Georgia’s quiet defender comes in clutch to seal Bulldogs’ thrilling victory over Ole Miss

Josh Horton’s name will be known after today.

Kelsey Kramer — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart reacts during the fourth quarter of the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Sanford Stadium.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It was another tale of two halves for the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs and their defense on Saturday afternoon, but they delivered when it mattered most to beat No. 5 Ole Miss, 43-35, at Sanford Stadium.

After giving up 35 points through the first three quarters, the Bulldogs’ defense held Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the rest of the Rebels’ offense to just 13 yards and zero touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

However, it was redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Joshua Horton who sealed the victory with a huge stop, shutting any chance the Rebels had to score a touchdown and convert a two-point conversion to tie the game.

Horton broke a pass from Chambliss on fourth-and-10. Georgia would go on to take a knee.

“The one thing we are, we’re hard to kill. We won’t go away,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said right after the win.

Who is Georgia’s Joshua Horton?

For those unfamiliar with Joshua Horton, he is a former three-star recruit from Fairburn, GA, who transferred from Miami to Georgia back in April.

Horton appeared in eight games with the Hurricanes, where he was credited with four tackles, including two solo and half a sack. Horton hasn’t seen much action with the Bulldogs, but maybe that will change after his big play on Saturday. He has just five tackles (two solo) and one pass defended through three games this year.

Coming out of high school, Horton (6-foot-4, 305 pounds) was rated as the No. 93 defensive lineman prospect and No. 844 prospect nationally for the class of 2023.

Per Langston Hughes High School’s MaxPreps page, Horton put together a dominant senior season at defensive tackle, racking up 123 total tackles, including 10 for loss, along with four sacks and 13 quarterback pressures. That was a major jump from his junior year, when he logged 81 tackles and seven tackles for loss.

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