Jarvis Jones is CBSSports.com's SEC Defensive Player of the Year
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Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones is the type of defender that opposing offenses have to locate before every snap.
He won't be hard to find this postseason. Look for him at almost any defensive awards ceremony. Jones has already been named the SEC's Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press and he's also the CBSSports.com SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy along with the Butkus, Bednarik and the Rotary Lombardi awards, Jones, despite playing through multiple injuries this season, had the biggest impact of any defender in the SEC this year.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound, pass-rushing linebacker finished the year with 77 tackles, 22.5 TFLs, 12.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an INT in 11 total games.
His notable plays this year included a sack and strip of Tennessee QB Tyler Bray that sealed Georgia's win over the Vols, a hit on Alabama QB AJ McCarron that dislodged the ball into the arms of another defender and an interception and a forced fumble against Missouri that helped the Bulldogs pulls away from the Tigers in their SEC season opener.
Perhaps his greatest individual game this season came in a 17-9 win over previously unbeaten Florida on Oct. 27. Jones piled up 12 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in that game.
He's earned the respect of opposing coaches as well. Alabama coach Nick Saban, viewed as the top defensive mind in the SEC, had rave reviews for Jones.
"There have been games this year where he has made a phenomenal amount of plays," Saban said of Jones, via the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. "The guy is probably one of the best defensive players in the country in terms of his playmaking ability. He's a really good rusher. He's physical. He's instinctive."
Jones, a junior, is ranked as the top outside linebacker in CBSSports.com's latest draft rankings and is ranked third overall.
For more up-to-the minute news and analysis from SEC bloggers Larry Hartstein and Daniel Lewis, follow @CBSSportsSEC.
