Is CJ Allen playing vs. Georgia Tech? Latest updates on LB leading up to kickoff

One of the biggest questions heading into Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate from the Georgia Bulldogs' perspective was the health and overall status of their best defensive player. Star linebacker CJ Allen suffered a knee injury during the home game vs. the Texas Longhorns two weeks ago. While he was obviously held out last week vs. the Charlotte 49ers, he had an outside shot at play vs. Georgia Tech.

Well, Dawg Nation is going to get some great news in that regard. Hours before kickoff, ESPN's Katie George reported that Allen is indeed going to give it a go and is expected to play vs. Georgia Tech. He had a slight meniscus surgery in between the Texas game and Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Allen was never going to play vs. Charlotte, but there was always a chance he might suit up vs. Georgia Tech.

Having Allen available to play is huge for Georgia when trying to contain Haynes King on the ground.

The good news for Georgia is the Bulldogs got some very important work in with Raylen Wilson getting used to wearing the green dot on defense in Allen's extended absence. It has also allowed other players on defense, namely safety KJ Bolden, to step up in terms of overall leadership. Allen may not be at anything close to 100 percent, but he is not going to miss this massive rivalry game.

Let's unpack what this means for Georgia moving forward today and for the rest of the season ahead.

CJ Allen injury update: Georgia star LB expected to play vs. Georgia Tech

It should be noted Georgia head coach Kirby Smart deemed Allen's injury to be of the week-to-week variety heading into the Charlotte game last weekend. Obviously, Allen did not appear in that game, but the injury he suffered vs. Texas may not have been as bad as it looked on the field. While Georgia has found itself of late on defense, Allen has been the straw that stirs the drink for them all year long.

This may not be the most talented team Georgia has had under Smart, but Allen is surely going to be a first-round pick next spring, assuming the medicals check out for him. Moving forward, Georgia has at least one more game to play after this one on Friday afternoon. Georgia is effectively a lock to make the College Football Playoff, but it has a halfway decent shot of playing in Atlanta next Saturday.

This is because Georgia is one of four teams still in play to potentially make it to the SEC Championship. The Dawgs need either Alabama to lose the Iron Bowl to Auburn or for Texas A&M to lose the Lone Star Showdown to Texas to punch their ticket to the conference title bout. If Alabama and Texas A&M both lose, a win in the Egg Bowl would get Ole Miss to Atlanta to play in a rematch.

With everything in front of them, it should come as no surprise that Allen wanted to play in this one.