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Georgia leads league in Coaches All-SEC selections

Palmber-Thombsby: Palmer Thombs12/05/23palmerthombs
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Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

After the AP released its All-SEC teams on Monday, the coaches did so on Tuesday. While things from a Georgia perspective were largely the same – entirely the same on the first team, there were a couple of notable players to earn the honor as voted on by those they played against.

First-Team All-SEC Bulldogs

TE Brock Bowers
OL Tate Ratledge
OL Sedrick Van Pran
DB Malaki Starks

Second-Team All-SEC Bulldogs

QB Carson Beck
OL Xavier Truss
DL Mykel Williams
DL Nazir Stackhouse
LB Smael Mondon
DB Tykee Smith
DB Kamari Lassiter

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. Ratledge also earned first-team honors as a part of that offensive line.

Starks, who was 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 (to be announced on Friday), helped hold down the back end of a Georgia secondary that finished the season ranked first in the SEC for passing defense. He finished top-5 on the team in tackles with 51.

Meanwhile, the second-team saw some changeups. While Nazir Stackhouse was a holdover with his 21 tackles (tops among Georgia defensive linemen), Beck, Truss, Williams, Mondon, Smith and Lassiter were all new.

Beck, Georgia’s first-year starter at quarterback, finished second in the SEC for passing yards and yards per game behind Heisman Trophy favorite Jayden Daniels. He completed 72.4 percent of his passes (289 of 399) for 3,738 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions in 13 games to help lead the way for a prolific Bulldog offense. Meanwhile, Truss’ recognition is well deserved being a bit of a do-it-all guy on the offensive line this season as he on both sides and at both guard and tackle at points throughout the season.

As for the second-team defense, it features Georgia’s top two tacklers Smith and Mondon with 68 and 65 stops respectively. Smith also led the team in interceptions from his STAR spot while Lassiter held down a cornerback position without many targets coming his way due to his elite coverage ability. Lassiter finished fifth on the team in tackles with 37. Williams, not in a position that generates as many stats, had just 14 tackles on the season, but five came for loss with 3.5 as sacks.

Georgia’s 11 honorees leads the league including a trio (Bowers, Van Pran, Stackhouse) of players selected multiple times throughout their career. The Bulldogs, who saw their SEC-record 29-game win streak come to an end this past Saturday in the SEC Championship Game, missed the College Football Playoffs and will play No. 5 Florida State in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

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