Phil Steele preseason All-American, All-SEC selections littered by Georgia Bulldogs

It’s magazine season in College Football, and Phil Steele’s preview magazine is easily one of the most respected. Steele released All-American and All-SEC squads full of Georgia Bulldogs this week with the season getting closer by the day.

When it comes to All-Americans, tight end Brock Bowers, offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran and linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson all were included on the first team. Defensive backs Javon Bullard and Malaki Starks were named to the second-team while offensive lineman Tate Ratledge and defensive lineman Mykel Williams were on the third.

Bowers returns for a third season in Athens after he’s lead Georgia in receiving each of the last two. As a freshman, the Napa, Calif. native set record marks for Bulldog tight ends. As a sophomore, he came back and broke the majority of them, recording 63 catches for 942 yards and seven scores while adding another three touchdowns on the ground on nine carries for 109 yards. Bowers was an All-American selection last year and won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end.

As for Van Pran and Ratledge, the other two offensive selections, the duo of fourth-year offensive linemen help anchor a group up front that’s expected to be among the nation’s best in 2023. Georgia has been a finalist for the Joe Moore Award in each of the last two years. Michigan has taken the title home each year, but it’s obvious that the Bulldogs are motivated by that and more already.

Switching over to the defensive side of the ball, things really start with Dumas-Johnson at inside linebacker. Finishing second on the team in tackles last season – his first as a starter – the prevailing thought is that he could be a strong candidate for the Butkus Award in 2023. With a team-high 9.0 tackles for loss, Dumas-Johnson was a finalist in 2022, and with his playing partner Smael Mondon potentially banged up entering the fall, he has the opportunity to possibly steal the show early in the season.

For all that Dumas-Johnson does on the defensive side of the ball, Bullard is equally as important. He earned Defensive MVP honors for Georgia in both the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl win over Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals as well as the National Championship Game against TCU. He forced a trio of turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble) in the title game win, all a part of a 46-tackle season in 2022. Bullard played primarily at STAR but made the move to safety in the spring to help Georgia replace Christopher Smith.

Playing alongside Bullard at safety is Starks. A freshman last year, Starks finished third on the team in tackles. He played more snaps than any other defensive Dawg and totaled 68 stops. Starks led Georgia in pass breakups with seven and had two interceptions, both of which came in his first three games at the collegiate level. Starks earned spots on several Freshman All-American teams last year and is looking to build on that.

Same goes for Williams, also in his first year in 2022. The team’s sack-leader, Williams had 28 tackles and a team-high 31 quarterback hurries. He finished the season strong by recording at least an assisted tackle for loss in each of the final five games including a sack in both of the College Football Playoff contests.

All-SEC selections according to Steele included: Bowers (First), Van Pran (First), Ratledge (First), Williams (First), Dumas-Johnson (First), Bullard (First), Starks (First), wide receiver Ladd McConkey (Second), linebacker Smael Mondon (Second), defensive back Tykee Smith (Second), running back Kendall Milton (Third), offensive lineman Xavier Truss (Third), offensive lineman Amarius Mims (Third), cornerback Daylen Everette (Third) and defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse (Fourth).

For more on Georgia Football, both the team and recruiting sides of things, be sure to check out DawgsHQ’s YouTube channel where we go live multiple times a week to break down the Bulldogs.