Let's not count our chickens before they hatch, but have you been paying attention to what CJ Allen has been doing in the middle of everything for Georgia defensively? This team may not be getting after the passer a ton, but Georgia's best defensive player is making seemingly every stop known to mankind at linebacker. No wonder why he has earned his place as a Butkus Award semifinalist so far.
News of Allen being named one of the 12 semifinalists for the Butkus Ward came out on Tuesday. While only three end up being finalists in the end, Allen plays the right position for the right school to make this all possible. Under Kirby Smart's tutelage, Georgia has had three of its linebackers earn the trophy over the last decade in Roquan Smith (2017), Nakobe Dean (2021), and Jalon Walker (2024).
Penn State may try to claim the title of Linebacker U, but win a conference game first. Since the dawn of the 21st century, few programs have been better in the middle of their defense quite like Georgia. It has not mattered if Georgia is a perennial national title contender under defensive-minded Smart, or a perennial national title pretender under offensive-minded Mark Richt, it has great some linebackers.
Allen has four more games against Mississippi State, Texas, Charlotte and Georgia Tech this season.
CJ Allen could make it four Georgia Butkus winners over the last decade
From watching and covering this team throughout the Smart era, the three Georgia recipients of the Butkus Award all had at least one signature game where they conceivably earned it. Smith won his during the SEC Championship Game vs. Auburn in the regular-season rematch. Walker largely earned his by dominating Texas in both of those games. As for Dean, well, he was sensational the entire time.
When it comes to Allen, his two best games have been his most recent. That would be the barn-burner vs. Ole Miss and last week's domination in The Cocktail Party vs. Florida. Entering Week 11, Allen leads the SEC with 8.6 tackles per game. He has a very nice 69 total tackles, including 5.5 for a loss of yardage and three sacks in eight games. He also has two forced fumbles and one recovery.
Coming off a career-high 13-tackle game vs. Florida, Allen is peaking at the right time to conceivably steal the Butkus Award from somebody else. He has three more Power Four games guaranteed to be left vs. Mississippi State and Texas to round out conference play, as well as Georgia Tech in Atlanta to end the season. Should Georgia be in a position to defend its SEC crown, maybe he will win it then?
For now, Allen has checked the latest box to let us know that he is one of the very best to do it here.