Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Georgia Bulldogs have the most players on ESPN’s 2023 preseason All-America team of any college football program
No college football team has more players on ESPN’s 2023 preseason All-America team than the Georgia Bulldogs. Five Georgia Bulldogs made the team.
Alabama finished with the second-most ESPN All-Americans with three players.
Georgia has an ESPN All-American on all three levels of the defense. The Bulldogs are looking to win a third straight national championship, and they return the talent to make a run again in 2023.
What did ESPN have to say about all five of Georgia’s All-Americans?
Jalen Carter is among the three Georgia players to make the USA TODAY Sports All-America college football team
The Georgia Bulldogs had three players make the USA TODAY Sports All-America college football team. Georgia and its opponent in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Ohio State, are two of the six programs that had three picks on the All-America team.
Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, and safety Christopher Smith all made the first-team. The Bulldogs did not have any players on the second-team.
Surprisingly, more players in the Big Ten (15) were named to the All-America team than players from the SEC (10). Ohio State’s three selections are first-team wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., second-team offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr., and second-team linebacker Tommy Eichenberg.
Georgia tight end Brock Bowers won the John Mackey award. Bowers has 58 total touches, nine total touchdowns, and 819 total yards this season.
Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is too much of a force to leave off the All-America team. Carter, who missed several games after suffering a knee injury, has 29 total tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles.
Georgia safety Christopher Smith returned to Athens to have a season like this. The first-team All-America safety has 49 total tackles, three interceptions, and a memorable blocked kick returned for a touchdown.
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Three Dawgs make ESPN’s early 2022 All-America team
Chris Low of ESPN has released his way-too-early All-America team for the 2022 college football season.
Three Georgia Bulldogs, tight end Brock Bowers, defensive tackle Jalen Carter and cornerback Kelee Ringo, made the squad.
Bowers will be a sophomore during the 2022 season. As a freshman, Bowers recorded 56 catches for 882 yards and had 14 total touchdowns (13 receiving, 1 rushing). His 13 receiving touchdowns is a single season record by any pass catcher in UGA history.
Via Low:
When you’re just a freshman and Nick Saban calls you one of the premier players in college football, that’s pretty heady stuff. Bowers more than lived up to that billing last season, as he led all FBS tight ends with 13 touchdown catches and led Georgia in receptions (56) and receiving yards (882). He’s an impossible matchup for opposing defenses and is always finding ways to get open and make big plays.
Carter also had a sensational season in 2021 as a sophomore defensive tackle and should receive plenty of national attention with the departures of Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt next season. Playing in all 15 games, Carter had 37 tackles and 27 quarterback pressures en route to being named second-team all-SEC.
Via Low:
Much of the limelight for Georgia’s defensive front last season centered on 360-pound nose tackle Jordan Davis, but several opposing offensive coordinators said the 6-3, 310-pound Carter was the most complete player of the two. He only started in two games, but finished second on the team with 33 quarterback pressures and also had 8.5 tackles for loss. He had a key blocked field goal in the national championship game.
Redshirt freshman cornerback Kelee Ringo became a household name on January 10 when he picked off Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and returned it for a touchdown, delivering Georgia its first national title since 1980. Ringo was a former five-star out of Scottsdale, Arizona and was named to the Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team this past season. He played in all 15 games, starting in the last 12, and finished with 34 total stops, eight pass breakups (second-best on team), and 2 interceptions.
Low on Ringo:
The last time we saw Ringo on a football field, he was racing 79 yards for a touchdown on a pick-six to cap Georgia’s 33-18 win over Alabama in the national championship game. The 6-2, 205-pound Ringo is an excellent tackler and has the size and skills to smother receivers. He started his final 12 games as a redshirt freshman and is poised to be one of college football’s best all-round cornerbacks in 2022.
