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Two Georgia defenders make On3 True Freshman All-American team

On3 imageby:Jake Rowe•12/06/22•

JakeMRowe

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Photo: Joseph Sisson

Georgia still has everything to play for in 2022 but as much as Kirby Smart would love to try, he can’t stop the postseason awards and accolades from trickling in for his players. The Bulldogs are 13-0 and quite a few players are being acknowledged, that goes for true freshmen Mykel Williams and Malaki Starks.

Both were named to the On3 True Freshman All-American team for the 2022 season. They were also named Freshman All Americans by Pro Football Focus.

Starks and Williams, Georgia’s two highest-rated signees in the 2022 class, have combined to start 14 games this season. Williams contributed two of those and it was the first two games of the season. He has appeared in all 13 games to date with 2.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, five quarterback pressures, and 21 total tackles.

He was the nation’s No. 6 overall prospect and No. 2 defensive lineman in the 2022 class per the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 2 player in Georgia as well.

Starks has started the last 12 games after Dan Jackson got the nod at free safety in the opener. Still, Starks stole the show that day with an incredible interception, the first of two he has this season. The former five-star prospect ranks 3rd on the team in total tackles with 63, just one behind co-leaders Smael Mondon and Jamon Dumas-Johnson. Starks has also broken up seven passes on the year.

“Well he did a tremendous job in the spring,” Smart said of Starks earlier this season. “People go back and in the spring, he was probably swimming like a true freshman and by fall camp he was, you know, probably spring of a freshman guy. His year usually, he’s coming into that first spring a typical kid who usually comes in the fall and struggling. Then they go to the (next) spring and they get some confidence. Well, his spring was really in the fall and he caught up to speed pretty quick. He was very diligent in his meeting time and bought in to the fact that he had to learn what to do more than just be a great athlete. He’s done a good job managing that. Now the next management becomes does he understand that you have to do it every day to be at this level. And he has to have some practices this week that allow us to be successful with him now and he has done that thus far.”

Other Georgia accolades…

Nine Georgia players were named the the AP All-SEC teams on Monday. Five of those guys got first-team nods — tight end Brock Bowers, left tackle Broderick Jones, place-kicker Jack Podlesny, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, and safety Christopher Smith. The four second team members were center Sedrick Van Pran, tight end Darnell Washington, inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson and cornerback Kelee Ringo.

It was also a big day for the Bulldogs’ quarterback. Stetson Bennett took home the Burlsworth Trophy, an honor given annually to the nation’s top player who started his career as a walk-on. Bennett also became the first Bulldog to get invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony since Garrison Hearst in 1992.

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