2014 SEC Football Awards
Freshman of the Year
Nick Chubb, Georgia
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Chris Conley, Georgia
Offensive Player of the Year
Amari Cooper, Alabama
Defensive Player of the Year
Shane Ray, Missouri
Special Teams Player of the Year
Marcus Murphy, Missouri
Jacobs Blocking Trophy
La’el Collins, LSU
Coach of the Year
Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Two Georgia Bulldogs captured individual awards and four UGA players total were named to the all-conference team as the SEC coaches’ postseason awards were released on Wednesday.
Tailback Nick Chubb was named the SEC freshman of the year after also earning similar honors from The Associated Press on Monday. Chubb was also named a first-team running back by the coaches.
Senior receiver Chris Conley earned SEC scholar-athlete of the Year honors. That gives the last two honorees for this award after Aaron Murray garnered the 2013 accolade.
Chubb, a native of Cedartown, did not become a starter until Todd Gurley was benched for breaking NCAA rules for the sixth game. Chubb started the last seven games of the season and finished with 1,281 yards and 12 touchdowns on 186 carries (6.9 average) in his first season. He became the 12th Bulldog in history to reach 1,000 yards rushing in a single season and is currently No. 10 on the all-time list. Chubb, who also has 18 catches for 213 yards and a pair of scores, is second in the SEC in rushing yards per game (106.8).
Chubb joins Garrison Hearst (1990), Eric Zeier (1991), Randall Godfrey (1992), Quincy Carter (1998), David Greene (2001), Knowshon Moreno (2007) and A.J. Green (2008) as Bulldogs who have been named the Freshman of the Year by the league coaches.
Conley, a native of Dallas, Ga., has compiled a 3.0 or better GPA in each of his 11 academic terms at UGA, including two terms on the Dean’s List. He sports a 3.32 cumulative GPA and is on track to receive his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in December.
Conley is one of 10 national finalists for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award and was named to the SEC Community Service Team and to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Conley was one of 12 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy and a semifinalist for the Wooden Citizenship Cup.
Conley has led Georgia with 577 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2014 and trails only Michael Bennett with 32 catches for the Bulldogs. For his career, Conley is ranked fifth in school history with 19 touchdowns to go with 113 receptions for 1,858 yards in 48 games.
In addition to Murray last year, Conley joins David Green (2004) as the only three Bulldogs named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Chubb was the only Georgia player to be named to the coaches’ first-team. Linebackers Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson and defensive back Damian Swann were second-team designess.
The 13th-ranked Bulldogs (9-3, 6-2 SEC) take on No. 21 Louisville (9-3, 5-3 ACC) in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., on December 30 at 6:30 p.m.
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