Javon Bullard Moving on From Marvin Harrison Hit
As a preseason All-SEC First Team selection, the expectations are high for Georgia safety Javon Bullard entering the 2023 season.
Georgia fans knew what type of player Javon Bullard was prior to last season's College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Peach Bowl, but after his bone-jarring hit on Marvin Harrison Jr. that knocked the star Ohio State WR out of the Peach Bowl with 35 seconds left in the third quarter, he became a household name and a topic of heated conversation throughout the offseason.
While meeting with beat writers on Thursday, Bullard addressed the lingering controversy surrounding the hit that forced Harrison Jr. out of the Peach Bowl semifinal matchup between Georgia and Ohio State; insisting that has moved on from that impactful play.
“I’ll be honest. That play happened in December, and that you’re still talking about it is really not my fault. We moved on from that,” Bullard asserted. “We played a game after that and going into another season. That play’s over, man. I don’t have too much to say about that. It’s over, it’s done with; we’re preparing ourselves for camp.”
Georgia defender Javon Bullard (22) delivers a devastating blow to Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. in the 2022 Peach Bowl.
Yet, while he is ready to move on from the big play in the Peach Bowl, Bullard made it clear that his physical style of play will not be changing.
“I don’t really know what goes on in other people’s heads, but this game is physical. This place is physical,” Bullard said. “We just had a practice in spiders and it still was physical. It’s always going to be like that. It’s not because of the players that are here. It’s that way because it’s the standard that we hold. It was physical before I got here, and will be physical after I leave."
Georgia DB Javon Bullard (22) intercepts a pass in the CFP National Championship Game against TCU. Bullard is transitioning from STAR to safety in 2023.
As for the 2023 season, the expectations are high for the Georgia safety entering his third year in the Bulldog program, as evidenced by his selection to the preseason All-SEC First Team at SEC Media Days in July. Yet, while expectations are high for the Milledgeville native, questions remain regarding his transition from Georgia's STAR position, where he started 10 games a year ago, to safety. For his part, however, Bullard expressed confidence with his development at safety.
"I feel like I've come pretty far, actually," Bullard said when asked how far he thinks he has come in his development at safety. "I'm under great leadership in Coach Smart and Coach Muschamp. Those guys do a great job in, with helping you, we call them 'nuggets,' across the field. Helping you, not cheat the system, but play within the system to the best of your ability. Those guys do a great job of helping me learn, coming in, day in and day out, learning. Learning more about football, learning more about the game, and learning how to make plays that are supposed to be made and how to make plays, honestly, that aren't even really supposed to be made, but just really how to be a high caliber player at that position. I feel very comfortable. It's still defensive back. It's not like I moved to d-lineman or anything like that."
Bullard may have moved on from the big play that knocked Harrison Jr. out of the Peach Bowl, but he looks to build on a strong finish and take his game to the next level in 2023.
