The mass exodus has begun.
Georgia’s Isaiah Wilson has followed the lead of his linemate Andrew Thomas and announced via social media his intention to turn pro and forgo the rest of his college football career.
Thomas, a 6-foot-7, 350-pound redshirt sophomore from Brooklyn, N.Y., made his decision public via his Instagram, @7ninee.
“This was a huge decision that I prayed about, talked about with my family and thought about tremendously and it's not a step that has been taken lightly,” Wilson wrote. “I have made the decision to enter the 2020 NFL draft and forego my senior season.”
Wilson did not say explicitly he would skip the Sugar Bowl, but that he seemed to imply that with the words, “I will begin preparing for the next chapter of my life.”
Wilson has started every game at right tackle for the Bulldogs last seasons and this season, so Georgia will be without both sides of the starting line when it faces No. 7 Baylor in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
That might not be the last defection. Junior left guard Solomon Kindley also is draft-eligible and has received favorable grades from mock drafts.
Skipping bowl games has become standard operating procedure among high-draft prospects after the end of the regular season. They don’t want to risk injury or further devaluation before they have a chance to prepare for the draft and be evaluated by scouts and NFL executives. The NFL Draft is set for late April.
Also contemplating making the jump is Georgia’s star running back D’Andre Swift, who has received from first-round projections from NFL draft experts.
Senior All-American safety J.R. Reed has said he intends to play in the bowl game.
