Georgia Bulldogs boast more players on prestigious national award watch list than any other program in college football

Daylen Everette led Georgia cornerbacks in snaps last season, staying on the field for over 900 plays, logging around 60 tackles, snagging three interceptions, and defending several more passes.

CJ Allen was already the most dominant off-ball linebacker for Georgia last year despite sharing plenty of responsibility alongside first round pick Jalon Walker as he racked up nearly 80 tackles, 20 pass rush pressures on less than 100 attempts, and proved to be an asset in pass coverage.

KJ Bolden jumped into a huge role as a true freshman safety last year, giving up just 120 passing yards on over 350 coverage snaps. He'll jump into the Malaki Starks role this year as the team's defensive leader on the back end.

Christen Miller operated as a rotational player last year, but nearly doubled the defensive tackle average for pass rush pressure rate. He'll now need to step up as the anchor to the entire defensive front as inexperienced players hopefully develop around him.

All four players have a legitimate shot to compete and possibly win the Nagurski Trophy, but a couple certainly have a clearer path.

A cornerback hasn't won the award in 22 years, so Daylen Everette would need to put together a wildly productive year with both tackles and interceptions if he wants the be on the radar. A safety won two years ago (Xavier Watts, Notre Dame), but that's only happened one other time this century. That means KJ Bolden will have to be a do-it-all monster that succeeds at both blowing up the run and shutting down the pass to even be close to consideration.

CJ Allen and Christen Miller on the other hand have a great shot at winning the award. When off-ball linebackers put up absolutely absurd tackle production (130+ total) and can defend a handful of passes too they're almost always on the radar–like Luke Kuechly, Manti Te'o, Scooby Wright, and Tyler Matakevich in past years. Then if edge rushers or defensive tackles can dominate with sack totals or pressure rates (like Christen Miller started to last year), they're generally always in the mix as well.

Regardless of whether any Georgia defender actually wins the award it speaks volumes about the talent level the Bulldogs have that four players make this prestigious list.

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