the Wildcats.
But Wynn, an all-state performer at Lincoln County before heading for Georgia Military College, thinks his game has progressed a great deal from when he signed with Georgia prior to the 2007 season. In his junior year last fall, Wynn appeared in all 13 games and recorded nine tackles. He tied a career-high three tackles including a sack of eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow in the Bulldogs’ 42-30 win over Florida after also having three tackles in his Georgia debut against Oklahoma State.
“I think my career here has gone pretty well,” related Wynn. “I really didn’t know what to do when I first got to Georgia but everything got better for me as I learned how to play and learned what the coaches expected of me and everything. The plays we had at GMC were very easy but when I got here, I had to learn a new technique and learn all the plays. You have to do that before they’re going to put you on the field.”
Wynn, upon stepping on the Georgia campus, also realized he had to become a great deal stronger before being able to compete in Division I football.
“I was a little weak when I got here,” Wynn said. “I played at about 250 when I was at GMC but then after our bowl game (Golden Isles Bowl), I put on too much weight and entered Georgia at about 283. So I had to lose that weight to get down to what I am now ... 273,” he added. “I’ve always been naturally strong but knew I had to get weight-room stronger when I got here. And I’ve really had to work at that since I’ve been here.”
Wynn said his sack of Tebow last season “has been the highlight of my career so far. Then, against South Carolina this year, we had that big goal line stand and I was able to open up the hole for Rennie Curran to make the play. I blew up the South Carolina tackle and knocked him out of the hole, and Rennie came in and made the play.” Georgia fans should well remember the play Wynn is talking about. When Gamecocks tailback Mike Davis attempted to dive across the goal line from the 2, Bulldogs linebacker Curran jarred the ball loose from Davis and Georgia cornerback Asher Allen recovered in the end zone for a touchback ... thus preserving the Bulldogs’ 14-7 win in Columbia.
After Wynn’s Georgia career is concluded, hopefully with a New Year’s Day bowl game, he hopes to get a shot at playing in the National Football League. “And I’m going to keep working hard to get that shot,” he said. “But, if not, my major is Child and Family Development and I will have my degree to fall back on. I’d really like to coach somewhere, start off small and then maybe be a head coach one day.”
In the meantime, Wynn has a word for all Georgia fans: Don’t lose faith in the 2008 Bulldogs. “We just had a bad game against Florida, and we’re going to put it behind us and keep playing,” he declared. “We plan to come out and play hard in every game the rest of this season. Just don’t give up on us. And, I’d like to tell the fans we really appreciate all their support.”
