Georgia football placed three players on the FWAA Freshman All-American Team, with offensive tackle Earnest Greene, inside linebacker CJ Allen and placekicker Peyton Woodring all earning the honor.
Greene started all 14 games for Georgia at left tackle. He redshirted in his first season on campus before emerging as a key member of the Georgia offensive line.
“Just being out there, communicating, echoing calls,” Green said of his play this season. “Sometimes you see something and you’ve got to get it all the way down to Sed. Because that’s one of the biggest things about being an offensive lineman is really communication, echoing everything and all the calls and making sure everybody’s on the same page. I would say communication is one of the things I tried to improve myself on throughout the year.”
Greene is expected to be one of the top players on Georgia’s team next season. The Bulldogs have to replace Sedrick Van Pran and Amarius Mims, but also bring back Tate Ratledge, Xavier Truss and Dylan Fairchild.
Allen stepped in for Jamon Dumas-Johnson when he went down with a forearm injury in the Missouri game. Allen started the final five games of the season for Georgia, racking up 41 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
Allen should help give Georgia one of the top linebacker groups in the country next season, as he’ll play alongside Smael Mondon, Raylen Wilson and Jalon Walker.
“They’re really mature. They approach their preparation the right way,” Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann said of Allen and Wilson. “They didn’t start preparing differently when they got opportunities to play. They prepared that way really starting in spring ball when they got here. Going back to bowl prep last year when they were able to come in early. So I think that’s ultimately the mark of a young player that is able to help you. A lot of times it’s relative to their maturity level and how they prepare because nobody gets to Georgia without ability.”
Woodring got off to a shaky start for Georgia, missing three of his first seven attempts. But he then went on to make his next 16 kicks, becoming one of the top kickers in the SEC. Woodring went on to make 21 of his 25 field goal attempts on the season and all 71 extra points this season.
Woodring will return for Georgia, alongside Brett Thorson. Jared Zirkel transferred to Texas A&M, meaning Georgia will have a new kickoff specialist next season.
Georgia went 13-1 this past season, ending the season with a 63-3 Orange Bowl win over Florida State.