Georgia football placed two members on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team on Thursday. Redshirt freshman Earnest Greene earned the honor as Georgia’s left tackle, while Raylen Wilson made it at the linebacker position.
Yet somehow, neither Bulldog who won the SEC’s Freshman of the Week award during the regular season made it on the list. That would be inside linebacker CJ Allen and kicker Peyton Woodring.
Greene started all 13 games for Georgia at left tackle this season. He redshirted in his first year at Georgia due to a back injury but his play this year showed he’s one of the more promising offensive linemen in the league. He is from Los Angeles. He was one of two Bulldogs on Georgia’s Joe Moore Finalist offensive line to start every game, joining center Sedrick Van Pran.
Wilson appeared in 11 games this season and finished with 13 tackles. He missed two games to start the season due to a knee injury but quickly got up to speed. When Jamon Dumas-Johnson went down with an injury against Missouri, Wilson took on a larger role in the Georgia defense.
Allen though had a better statistical year than Wilson. Allen, from Barnesville, Ga., played in all 13 games for Georgia and started the final four games of the season. He finished with 35 tackles and won SEC Freshman of the Week twice for his play against Ole Miss and Georgia Tech.
“They’ve grown up and had to grow up fast. Talk about being thrown into the fire, they had Ole Miss, Tennessee and Georgia Tech, had to play in three games that were really tough, physical games and prep each game differently in terms of style,” Smart said of Allen and Wilson. “Each game was different in terms of style. It’s not like they’ve gone this style, this style, this style. They went from Ole Miss to Tennessee to Georgia Tech and three completely different offenses to prepare for. And they’re young guys. They make mistakes but they also have a quiet confidence about them. They’re good athletes and they’re well-coached. I’m really proud of what they’ve been able to do.”
As for Woodring, after a shaky start he proved to be one of the most consistent kickers in the league. He finished the year making 21 of his 25 field goal attempts, including 16 straight before missing from 50 yards in the SEC championship game. Woodring is from Lafayette, La. Auburn’s Alex McPherson was the kicking representative for the league.
Alabama’s Caleb Downs was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year on Wednesday.
You can see the full SEC All-Freshman Team below.
2023 SEC All-Freshman Team
Offense
QB
Chris Parson, Mississippi State
RB
Sedrick Alexander, Vanderbilt
Rueben Owens, Texas A&M
WR
Eugene Wilson III, Florida
London Humphreys, Vanderbilt
TE
Brett Norfleet, Missouri
OL
Earnest Greene, Georgia
Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
Lance Heard, LSU
Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M*
Andrew Chamblee, Arkansas*
Trovon Baugh, South Carolina*
C
Connor Lew, Auburn
Defense
DL
T.J. Searcy, Florida
Keldric Faulk, Auburn
Donterry Russell, Mississippi State
Kelby Collins, Florida
LB
Suntarine Perkins, Ole Miss
Taurean York, Texas A&M
Raylen Wilson, Georgia
DB
Caleb Downs, Alabama
Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina
Jaylon Braxton, Arkansas
Jordan Castell, Florida
Special Teams
PK
Alex McPherson, Auburn
P
Jackson Ross, Tennessee
RS
Isaiah Sategna, Arkansas
KOS
Alex McPherson, Auburn
LS
Walker Himebauch, Kentucky
