ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart continues to develop and utilize young talent at Georgia as well as any coach in the nation, placing two plays on the FWAA Freshman All-American Team sponsored by Chris Doering Mortgage.
Safety Malaki Starks and defensive end Mykel Williams both made the 32-member team which was announced on Thursday.
Starks led all Georgia defenders with 847 snaps played this season and finished third on the team with 68 tackles, starting all 15 games for the CFP Champion Bulldogs.
Starks’ 7 pass break-ups also tied for the team lead, and he had two of UGA’s 15 interceptions.
Williams led Georgia with 4.5 sacks and 30 quarterback pressures, and he was second among Georgia defensive linemen with 410 snaps played.
The selection of Starks and Williams marks the first time since 2018 that UGA had multiple players on the FWAA Freshman All-American Team.
That was a season that saw future first-round NFL Draft picks Jordan Davis and Isaiah Wilson make the team, along with Cade Mays.
Bulldogs’ sophomore tight end Brock Bowers became the first Georgia player to win the FWAA Freshman of the Year last year.
Georgia players who have made the FWAA Freshman All-American Team since its inception in 2001:
RB Knowshon Moreno, 2007
WR AJ Green, 2008
TE Orson Charles, 2009
RB Todd Gurley, 2012
RB Nick Chubb, 2014
TE Isaac Nautta, 2016
PK Rodrigo Blankenship, 2016
QB Jake Fromm, 2017
OL Andrew Thomas, 2017
OL Isaiah Wilson, 2018
OL Cade Mays, 2018
DL Jordan Davis, 2018
OLB Azeez Ojulari, 2019
OT Warren McClendon, 2020
TE Brock Bowers, 2021
SS Malaki Starks, 2022
DE Mykel Williams, 2022
The complete 2022 FWAA Freshman All-America Team:
OFFENSE
QB Drake Maye, North Carolina (6-4, 220, Huntersville, N.C.)• RB Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss (5-11, 210, Pike Road, Ala.)• RB Richard Reese, Baylor (5-9, 175, Bellville, Texas)WR Jared Brown, Coastal Carolina (6-0, 185, Lilburn, Ga.)• WR Evan Stewart, Texas A&M (5-11, 170, Frisco, Texas)WR J. Michael Sturdivant, Cal (6-3, 205, Highland Village, Texas)TE Brady Hunt, Ball State (6-6, 245, Muncie, Ind.)• OL Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas (6-4, 320, Humble, Texas)• OL Will Campbell, LSU (6-6, 325, Monroe, La.)• OL Blake Miller, Clemson (6-6, 315, Strongsville, Ohio)OL Mason Randolph, Boise State (6-4, 320, Yorba Linda, Calif.)OL Roger Rosengarten, Washington (6-6, 303, Highlands Ranch, Colo.)• OL Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona (6-5, 330, Tafuna, American Samoa)
DEFENSE
DL Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati (6-2, 320, Cincinnati, Ohio)• DL Gabe Jacas, Illinois (6-3, 265, Port St. Lucie, Fla.)• DL Deone Walker, Kentucky (6-6, 330, Detroit, Mich.)• DL Mykel Williams, Georgia (6-5, 265, Columbus, Ga.)• LB Jaishawn Barham, Maryland (6-3, 230, District Heights, Md.)• LB Abdul Carter, Penn State (6-3, 233, Philadelphia, Pa.)LB Trey Moore, UTSA (6-3, 230, San Antonio, Texas)• LB Harold Perkins Jr., LSU (6-2, 220, New Orleans, La.) DB Terrion Arnold, Alabama (6-0, 188, Tallahassee, Fla.)DB Kendal Daniels, Oklahoma State (6-4, 205, Beggs, Okla.)• DB Mansoor Delane, Virginia Tech (6-1, 177, Silver Spring, Md.)DB Demetrius Hill, FIU (6-2, 190, Miami, Fla.)• DB Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame (6-0, 179, Phoenix, Ariz.)• DB Malaki Starks, Georgia (6-1, 205, Jefferson, Ga.)
SPECIALISTS
• K Dominic Zvada, Arkansas State (6-2, 155, Chandler, Ariz.)• P Anthony Venneri, Buffalo (6-0, 225, Hamilton, Ontario)• KR Jaylin Lucas, Indiana (5-9, 185, Houma, La.)• PR Zavion Thomas, Mississippi State (5-11, 190, Woodmere, La.)• AP Nicholas Singleton, Penn State (6-0, 219, Shillington, Pa.)
• Denotes true freshman
Selections by conference: SEC 9, Big Ten 5, ACC 3, Pac-12 3, Big 12 3, Conference USA 2, Mid-American 2, Sun Belt 2, Independents 1, American Athletic 1, Mountain West 1.
Home states: Texas 5, Louisiana 4, Georgia 3, Florida 3, Arizona 2, Maryland 2, Ohio 2, Pennsylvania 2, Alabama, California, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma State 1, and American Samoa and Ontario 1.
Chris Doering Mortgage, based in Gainesville, FL, was established in April 2007 as a residential lending company providing mortgage products including conventional, FHA, USDA and VA loans. The branch is a division of MortgageAdvisors.com – 3940 NW 16th Blvd., Suite A, Gainesville, FL 32605 – NMLS 70168/1937321. FHA Lender ID 2631500094. For more information, visit ChrisDoeringMortgage.com. College football analyst Chris Doering, former player for Coach Spurrier both in college and professionally, serves as the branch manager.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at (214) 870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.
