Dante Sawyer

2017 Second-team All-SEC (AP)

2017: Fifth-year defensive lineman who played on the edge and in the interior of the line… earned second-team All-SEC honors by the AP… played in 12 games making three starts… led the SEC and tied for the NCAA lead with five forced fumbles, one shy of the school record of six, set by Bill Currier in 1976 and matched by Emanuel Weaver in 1981… logged 30 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks… has five pass breakups and four QB hurries… had seven tackles, two forced fumbles, two QB hurries, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in the season-opener against NC State… credited with six tackles versus Kentucky… forced a fumble that led to T.J. Brunson’s touchdown return against Arkansas… made a key strip-sack late against Tennessee… graded by Pro Football Focus as the top interior defensive lineman in the SEC through seven weeks… broke up a pair of passes in the Vanderbilt win… made six tackles at Georgia… served as a team captain for the Tennessee contest… forced a fumble vs. Wofford… played in 36 games making seven starts… shared the Tenacity Award for the defense with T.J. Brunson… graduated in December.

2016: Appeared in all 13 games… logged 25 tackles, including 4.0 for loss… recovered a fumble in the first quarter of the East Carolina game, setting up South Carolina’s first field goal… posted a strong effort at Kentucky, with three tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack… was in on two tackles, including one tackle for loss, against Georgia… chalked up two tackles and two QB hurries in the Tennessee win… set a career-high with six tackles in the Western Carolina win… credited with five tackles including a tackle-for-loss, in the Birmingham Bowl vs. USF… sat out the spring while rehabbing from off-season shoulder surgery… named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

2015: Played in 11 of 12 games, making four starts… credited with 17 tackles including 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery… provided one of the biggest plays of the game in a win over North Carolina, picking up a sack late in the fourth quarter… had a nine-yard sack in his first career start against UCF, his first of three-straight starts… had three tackles including a half-sack at Missouri… set a then-career-high with five tackles and was credited with a pass breakup in a start at Tennessee… did not play against The Citadel due to an injury… recovered a fumble against Clemson.

2014: Defensive end who spent the season at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Miss… played for coach Buddy Stephens… helped the Lions to a perfect 12-0 record and the NJCAA football championship… credited with 21 tackles including 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss… also forced a pair of fumbles… was the No. 36 JUCO player in the country according to Scout… regarded as the third-best JUCO player in the state, the top JUCO weakside defensive end in the country and No. 6 overall junior college prospect by 247Sports… ranked as the No. 3 junior college defensive end and 13th overall by ESPN.
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Ga. in 2014… coached by Bob Sphire… helped the Bulldogs to a 13-3 record and the state championship game as a senior… logged 49 tackles, including eight tackles for loss and three sacks in his final campaign… earned first-team Class 6A all-state accolades by the Georgia Sportswriters… also earned a spot on the AJC’s Class 6A all-metro team… played in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl… recorded three sacks in that all-star game… Rivals considered him the 13th-best player in the state, the seventh-best strongside defensive end in the country and No. 87 on the Rivals100 list… Scout ranked him as the 24th-best defensive end in the country and No. 231 overall… considered the eighth-best player in the state, the fifth-best weakside defensive end in the nation, and No. 121 overall, according to 247Sports… ESPN considered him No. 88 on its ESPN300 list, the ninth-best defensive end in the nation and the seventh-best player in the state… ranked by PrepStar No. 60 on the Top 150 Dream Team.

PERSONAL: Dante Octavious Sawyer was born December 17, 1994… iearned a degree in interdisciplinary studies.