Davis Wins Outland Trophy & Bednarik Award

Georgia senior defensive lineman Jordan Davis on Thursday was chosen as the 2021 winner of the Outland Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award. Additionally, Davis and junior linebacker Nakobe Dean earned First-Team Walter Camp All-America honors and senior offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer was named to the Second Team.

The Outland Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman, while the Bednarik Award goes to the top defensive player as judged by the Maxwell Football Club. Davis, Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh (2009) and Pitt’s Aaron Donald (2013) are the only players to win the Outland Trophy and the Bednarik Award in the same season.

Davis joined Bill Stanfill (1968) as Georgia’s winners of the Outland Trophy. Davis and David Pollack (2004) are the only Dawgs who have claimed the Bednarik Award.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation presented its 132nd All-America teams on Thursday.

The award announcements came Thursday during the 31st annual Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.

Davis and Dean have helped Georgia (12-1, 8-0 SEC) lead the nation in scoring defense (9.5 points per game) and rank second in total defense (254.3 yards per game) and third nationally in rushing defense (81.7 yards per game).

Davis, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, anchors the interior line with 28 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Dean, from Horn Lake, Mississippi, is tied for the team lead with 61 stops, including a team-leading 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks, and he has two interceptions and a forced fumble. Dean earlier this week secured the 2021 Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker and was picked as captain of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Salyer, who hails from Atlanta, helped pave the way for 40.7 points and 441.9 yards per game this season. He has seen action at both left tackle, including nine starts, and right guard

Four Named To Freshman All SEC Team

Four Dawgs were named to the Freshman All-SEC Team, according to a recent announcement following the votes of the league coaches.

Georgia TE Brock Bowers, OL Broderick Jones, WR Ladd McConkey and DB Kelee Ringo were tabbed to the Freshman All-SEC team.

In addition, the Dawgs had a combined total of 10 players named to the All-SEC First Team and Second Team, including five First Team selections. Bowers, senior DL Jordan Davis, senior DL Devonte Wyatt, junior ILB Nakobe Dean and senior P Jake Camarda were all named to the First Team.

Senior OT Jamaree Salyer, senior OG Justin Shaffer, sophomore DL Jalen Carter, senior DB Derion Kendrick and junior S Lewis Cine were included on the Second Team.

Davis, Dean Named Lott IMPACT Trophy Finalists

Georgia senior defensive lineman Jordan Davis and junior linebacker Nakobe Dean have been named two of four finalists for the 2021 Lott IMPACT Trophy, according to an announcement from the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation.

Davis, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dean, a native of Horn Lake, Mississippi, join Michigan senior defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson and Utah senior linebacker Devin Lloyd as the four finalists. The Lott IMPACT Trophy goes to the defensive IMPACT (Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity) player of the year.

Former Dawg All-American and College Football Hall of Fame inductee David Pollack won the inaugural Lott Trophy in 2004. Since then, Jarvis Jones (2012) has also been a finalist for the honor.

This year’s Lott winner will be announced December 12th in Newport Beach, California.

Davis and Dean have helped Georgia (12-1, 8-0 SEC) lead the nation in scoring defense (9.5 points per game), rank second in total defense (254.3 yards per game) and third nationally in rushing defense (81.7 ypg). Davis anchors the interior line with 28 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks while Dean is tied for the team lead with 61 stops, including a team-leading 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks and has two interceptions and a forced fumble.

Davis was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trohpy and is a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Outland Trophy, the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Senior CLASS Award (https://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/football_2021). The winners of the Walter Camp, Outland and Bednarik awards will be announced live on Thursday during the 31st annual Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN from 7-9 pm ET.

Dean has already secured the 2021 Butkus Award, was a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy and was captain of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. In addition, Dean was named to the SEC Community Service Team.

Smart, Bowers Earn SEC Football Awards

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has been voted the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year while Brock Bowers has earned the title of SEC Freshman of the Year, according to a recent announcement following the votes of the league coaches.

In his sixth season as head coach, Smart has guided the No. 3 Dawgs to a 12-1 record and the program’s fourth SEC Eastern Division title since 2017. Later this month, Georgia will play No. 2 Michigan in its second College Football Playoff Semifinal since Smart’s arrival. Smart was also the 2017 SEC Coach of the Year when the Dawgs advanced to the CFP National Championship Game.

