Georgia Football: Seven Dawgs land in ESPN top players for 2022

With just one game remaining in the 2022 College Football season, ESPN released its ranking of the top 100 players from this year. As you can imagine, a team like Georgia that’s playing for the National Championship on Monday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) is well represented. In total, seven Bulldogs made the cut according to the ESPN staff. Here’s who they had:

Jalen Carter – No. 2

Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams came in at No. 1 on the list. Right behind him was College Football’s best defensive player Jalen Carter. The former five-star out of Apopka, Fla. had an outstanding second half to the season after making his way back fully from injury. He battled an issue with his ankle in the early going before suffering a sprain to his MCL against Missouri. That sidelined him for two weeks before he came back in a big way for the stretch run. In the final five games of the season before the College Football Playoffs Carter totaled 23 tackles including all 7.0 of his for loss with 3.0 sacks. He had two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles against Tennessee on his way to being named Bednarik Award Player of the Week. He followed that up with a career-high seven tackles against Mississippi State. Carter is one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, so being one of the top players in College Football too certainly makes sense.

Brock Bowers – No. 14

Brock Bowers has led Georgia in receiving each of the last two years, and it wouldn’t surprise folks to see him do it again next year too. Yes, the tight end has another year of eligibility and will be in Athens once again. Bowers hauled in 56 passes for 790 yards and six touchdowns. He added another three on the ground – only needing six carries to do so. Bowers was twice named SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his performances against South Carolina (126 total yards, three total touchdowns including a season-long 78 yarder) and Florida (career-high 154 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches). If he were draft eligible this year, Bowers, the Mackey Award winner as the nation’s best tight end , would be one of the top prospects. He’s not, so you’ll be hearing his name again next year. But first, a game in his home state with a National Championship on the line.

Broderick Jones – No. 31

Georgia came into the 2022 season in need of replacing its left tackle, an NFL Draft selection. Broderick Jones has stepped in and done just fine at doing that, starting all 14 games for the Bulldogs on their way to the National Championship Game. According to Pro Football Focus, Jones hasn’t allowed a sack in 439 pass protection snaps. He’s allowed just two hits on Stetson Bennett and seven hurries. The stats speak for themself, and after just one season as the starter, Jones has a chance that he could be headed off to the NFL after an early round selection.

Stetson Bennett – No. 34

Stetson Bennett has been the heart and soul of the Georgia offense for two seasons now as the starting quarterback. He took over the job from JT Daniels early last season and never looked back, but with a full offseason of work, Bennett’s been better. He was named a Heisman Trophy finalist and became the first Georgia quarterback to throw for over 3,000 yards in a single season since Aaron Murray. With 178 yards in the National Championship Game, he’ll top 4,000 while needing just 61 yards to break the single-season program record of Murray in 2012. Bennett might not be seen as a highly touted draft prospect, but he lets his play do the talking, and with another win under his direction, Bennett will become one of just three quarterbacks to win multiple national titles joining AJ McCarron and Tommie Frazier.

Malaki Starks – No. 39

Just a freshman, coming in at No. 39 among all players in the country speaks to the talent that Malaki Starks possesses. The former five-star arrived on the scene early with an interception in Georgia’s season opener. He followed it up with another pick two games later in the opener of SEC play. And while he hasn’t taken away any passes from opposing quarterbacks recently, Starks has been an important piece on the back end for Georgia. Named a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award and to the All-Freshman teams for the SEC and all of College Football, Starks has a bright future, and it won’t be a surprise to see him come in higher than No. 39 next year.

Christopher Smith – No. 43

Christopher Smith, as well as Bennett, Nolan Smith and Sedrick Van Pran, was named a permanent team captain for Georgia’s 2022 team. That speaks volumes to the kind of player he is both on and off the field. The team leader in interceptions with three passes picked off, a blocked field goal return in the SEC Championship that’ll always be remembered and 58.0 tackles to his name, Smith was named to all five of the NCAA All-American teams. That earns him consensus status, just the 13th Georgia Bulldog to do so in program history, making him more than worthy of the a ranking in the top 50 for all players in College Football.

Jamon Dumas-Johnson – No. 76

Rounding out the list of Georgia players recognized by ESPN is the one who has been possibly the biggest leaders on the defense, inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson. Georgia’s top tackler headed into the postseason, Dumas-Johnson was named to several All-American teams. His production has slipped some from the strong start that he had, but his presence has been just as big, totaling 66 tackles including a team-high 9.0 for loss with 4.0 sacks, also a team-high. Like Bowers and Starks before him, Dumas-Johnson is guaranteed to be back in Athens next season with no chance of going pro, only an opportunity to continue to build on his strong showings of 2022.