Georgia star becomes Bulldogs’ 36th Consensus All-American

No. 3 Georgia (12-1) will play at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1 in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal. The Bulldogs await the winner of Ole Miss-Tulane, who play in the first round of the CFP on Dec. 20.  

In order to be a consensus All-American, a player must be named first team on at least two of the five (American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News, and Walter Camp Foundation) selected All-American teams.

Georgia linebacker CJ Allen was awarded first-team All-American honors from three of the five. He missed being a unanimous consensus All-American by only two votes. He received first-team acknowledgement from the AP, The Sporting News, and FWAA. While the AFCA and Walter Camp Foundation put him on their second team.

Allen leads the Bulldogs in tackles this season with 85. He is No. 2 in the SEC in both total tackles and solo tackles (45). He is tied for No. 22 in tackles for loss with 8 and No. 28 in sacks with 3.5. Allen has also forced two fumbles, which ties him for No. 11 in the SEC.

Kirby Smart spoke highly of Allen after Georgia’s close win over Florida:

“Man, I wish he was out there every play. I mean, he’s a machine, he erases things. Ball gets out, Lagway looks like he’s about to go. And I was like, he looks like he’s going to run for a long way. And CJ runs him down and tackles him right away. The kid practices so hard and wants to win so bad for Georgia. I don’t know that I’ve seen a kid that cared more about the team performance than CJ does. Now, a lot of people care about it. They’re not willing to practice like he does. He practices so hard that it comes across in his play. He’s a great leader, and I appreciate the work he puts into it.”

Allen will lead Georgia’s defense out onto the field at the Caesars Superdome on New Year’s Day. The Junkyard Dawgs are giving up 9.8 points over the last 2 months. In large part that is due to them giving up just 38 yards rushing per game over the last 2 months. A big part of that is Allen averaging 5.5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss per game over the last 2 months.

1. Herschel Walker (RB) – 3 selections: 1980, 1981, 1982
2. Terry Hoage (DB) – 2 selections: 1982, 1983
3. Jarvis Jones (LB) – 2 selections: 2011, 2012
4. David Pollack (DL) – 2 selections: 2002, 2004
5. Frank Sinkwich (B) – 2 selections: 1941, 1942
6. Pete Anderson (OL) – 1 selection: 1985
7. Champ Bailey (DB) – 1 selection: 1998
8. Deandre Baker (DB) – 1 selection: 2018
9. Greg Blue (DB) – 1 selection: 2005
10. Brock Bowers (TE) – 1 selection: 2023
11. Drew Butler (P) – 1 selection: 2009
12. Kevin Butler (K) – 1 selection: 1984
13. Jalen Carter (DL) – 1 selection: 2022
14. Ed Chandler (OL) – 1 selection: 1967
15. Jordan Davis (DL) – 1 selection: 2021
16. Thomas Davis (DB) – 1 selection: 2004
17. Nakobe Dean (LB) – 1 selection: 2021
18. Garrison Hearst (RB) – 1 selection: 1992
19. Max Jean-Gilles (OL) – 1 selection: 2005
20. Randy Johnson (OL) – 1 selection: 1975
21. Tom Nash (E) – 1 selection: 1927
22. Joel Parrish (OL) – 1 selection: 1976
23. J.R. Reed (DB) – 1 selection: 2019
24. Jeff Sanchez (DB) – 1 selection: 1984
25. Jake Scott (DB) – 1 selection: 1968
26. Christopher Smith (DB) – 1 selection: 2022
27. Roquan Smith (LB) – 1 selection: 2017
28. Royce Smith (OL) – 1 selection: 1971
29. Vernon Smith (E) – 1 selection: 1931
30. Bill Stanfill (DL) – 1 selection: 1968
31. Malaki Starks (DB) – 1 selection: 2023
32. Matt Stinchcomb (OL) – 1 selection: 1998
33. Andrew Thomas (OL) – 1 selection: 2019
34. Charley Trippi (B) – 1 selection: 1946
35. Tim Worley (RB) – 1 selection: 1988
36. CJ Allen (LB) – 1 selection: 2025