Georgia football: Midseason standouts for the Dawgs
Georgia football has loads of talent at every single position. We’ve been through the first half of the season already, so here are the Dawgs who stood out the most in the first five games.
Recently, two AP writers who cover Georgia football and the SEC wrote about the best and the worst of the SEC.
Well, the Dawgs got one sentence in this article, and that sentence included Alabama. It said that both teams are still national contenders. While that’s great and all, I think the Dawgs got snubbed in this post.
Georgia’s got a ton of talent on their team, and well, they’re undefeated. The article had nine topics they discussed.
Those categories are, coach of the first half, offensive player of the first half, defensive player of the first half, freshman of the year, most surprising team, most surprising player, most disappointing team, hottest coaches seat, and biggest injury.
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While the Dawgs don’t necessarily fit in some of those areas, they do in some of them.
So since Georgia got snubbed by the AP writers, I decided to take some of their categories and give my midseason accolades for the Dawgs.
Offensive player
Jake Fromm takes the offensive player in the first half of the season. He has been almost perfect through the first five games and is a general when it comes to running the offense.
Currently, Fromm’s completed 86-of-111 passes for 1,076 yards and eight touchdowns.
He holds a 182.69 quarterback rating and completes 77.48 percent of his passes. Of the 14 SEC quarterbacks, he ranks as the No. 3 in quarterback rating behind Tua Tagovailoa (1) and Joe Burrow (2).
Fromm is also only one of three SEC quarterbacks that haven’t thrown an interception yet this year. He’s gotten sacked the least in the conference as Georgia’s offensive line has only allowed him to go down once.
Fromm’s a junior this year and is one of the most highly touted quarterbacks in the country. He’s on all of the NFL draft lists, and he will have a huge decision to make after this season.
Right now, he’s putting together one impressive campaign and has elevated his game since last year. He’s the biggest leader on the offense and deserves to be the first half offensive player for Georgia.
Defensive player
The first half defensive player of the year goes to Azeez Ojulari. He currently leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks with 3.5. He also leads Georgia in quarterback hurries with 19.
Ojulari also has 14 total tackles on the year with five solo and nine assists. While he hasn’t forced any fumbles or anything like that, Ojulari has been so consistent for the defense. After getting redshirted last season, he has exploded onto the scene.
I like his can-do attitude and how much of a team player he is. Ojulari is slowly making a name for himself.
He earned the first-half defensive player because of the havoc he’s created so far this season.
First half Freshman of the year
George Pickens rightfully earns the first half freshman of the year after his performances through the first five games.
Pickens is the second-leading receiver for Georgia with 12 catches going for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He has a long haul of 43 and averages 37 yards a game and 15.42 a catch. Pickens came up big against the Vols and scored the touchdown that put all the momentum back into Georgia’s pocket.
Against Tennessee, he had three catches for 23 yards and a score. His best game, statistically, was against Arkansas State as he caught five balls for 84 yards. Pickens also had four catches for 78 yards and one score against Murray State.
While he didn’t have any catches against Notre Dame or Vanderbilt, Pickens was out there throwing blocks and trying to get open. He still has some room to grow, but by the SEC Championship Game, he could be a lethal force for the Dawgs.
Most surprising
One of the most surprising players for the Dawgs this season is Dominick Blaylock. He came in as one of the top wideouts in the 2019 class, but I figured he would get redshirted and get his time next year, but he proved me wrong.
Blaylock has nine catches on the year for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Blaylock averages 44.75 yards a game and 19.89 per catch. He’s currently third on Georgia’s receiving list behind Pickens and Lawrence Cager.
His shining moment came against Arkansas State when he had four catches for 112 yards and one touchdown.
The following week against Notre Dame, he had two catches for 19 yards. Blaylock didn’t get in the endzone then, but both of his catches helped the Dawgs offensively. Fromm tried to get him one in the Tennessee game, but it didn’t happen.
Blaylock is also rotating as one of the punt return guys with two catches for 17 yards. He averages 8.5 yards a return. While that doesn’t seem like much, a lot of those times, a fair catch is all Georgia needs because the Dawgs will already be in good field position.
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He earns the most surprising spot because I never thought he would come out this explosive. I figured Blaylock would get in his four games and then take a redshirt. Nope, it looks like he’s going to be one of Fromm’s favorite targets by the end of the season.
These four guys have done good things for the Dawgs, and will likely keep doing them. Georiga’s heading into the meat of its schedule, so these guys need to keep grinding.