Georgia football: 30 greatest players of the Mark Richt era
By John Buhler
- Second-Team All-SEC (2012)
- 197 total tackles
- 20.0 tackles for a loss of yardage
The Dawgs were looking for a tackling beast the like of Rennie Curran, who we will get to in a bit, to bolster future linebacking groups. Well, they certainly found that in linebacker Alec Ogletree. Ogletree and his twin brother Alexander Ogletree would Commit to the G out of Newnan, Georgia in the 2010 high school graduating class.
As a true freshman in 2010, Ogletree would begin to carve out a role as a special teams player for the Dawgs before eventually working his way into the linebacker/safety hybrid role known as STAR. Ogletree was a player that always seemed to make the most of his reps. This led to his swift climb up the Georgia depth chart heading into his sophomore season in 2011.
Though Georgia was arguably at its nadir under Richt in 2010, as the Dawgs went a dreadful 6-7 for Georgia standards, that down year for the program allowed guys, most notably Ogletree, to get better faster by virtue of early playing time.
As a true sophomore in 2011, Ogletree saw an uptick in production despite missing six games with a broken leg. He suffered that injury in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff loss to the Boise State Broncos on Labor Day Weekend. Ogletree would bounce back to have 52 total tackles, 7.5 for a loss and 3.0 quarterback sacks.
Georgia would make it back to the SEC Championship in 2011, but would be boat raced by Tyrann Mathieu’s LSU Tigers. The Dawgs were down, but not out, as they looked even better in 2012. So did Ogletree.
As a junior in 2012, Ogletree tackled everything. He registered 111 total tackles (63 solo, 48 assists), 11.5 for a loss of yardage, 3.0 quarterback sacks and an interception. Georgia won the SEC East for the second consecutive season. The Dawgs played in one of the most compelling SEC Championship Games to date. However, they came up five yards short against eventual national champion Alabama down in Atlanta.
Georgia would finish in the top-5 at the end of the 2012 NCAA season. Ogletree would be named to the All-SEC Second-Team after that season. Turns out, that would be his last in Athens, as Ogletree would turn pro after his junior year with the Dawgs.
Ogletree would be the No. 30 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the then St. Louis Rams. He spent his first five NFL seasons with the Rams and is now in year six as a professional as a member of the New York Giants. Though not yet a Pro Bowler, he would be Second-Team All-Pro in 2016 with the Rams. But it was first at Georgia where Ogletree demonstrated he could be playmaking leader in a great defensive front-seven.