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Georgia trio earns selection to SEC All-Freshman team

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•12/12/24•

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KJ Bolden
Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden (4) during Georgia’s game against Tennessee Tech on Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Conor Dillon/UGAAA)

ATHENS, Ga. — A trio of Georgia first-years were included on the SEC All-Freshman Team announced Thursday. Running back Nate Frazier was the lone representative of the Bulldog offense while linebacker Chris Cole and safety KJ Bolden were selections from the UGA defense.

Each a top-50 prospect coming out of high school, their inclusion shouldn’t come as a shock. Bolden and Cole played in every game for Georgia. The latter contributed primarily on special teams but rotated in some with the linebackers when Smael Mondon was hurt. The former was seen as a go-to-guy in the secondary all season long, starting one and finishing sixth on the team in snaps. Then there’s Frazier who stepped up in key spots and provided a spark for the Georgia run game late in the campaign, scoring touchdowns in each of the last five regular season games.

Bolden, a product of Buford High School, finished with 54 tackles on the season, good for fifth on the team. Two of those came for loss including one in the SEC Championship Game win over Texas, and he set a career-high with eight stops in the Bulldogs’ crucial regular season win versus Tennessee.

Frazier, who hails from Compton, Calif, led Georgia in rushing with 129 carries and 634 yards. He made eight trips to the end zone including seven in a five-game stretch. Playing in place of Trevor Etienne in the season-opener, Frazier totaled over 100 yards of offense with 83 rushing yards and 24 receiving before coming through in crunch time when Etienne was banged up, going for 423 yards on 89 touches in the final five games of the regular season.

Cole, the freshman in the trio that had the least overall impact, showed flashes of greatness as he played in specific positions for the Bulldogs in the second half of the season. With Smael Mondon out of the lineup, Cole started to see an increase in playing time. It eventually led to 20 or more snaps for him in three straight games against Texas, Florida and Ole Miss. Mondon has since returned to the lineup, but Cole managed to showcase his skillset when given the opportunity. He scored Georgia’s first defensive touchdown of the season versus UMass with a scoop-and-score fumble recovery.

The selection of the three Bulldogs to the All-Freshman team comes on the heels of a lead-high 13 players earning All-SEC honors earlier this week. Linebacker Jalon Walker was named the winner of the 2024 Butkus Award while head coach Kirby Smart is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

Georgia’s season isn’t complete either. The Bulldogs, champions of the SEC, earned the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoffs – and thus a first round bye. They await the winner of Notre Dame and Indiana in the Allstate Sugar Bowl and CFP quarterfinals January 1st in New Orleans.

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