ATHENS — Awards season is almost over, and the Georgia Bulldogs were well represented.
It could be argued the Bulldogs didn’t rack up to the extent one might think for the nation’s No. 1-ranked and undefeated team. On Monday came the release of The Associated Press All-America team, and Georgia had four players included. Alabama, by comparison, had five players represented.
For years, the AP collection has stood as the most respected and appreciated group in college football. This year, it featured from Georgia first-teamers Jalen Carter and Christopher Smith. Brock Bowers and Jamon Dumas-Johnson were placed on the second team.
Being named a first-team All-American is a notable accomplishment on its own, but the journeys of Carter and Smith to land there are particularly incredible considering the circumstances.
First, neither became a starter until their junior seasons. Carter bided his time behind future NFL first-rounders Devonte Wyatt and Jordan Davis, then missed most or all of six games in the middle of Georgia’s schedule this year because of ankle and knee injuries.
Smith came to Athens from Atlanta as a cornerback, then fell back on the depth chart as he transitioned to safety and toiled behind Richard LeCounte and J.R. Reed for two seasons. Smith’s first start didn’t come until the last half of his junior season in 2020 after LeCounte was sidelined by injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. He has rarely come off the field since.
Both players have stood out in a big way these past two years as Georgia is attempting to become the first back-to-back national champion in a decade.
Smith, a graduate of Hapeville Charter School, has started all 13 games this season, leads the Bulldogs with three interceptions and ranks fourth on the teams in tackles with 50. In the SEC Championship game victory over LSU, Smith returned a blocked field-goal attempt 96 yards for a touchdown, intercepted a pass, deflected another pass that resulted in an interception and recorded three tackles, including one for a loss.
Smith captured national attention for his heads-up return of the blocked kick. But it was jumping the route of an LSU tight end, which resulted in the ball caroming off the player’s helmet and into the hands of linebacker Smael Mondon for an interception that set up a Georgia score that most impressed coach Kirby Smart. It was the same route that Smith jumped for a 79-yard touchdown return against Clemson in the opening game of the 2021 season.
“It’s more about his instincts,” Smart said of Smith. “He jumped (the route). He played it aggressive. He understood what the quarterback’s check was. He understood his leverage. … He saw it, jumped it, and by him jumping, it caused the ball to go in the air.”
Despite starting only seven games, Carter has 29 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and three sacks. He has two forced fumbles and recorded 25 quarterback pressures. Over the past six games, he has accounted for 24 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, three sacks and a pair of forced fumbles. His signature moment came in Georgia’s last game when he sacked LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and lifted him off the ground with his left arm while flashing the No. 1 sign with his right hand.
Both players were up for other national individual awards but did not win. Smith was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, while Carter was a Lombardi Award finalist. Last week, Carter and Smith were named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-American first team, while Bowers made the FWAA first team and Walter Camp second team.
Of course, Monday’s news followed last weekend’s flurry of activity in New York, where Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett attended the Heisman Trophy ceremony and finished fourth.
Conspicuously missing from all the lists were members of Georgia’s offensive line, which as a group is a finalist along with Michigan for the Joe Moore Award. That award is expected to be announced sometime in the next week.
Georgia left tackle Broderick Jones has played all season without allowing a sack and has one of the highest cumulative grades for the season, according to Pro Football Focus. Likewise, sophomore center Sedrick Van Pran and junior right tackle Warren McClendon have played close to perfect all season.
The penultimate All-American team will be announced later this week by the NCAA. Since the 2002 season, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the FWAA, Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation have joined the AP as the five designated selectors to form the NCAA Consensus All-American team.
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