This marks the 13th SEC Coach of the Year for a Georgia football head coach voted on by the coaches. Smart is the fifth Dawg coach to garner this honor.

Bowers, a native of Napa, California, posted the fourth 100-yard receiving game of his first season after hauling in a career-high 10 balls for a career-high 139 yards and a score during the SEC Championship Game showdown with Alabama last weekend. He owns the UGA single season touchdown record for a tight end with 11. His 11 scoring catches also ties the school record for touchdown receptions in a season (WR Terrence Edwards, 2002).

Bowers also owns the single season receiving yards for a tight end (791) on 47 catches, which is now just two catches short of tying the school’s single season record for tight end catches. He is one of only two freshmen nationally to be ranked in the top 11 in total receiving touchdowns with 11 and he is the top tight end on that national list.

This marks the seventh SEC Freshman of the Year for the Dawgs voted on by the coaches. Current New York Giant Jake Fromm (2017) was the last Georgia player to earn this accolade.

In addition, the Dawgs had a total of 10 players named to the All-SEC First Team and Second Team, including five First Team selections. Bowers, senior DL Jordan Davis, senior DL Devonte Wyatt, junior ILB Nakobe Dean and senior P Jake Camarda were all named to the First Team.

Senior OT Jamaree Salyer, senior OG Justin Shaffer, sophomore DL Jalen Carter, senior DB Derion Kendrick and junior S Lewis Cine were included on the Second Team.

On Thursday, the Freshman All-SEC Team is expected to be announced.

Nakobe Dean Wins Butkus Award

Georgia junior Nakobe Dean has become the second Dawg to win the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s best collegiate linebacker.

Dean, a native of Horn Lake, Mississippi, garnered 34 percent of the weighted vote and 52 percent of the first-place votes to secure the award. He was chosen from the other finalists consisting of Utah’s Devin Lloyd, Wisconsin’s Leo Chenal, LSU’s Damone Clark, Cincinnati’s Darrian Beavers and Wyoming’s Chad Muma, according to an announcement from the Butkus Foundation.

Dean joins Roquan Smith (2017) as the two Dawgs to win the Butkus Award in its 37-year history since 1985. There have been four other Dawg finalists five different years in recent history, including Monty Rice (2020), Leonard Floyd (2015), Jarvis Jones (2011, 2012) and Justin Houston (2010).

Capturing the high school award in 2018, Dean joins only Manti Te’o and Jaylon Smith as the only players to win both the national high school and collegiate trophies.

“Nakobe Dean is a playmaker with a special combination of strength, coverage ability, playmaking flair and leadership skill,” according to the award selection committee. “He consistently makes his presence felt on the field and in the community, elevates the defense with his command and is a complete linebacker who has made a tremendous impact on Georgia’s program.”

Also a member of the 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy, Dean is tied for the team lead with 61 stops, including a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks, and has two forced fumbles. In addition, he has two of the team’s interceptions this season, including a 50-yard pick-six versus Florida.

Dean has been the “field general” to a Dawg squad that leads the country in Scoring Defense (9.5 points/game) and Red Zone Defense (60 percent), is second in Total Defense (254.4 yards/game) and ranks third nationally in Passing Yards Allowed (172.7 y/g) and in Rushing Defense (81.7 y/g).

The Dawgs (12-1) now travel to Miami, Florida, to face Michigan (12-1) in the College Football Playoff’s semifinal round in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Friday, December 31st. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN. Georgia is the No. 3 seed while Michigan is the No. 2 seed in Sunday’s CFP rankings.

The Butkus Award® selection committee is comprised of 51 football coaches, recruiters, talent scouts and journalists who study football talent yearlong. Selectors are asked to recognize qualities that defined Butkus’ career: toughness, on-field leadership, competitiveness, football character and linebacking skills. They follow a 3-2-1 weighted vote in a confidential ballot.

The Butkus Award® is presented by the Butkus Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization which advances health and wellness through special initiatives. This includes the I Play Clean® program encouraging athletes to play using their natural ability, and the Butkus Takes Heart™ program encouraging preventive heart scans and screening among adults.

The Butkus Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 800 since 1935.