CJ Allen performance vs. Ole Miss on par with Kirby Smart's expectations
ATHENS, Ga. — The praise just keeps coming for Georgia freshman CJ Allen. After being named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday in his first career start, Allen earned the same nod again on Tuesday, this time nationally from the Shaun Alexander Award.
Allen’s big day with a team-high nine tackles shouldn’t come as a surprise. He was a highly touted, talented prospect coming out of high school and had an opportunity presented to him on Saturday. With Jamon Dumas-Johnson down, Allen answered the call.
“Exactly like I expected C.J. Allen to do,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said on Monday. “He’s already played this year. He’s played, I think, almost every game. He’s smart, intelligent, instinctive, athletic, great kid. So, he did what he’s supposed to do, and he can play better, and he’ll get even better this week.”
Smart told reporters after the game that it took some time for Allen to settle down in the situation of his first start. It factored into the success Ole Miss had offensively early in the game, scoring on 75-yard touchdown drives on two of their first three times with the ball. However, once both he and fellow freshman Raylen Wilson were settled in, the Rebels scored just three points in their final eight drives.
Defensive lineman Mykel Williams is no stranger to playing an important role as a freshman. He did so just last season, starting the first two games of the season at defensive end before coming off the bench but leading the team in sacks on the season. He earned multiple Freshman All-American nods.
Asked what it takes to play as a true freshman in reference to Allen, Williams said it boils down to just two things.
“Really just focus and attention to detail,” Williams said. “If you do those two things and come in with the right attitude to work, you should be fine.”
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“CJ Allen played a great game. It’s kind of what we expected from him,” he added. “Knowing the type of guy he is, how hard he works and how hard he studies and trains. He played a great game and I kind of expected it from him.”
While Smart said on Monday that Dumas-Johnson was “week to week” and that they were trying to get him back, he’ll be out this Saturday for Georgia’s trip to Tennessee. The head coach thinks that having a game like the one Allen did on Saturday can give him some confidence heading into another tough offensive matchup.
“I think that game at least gives them some confidence, and it almost — because Ole Miss doesn’t go the same pace as Tennessee, it gives them a good, ‘Hey, this is a window into what this is like, but now this is going to be twice as fast, and they’re really good at running it.’ Now, Ole Miss had really good backs. Tennessee has got really good backs. So, there’s some carryover there in terms of alignment assignment, but not necessarily the pace.”
Kickoff time for Saturday in Knoxville is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Georgia already has the SEC East clinched, but the Bulldogs certainly still have something to play for with an opportunity to tie the league’s longest winning streak, and of course their College Football Playoff hopes hanging in the balance.
