Former Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Bill Norton has declared for the 2025 NFL draft. Norton played at Georgia from 2019-2022 before transferring to the Arizona Wildcats.
Norton, who is not ranked in Pro Football Focus’ top 250 NFL draft prospects, played rotational snaps for the Texas defensive line in 2024.
Norton totaled 12 tackles over four seasons at UGA before transferring to the Arizona. With the Wildcats, Norton posted a career-best 31 tackles, three pass deflections and two forced fumbles.
After the 2023 college football season, Norton transferred to the Texas Longhorns. The 6-foot-6, 335-pound defensive lineman recorded 14 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble for the Longhorns this season. Norton had just one sack in his college career, but he recorded it in the College Football Playoff.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart spoke about Norton’s time in Athens back in October.
“What a great kid man, this guy worked his tail off here and worked really hard,” Smart said. “One of his key roles was with special teams, he played on our field goal protection unit and was the best at doing it.”
Norton’s contributions on special teams don’t show up in the box score, but there’s no doubt it is an important role. However, the ability to play on special teams helps his cause in the NFL.
Norton was part of an elite Texas defense in 2024 and will hope to carve out a role in the NFL. He won two national championships at UGA, but went 0-2 against the Bulldogs in 2024.
