INDIANAPOLIS — Monroe Freeling finished his Georgia football career about as happy as he could be outside of one thing he felt worth mentioning at his NFL Combine podium interview.

“I didn’t win the national championship that I wanted to,” Freeling said, asked about his takeaway from the 2025 season. “Unfortunately it didn’t end like I wanted it to. I’m happy with how my season ended up, but I wish we could have won the natty (national title).”

Lucas Oil Stadium, where Georgia won the first of two back-to-back CFP championships, is where Freeling and other offensive linemen at the NFL Combine will perform starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday (TV: NFL Network).

Freeling, listed at 6-foot7 and 315 pounds, said his goal is to run the 40-yard dash in under 5 seconds, the better to highlight his great athleticism, which has garnered the attention of NFL teams considering selecting him in the first round.

Fact is, Freeling is the odds-on favorite to be the first UGA player selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, which takes place April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.

“I might have only had 16 starts,” Freeling said, “but I’m confident that I’ve gone against a bunch of NFL players, every single day in practice, so I’m confident.”

Freeling cited former Georgia players and 2025 first-round NFL picks Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker among the best he has gone against in his career.

“You come to Georgia to get developed, and you go through hard stuff,” Freeling said, “so I think if I’m an NFL team, I’m betting on the Georgia player 10 out of 10 times.”

Freeling is an especially talented Bulldog, having applied his basketball and yoga backgrounds to pass blocking.

“I think pass protection is a parallel to basketball — when you’re guarding someone in basketball, you’re staying in front of them moving your feet and trying to stay balanced,” Freeling explained. “So when I go on the football field, I tell myself at the end of the day pass protection, at least with my feet, is just basketball, and you’re incorporating your hands.”

Freeling shared how he has his mother to thank for getting him involved with yoga, which improves physical strength, flexibility and balance, among other health benefits.

“Covid had started, and we were all cooped up in the house, and my mom kept preaching, ‘You’ve got to yoga,” Freeling said. “At first I wasn’t really sure, I was tight, but the more I did it, the more beneficial it was.

“I’ve had times in games where I’ve been in some pretty compromising positions and came out OK because of my flexibility.”

Even when Freeling hasn’t come out OK in games, he found ways to play, most notably last season against Auburn.

Freeling was in for 11 snaps against Kentucky before leaving the game in the first quarter with an injury to his left ankle.

The Georgia left tackle said he spent all week in a protective walking boot, and there was some thought he might not travel to Auburn for the following week’s game against the Tigers.

“I texted Coach (Kirby) Smart and I was like, ‘Coach you’ve got to let me travel, I want to be there for the team, I need to be at that game,’ “ Freeling said, convincing Smart he could help coach other offensive linemen even if he didn’t see action.

“Game day came, and Coach (Stacy) Searels came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, if you’re the emergency tackle can you go?’ And I was like, ‘yes coach, please, please let me go if I can.’

“When my name was called and they needed me to go in, I was so happy to go in and play.”

Freeling played 65 snaps against Auburn and didn’t give up a sack or a QB pressure.

Freeling said he has met with 19 NFL teams to this point and received positive feedback from most all of them.

“They like my game, and they also say I have a lot to get better at,” Freeling said. “But I’m confident in my ability to develop at the next level.”