Most Georgia fans already knew the 2021 Georgia defense was great. But a former Georgia rival further confirmed why the 2021 Georgia defense was one of the best in recent memory.

Jordan Yates was Georgia Tech’s starting quarterback for the 2021 matchup against the Bulldogs. It did not go well for Yates and the Yellow Jackets, as they lost 45-0. Georgia Tech finished the game with 166 total yards.

In a TikTok, Yates shared what it is like to go up against what was the best defense in college football that season.

“We get to the game, there’s me, and the best way I can describe playing against that defense is like, the field was smaller playing against them,” Yates continued. “They were so big and so fast that it literally felt like we were playing on not a 53.5 yard field for the width, it felt like the field was probably 30 yards wide. Like when you’re growing up and playing in the street in front of your house and you can’t really go side to side, all you can do is go forward, that’s what it felt like. I had this little 5 yard run on 2nd and 4, I got up and I thought I was him really. Because they were so fast, so quick side to side, getting those 5 yards was tough. That was a big accomplishment in that game. Basically, the way the rest of the game went, I was getting sacked a bunch, we weren’t really getting anything going, you can see I just slid because I had already been hit so many times in that game. I actually finished the game with a concussion, so I just went down. Literally at one point in the game, this is the weirdest trash talk I’ve ever heard in my life, I wanna say it was No. 88 (Jalen Carter), he said the strangest thing to me. He just looked at me and was like, ‘Y’all are so unprepared.’ I was like, ‘Huh?’ Y’all are so unprepared? All the things he could have said at this point in the game, it’s like 45-0 and he’s like ‘Y’all are so unprepared.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He’s like, ‘Y’all just don’t like know what’s going on,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, we don’t.’”

The shutout of Georgia Tech was one of six games from the 2021 season in which Georgia did not give up a touchdown. The Bulldogs ranked first in the country in scoring defense, second in rush defense, second in total defense and fourth in sacks.

Five members from that defense were taken in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft and three more could conceivably go in the first round of this upcoming draft. Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith and Kelee Ringo all have the potential to be first-round picks after completing stellar seasons for Georgia.

Yates ended up transferring to Sam Houston State following the game against Georgia. The Bulldogs had to replace many of the key members of that 2021 defense in 2022. While Georgia’s defense wasn’t quite as dominant, it was still good enough to help the Bulldogs go 15-0 and win a second-consecutive national championship.

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