Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Kelee Ringo make Nagurksi watch list

Three Georgia defensive players have stood out from the rest all offseason. They are different than the others that don’t have experience. Not only do they have a good bit of experience, they’ve got talent too. That trio of course would be Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith and Kelee Ringo – one on each level of the defense – all included on the preseason watch list for the Nagurski Award, given each season to the top defensive player in all of College Football. Last season, it was Georgia’s Jordan Davis that took home the title. Can a Dawg do it again?

Jalen Carter

Jalen Carter finished the 2021 season with 37 tackles and 33 quarterback pressures, good for second best on the team. He also had 3.0 quarterback sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss – third among all Bulldogs – and blocked two kicks, one of 20 players in the entire country to do so. Carter has been named to the Preseason All-American team by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, as well as Athlon Sports and many others. He was voted as First-Team All-SEC player by the media at SEC Media Days after the coaches had him on the All-SEC Second-Team at the end of last season. Making his inclusion last year even more impressive is the company that was around him.

Nolan Smith

Nolan Smith, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the Class of 2019, played in 14 of Georgia’s 15 games last season, starting all 14 that he saw action in. He finished fifth on the team in tackles with 56 stops including 9.0 tackles for loss – second on the team – and 3.5 sacks along with 27 quarterback pressures. Smith played some of his best football down the stretch, posting a team-high and career-best eight tackles in Georgia’s Capital One Orange Bowl victory over Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinals. He also had a career-high seven quarterback pressures in the win against the Wolverines. Smith was twice named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week in 2021, first after his game against South Carolina (career-high eight tackles, forced fumble, assist on a sack that resulted in a safety) and next after Georgia’s rivalry win over Florida (forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception all within a 39-second span at the end of the second quarter).

Kelee Ringo

A former five-star out from Tacoma, Wash., Kelee Ringo played his high school football at Saguaro in Arizona. He was the No. 1 cornerback in the Class of 2020 before being forced to sit out all of his first season on campus due to a torn labrum. He returned to action the following season by playing in all 15 games for Georgia, starting the last 12, and earning a spot on the coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team. Ringo finished with 34 total stops, eight pass breakups (second-best on the team) and two interceptions.

Others Included on the Watch List

DE Praise Amaewhule, UTEP
LB Darren Anders, Bowling Green
LB Will Anderson Jr., Alabama
DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State
S Jordan Battle, Alabama
DT Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin
DT Bryan Bresee, Clemson
S CJ Brown, NIU
LB Jack Campbell, Iowa
LB Andre Carter, Army
DT Jalen Carter, Georgia
S Grayson Cash, UAB
S Jalen Catalon, Arkansas
DT Elijah Chatman, SMU
LB KD Davis, North Texas
DE Brandon Dorlus, Oregon
LB Dillon Doyle, Baylor
DE Viliami Fehoko, San Jose State
CB Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State
DE Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame
LB Antonio Grier, USF
DE Derick Hall, Auburn
LB Kyle Harmon, San Jose State
DE Zach Harrison, Ohio State
S Xavier Henderson, Michigan State
LB Nick Herbig, Wisconsin
S Ronnie Hickman, Ohio State
DE Jamal Hines, Toledo
CB Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU
DT Siaki Ika, Baylor
S Tanner Ingle, N.C. State
S Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M
S Quindell Johnson, Memphis
LB Mikel Jones, Syracuse
CB Steven Jones Jr., App State
S Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame
DT Calijah Kancey, Pitt
CB Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford
S Antavioius Lane, Georgia State
CB Darrell Luter, Jr., South Alabama
LB Carlton Martial, Troy
DE Brock Martin, Oklahoma State
DE Ochaun Mathis, Nebraska
LB Caden McDonald, San Diego State
DE Will McDonald IV, Iowa State
S Patrick McMorris, San Diego State
CB Riley Moss, Iowa
DE Myles Murphy, Clemson
DT Myles Murphy, North Carolina
DT PJ Mustipher, Penn State
DE B.J. Ojulari, LSU
DE Collin Oliver, Oklahoma State
LB DeMarvion Overshown, Texas
S Gervarrius Owens, Houston
LB Deshawn Pace, Cincinnati
LB Ivan Pace, Cincinnati
LB James Patterson, Buffalo
CB Clark Phillips, Utah
LB Bumper Pool, Arkansas
CB Joey Porter, Penn State
CB Eli Ricks, Alabama
CB Kelee Ringo, Georgia
S Jammie Robinson, Florida State
LB Vince Sanford, Air Force
LB Noah Sewell, Oregon
LB Trenton Simpson, Clemson
S JL Skinner, Boise State
CB Cam Smith, South Carolina
LB Nolan Smith, Georgia
DE Javon Solomon, Troy
LB Omar Speights, Oregon State
DE Josiah Stewart, Coastal Carolina
DT Dante Stills, West Virginia
DE Ron, Stone Jr., Washington State
CB D’Jordan Strong, Coastal Carolina
DT Junior Tafuna, Utah
DT Leonard Taylor, Miami
LB Drake Thomas, N.C. State
LB Henry To’oto’o, Alabama
DT Tuli Tuipulotu, USC
LB Payton Wilgar, BYU
S Evan Williams, Fresno State
S Divaad Wilson, UCF
S Rashad Wisdom, UTSA
CB Charles Woods, West Virginia

• By conference: SEC 14; ACC (10); Big 12 (10); Big Ten (10); Pac-12 (8); American Athletic (7); Mountain West (7); Sun Belt (7); Conference USA (4), Mid-American (4), Independents (4). 
• By position: Linebackers 25, Safeties 18, Ends 17, Cornerbacks 13, Tackles 12.
• Players may be added or removed from the list before or during the season