Davin Bellamy emerging on Georgia defense

ATHENS, Ga. (TNS) — The prospects of redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Davin Bellamy being an impact player for Georgia’s defense weren’t overly bright before the start of the season.

It had nothing to do with Bellamy’s promising talent. It had everything to do with him working at the same position that included Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins and Lorenzo Carter.

“I’ve always loved the competition,” Bellamy said. “Every day in that room, there is competition with everything. We learn from each other and feed off each other.”

With Jenkins limited by a hip flexor and Floyd playing various roles for second-year defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, the 6-foot-5, 241-pound Bellamy has capitalized on increased playing time. In Saturday’s 27-3 loss to Florida in Jacksonville, he led the Bulldogs with seven tackles and two tackles for loss.

In the early stages of the third quarter, Bellamy stripped Florida quarterback Treon Harris and recovered the loose ball at the 25-yard line of the Gators. That set up Georgia’s only points of the afternoon, with Marshall Morgan connecting on a 27-yard field goal.

“He plays hard, but he’s got to learn what to do and why it’s important to do it that way,” Pruitt said. “When he does that, he’ll have a chance to be a really good football player. He’s just a redshirt sophomore, so he’s got a lot of football ahead of him.”

Georgia (5-3, 3-3 SEC) held a 90-minute practice Monday in preparation for this week’s noon kickoff against visiting Kentucky (4-4, 2-4) on the SEC Network.

Bellamy signed with the Bulldogs in 2013 out of the Atlanta suburb of Chamblee as a three-star prospect according to both Rivals.com and 247Sports.com. After redshirting his first season, he made unwanted headlines with a DUI arrest in July 2014.

He served a two-game suspension for the arrest and wound up playing in 10 of Georgia’s remaining 11 games last year, collecting 17 tackles and two tackles for loss. He forced a fumble against Charleston Southern and recovered a fumble against Auburn.

So far this season, Bellamy has 27 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles.

“He’s a guy who has really improved a lot since he’s been here,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. “He had shoulder surgery a while back, and when he finally got healthy, he got in tremendous shape and just started making plays in practice. He’s definitely earned the right to play, and you certainly get more playing time at your position if someone else is out.

“He’s a guy that if everybody was healthy, he would still get to play.”

And playing is making Bellamy quite happy these days.

“Coming into the season, I just wanted to help this team any way I could,” he said, “whether that was giving 110 percent on the field or being on the bench and getting guys water and cheering them on.”