Six selected to AP All-SEC teams from Georgia including a pair unanimously
The AP’s All-SEC teams were released on Monday, and as you’d expect, Georgia was well represented. The Bulldogs landed four players on the first team including a pair of unanimous selections with another two on the second-team squad.
Tight end Brock Bowers and center Sedrick Van Pran were on all ballots submitted by participating media members. A pair of juniors (redshirt junior in the case of Van Pran), Bowers and Van Pran acted as easily two of the biggest leaders for the Bulldogs, not only this season but throughout their SEC-record 29-game win streak that came to an end on Saturday.
Bowers, a finalist for both the Mackey Award and the Lombardi Award, hauled in a team-high 56 passes for 714 yards and six touchdowns despite missing three games due to an ankle injury. He underwent tightrope procedure midseason and returned to the field just 26 days later.
Meanwhile, Van Pran, a Rimington Trophy for the sport’s best center, helped set the tone on an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks in the SEC for the second straight season (averaging the fewest for the third straight) and paved the way for a pair of running backs to top the 600-yard mark. Both Kendall Milton (12) and Daijun Edwards (11) found the end zone at least 10 times, good for top-5 in the league among running backs.
Right guard Tate Ratledge was also selected as a First-Team All-SEC pick on the offensive line. Missouri was the only other team with three offensive selections on the first-team while Alabama and LSU each had two.
Defensively, the selections saw safety Malaki Starks make the first-team and then both defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse and safety Javon Bullard on the second-team.
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Starks, who is one of five finalists for the Nagurski Trophy which goes to the nation’s top defensive player regardless of position as well as the Thorpe Award for defensive backs, helped hold down the back end of a Georgia secondary that finished the season ranked first in the SEC for passing defense. Both he and Bullard were top-5 on the team in tackles – Bullard with 55 and Starks with 51.
As for Stackhouse, he finished first among defensive lineman on the team in tackles with 21 stops including 3.0 for loss.
The AP’s SEC awards went to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels (Offensive Player of the Year), Mississippi State linebacker Nathaniel Watson (Defensive Player of the Year), Alabama safety Caleb Downs (Newcomer of the Year) and Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz (Coach of the Year). The AP All-SEC teams were voted on by a panel of 14 sportswriters and broadcasters covering the league.
The Bulldogs fell in the SEC Championship Game to Alabama and missed out on the College Football Playoffs as a result. Ranked No. 6 on Selection Sunday, Georgia will play No. 5 Florida State in the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30th (4:00 p.m. ET, ESPN).
