ESPN Ranks Six UGA Football Players in College Football Top 100 List
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ATHENS - ESPN dropped its annual top 100 college football players list last week, and six UGA Football players cracked the rankings.
This is a repeat of the 2023 list, which also featured six of Kirby Smart’s best players and the no. 2 overall player on the list in Brock Bowers. Another repeat trend is that Georgia features two players in the top 10.
This year, Carson Beck was the highest-ranked Bulldog, landing himself at seven.
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The list serves as a projection as well. One Georgia player that was in the top 10 on 2023’s list, plummeted 20 spots. One player did not make it after being ranked in the top 50 last season.
So, how did Georgia really fare on this list?
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83. Trevor Etienne
Georgia’s transfer running back that has received so much buzz this offseason as a gamechanger for the Dawgs cracked the top 100. Georgia’s backfield is in presumably better shape than it was a year ago, and part of that is due to the addition of Etienne.
There were a handful of running backs ahead of him. Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton and Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon are some of the names that are viewed as better backs.
67. Jalon Walker
Perhaps this was the biggest surprise of this list, but also shows how it also serves as a projection. Jalon Walker is a hybrid linebacker for Georgia who will seemingly take on a bigger role in a front seven that needs a little more juice to return to a form closer to the 2021 defense.
Walker is a player that is a regular in third-down packages as a pass rusher and also subs in at middle linebacker. This is Georgia’s deepest position room outside of the offensive line.
Smael Mondon is the aforementioned player that went from being ranked 41 in 2023 to not being featured in 2024.
30. Mykel Williams
Mykel Williams was ranked no. 10 on the 2023 list, and after a year where his production was largely the same as his freshman campaign, ESPN moved him down 20 spots.
Williams is getting a lot of draft buzz as a potential top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he is viewed as the most important member of Georgia’s front seven in 2024. Georgia plans to use him in more of a hybrid role this year, mixing in true outside linebacker duties in addition to his role on the defensive line.
Williams was ranked one spot behind Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton.
17. Tate Ratledge
At least one of Georgia’s offensive lineman was bound to make this list, and it is Tate Ratledge with a very high ranking of 17. Ratledge is coming off of an All-American season and is expected to do the same thing in his fifth year at Georgia.
Ratledge is another example of versatility. Don’t be surprised if the lineman delivers some snaps to Beck as the center this year along with his guard duties.
10. Malaki Starks
One of college football’s freakiest athletes enters his junior season with more on his shoulders. Malaki Starks rose 30 spots from last year’s ranking. He is the second-highest defensive back on the list behind Michigan’s Will Johnson, and was slotted one spot above Ohio State’s Caleb Downs.
7. Carson Beck
Beck is the highest ranked quarterback on ESPN’s list. Dillon Gabriel was second in the teens, and Shedeur Sanders, Quinn Ewers and Jalen Milroe were all consecutively ranked in the early 20s.
2024 is seen as a down year for the position. Last year, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr. highlighted the top 15 and all went on to be top 10 picks in the latest NFL Draft.
All eyes have turned to Beck as the next top dog at the position.