The Big 3: Where Georgia Stands with Talented Interior Lineman

During the last calendar year, the Georgia Bulldogs have pursued talented interior defensive linemen, and they reportedly have honed in on three players: Travis Shaw, Walter Nolen and Bear Alexander.

The Bulldogs likely won't come away with all three, but they certainly could take one or two from the bunch. All have been on campus in Athens over the summer.

All are extremely talented and will be difference-makers on the next level, no matter where they end up. Here is the current situation with each of the three talented recruits.

Travis Shaw

Georgia feels very good about where they stand in this recruitment. Shaw narrowed his recruitment to four schools in June: Georgia, Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina A&T.

Shaw is a close friend of current Georgia linebacker commit Jalon Walker. The two visited together at Georgia and the staff came away impressed with what Shaw has to offer.

Sources have told Dawgs Daily that Shaw is the No. 1 defensive lineman on Georgia's board. They view him as the eventual replacement for current nose tackle Jordan Davis.

Shaw has an extremely high ceiling, but should be an impact player regardless. He will be a plug-and-play run defender at the next level who should make plays in the pass rush off his motor alone.

Expect an announcement from Shaw before the end of the summer. It sounds like he wants to be committed heading into his senior season and could make an announcement sooner rather than later.

Walter Nolen

Many view Nolen as the best interior defensive line prospect in the class. Brooks Austin, lead editor of Dawgs Daily on SI.com, compared Nolen to Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown.

Nolen has played both on the edge and inside in high school. He will be a three-technique at the next level because of his freakish athleticism. He is 6-foot-4 and ran a verified 4.9-second 40-yard dash weighing 300 pounds at multiple camps this offseason.

His recruitment is down to eight schools, but the leaders appear to be Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan. Georgia fell behind in this recruitment, but reportedly feels like they have made up ground in the last month.

There’s limited true insight on this recruitment, and we may not get an idea until he commits. Nolen has been heavily recruited for a while and is keeping things close to the vest. Nevertheless, he is one of the best players left in the class and Georgia is pushing to make him a part of this class.

Bear Alexander

When Alexander decommitted from Georgia on June 7, many assumed there was no chance he would end up in Athens.

That still may be true, but sources say the Bulldogs have not backed off in their pursuit of Alexander. He was seen at current Georgia quarterback commit Gunner Stockton's lake house and frequently communicates with the staff.

Since decommitting, Alexander has taken official visits to Miami, USC, Texas and Alabama, while also visiting Texas A&M. It’s the Aggies that sources feel are currently in the lead in this recruitment.

Alexander could play either a shade or three-technique in college. His body has gotten a lot better since his freshman year in high school, as he is now carrying a lot more weight in his lower half.

He has played elite competition in high school and should be SEC-ready from Day 1. Some question how high his ceiling is, but he does a lot of things well and, at the very least, will be a strong rotational player.

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