ESPN Names Four UGA Football Players to Preseason All-America Team
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ATHENS - UGA Football players have been racking up All-American honors the last few years under Kirby Smart, and ESPN thinks that the Dawgs are going to keep the ball rolling on that front.
ESPN released its college football preseason All-America first and second-teams, and Georgia landed four players on its list. Three guys made the first-team and one was given a second-team prediction. Having three first-team selections ties Georgia with Alabama and Michigan for the most, and the Crimson Tide tied with Ohio State for the most players represented with five each.
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First-Teamers:
Carson Beck, Quarterback
Carson Beck has been the most discussed college football quarterback this offseason, leading the charge in Heisman odds for the majority of the last eight months. Even better for Beck, he is also the current favorite to be the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Beck decided to return to Georgia after waiting four years to become the starting quarterback. He posted almost 4,000 yards through the air with 24 touchdowns against six interceptions. His 72.4% completion rate was tied for fourth in the country in 2023, and he helped lead Georgia to a 13-1 record and Orange Bowl victory in his first year as a starter.
Expectations are as high for him this season as they have been for any Georgia quarterback in over a decade.
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Tate Ratledge, OL
Tate Ratledge was an All-American a year ago and is a favorite to repeat in his fifth year in Athens. Ratledge is entering his third full season as a starter for the Dawgs and is considered by many to be the best interior offensive lineman in the country.
With an apparent injury to Jared Wilson, Georgia’s presumed starting center, Ratledge has been taking first-team reps at that spot during fall camp. The depth Georgia has to be able to comfortably do this is a luxury that few schools have. Dylan Fairchild and Micah Morris are highly regarded offensive guards in their own right, and all three of them could be starting next to each other if WIlson is out for extended time.
Malaki Starks, S
A fun debate that has been had among college football fans this offseason has been about who the best safety in college football is. The two most popular answers are Malaki Starks and now Ohio State’s Caleb Downs. ESPN listed both of them as the first-team safeties.
Starks earned All-American honors last season like Ratledge and is now the leader in a younger secondary group for Georgia. It almost doesn;t seem like two years ago when Starks burst onto the scene as a true freshman in the first quarter against Oregon when he hauled in an acrobatic interception. Georgia will be asking more from their safety in his junior season.
Second-Teamers:
Mykel Williams, OLB/DE
Like Starks, Mykel Williams contributed early as a freshman for Georgia and a highly touted 5-star in-state recruit. He is currently viewed as the strongest asset in Georgia’s front seven as a junior, and has garnered buzz as a potential top pick in next year’s draft.
What Georgia has had an abundance of is defensive line talent, and that has helped lead to championships. It is Williams’ turn to be a game breaker that the Dawgs seemed to lack in 2023. This season, Georgia plans on using Williams’ versatility as both an outside linebacker and a down lineman.