Georgia Safety Javon Bullard Hints Towards NFL Draft
Following the College Football Playoff Selection Committee's decision to leave Georgia out of the 2023 College Football Playoff, movement on the Georgia roster, be in it in the form of transfers or early declarations for the NFL draft, will flow rapidly in the coming days. It seems the first significant move came on Sunday when safety Javon Bullard hinted that he could be declaring for the 2024 NFL draft in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
A member of Georgia's 2021 recruiting class, Bullard was a lightly recruited unranked 3-star prospect who developed into one of Georgia's most impactful defenders during his time in Athens. As a sophomore, the Milledgeville, Georgia native started 10 games at Georgia's STAR position and made one of the most memorable plays in recent Georgia Football history when he made a play to dislodge the ball from Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone in the third quarter of the 2022 Peach Bowl. The Bulldogs would go on to win the game 42-41 to earn a berth in the 2023 College Football National Championship Game and Bullard would go on to win Defensive MVP honors. In the National Championship Game against TCU, which Georgia won in record-breaking fashion by a score of 65-7, Bullard hauled in two interceptions en route to once again earning Defensive MVP honors.
As a junior in 2023, Bullard made the move to safety to replace multi-year starter Chris Smith and was named to the preseason All-SEC First Team and the preseason All-America Second Team. Bullard starting 11 games for the Bulldogs in 2023, finishing third on the team with 55 tackles and tied for second on the team with 2 interceptions.
